Bemidji Community uses Airport to Create Economic Opportunity

The Bemidji – Beltrami Airport is the fourth busiest in Minnesota.  In addition to its use for passenger flights, the airport serves many other entities, including Fed Ex, UPS, BIA, Life Flight, DNR and private aircraft.  Upon complete implementation of its 5-year, $13 million Airport Improvements Plan, the airport’s infrastructure will be second to none.  This will enable the Airport to meet the ever-growing needs and demands for air service.

Immediately adjacent to the Airport, roughly 200 acres of land have been incorporated into Tax-Free Job Opportunity Building Zones (JOBZ).  The land will be developed into lots for business startups and expansions, and direct airport access will be available to these businesses.

Over the past two years, the Headwaters RDC has assisted a coalition of organizations to explore how this Airport, its adjacent JOBZ land, and the community’s many other assets, can be leveraged to spur economic activity within the Region.  The effort is a collaborative venture of the major economic, governmental and institutional organizations of the area, including the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), the JEDC, Beltrami County, the City of Bemidji, and the HRDC. 

Through their hard work, members of this collaborative venture achieved the following outcomes:

• Identified the specific assets that give the Bemidji-area its competitive advantage over other similar-sized communities.
• Completed a multi-faceted market assessment which yielded a targeted list of businesses to whom marketing activities will occur.
• Developed an investment strategy that provides general guidance for undertaking necessary infrastructure improvements on the land adjacent to the Airport.
• Created a very aggressive plan to market the Bemidji area to new and expanding businesses.

It is well-known that the best-laid strategies and plans mean nothing if they are not implemented effectively.  The Headwaters RDC continues to work with key individuals in the development of a formalized structure that will be used to move forward this initiative.  This structure designates the Airport Commission to provide general project oversight, appoints a Steering Committee to oversee the project details and also to be a part of actual marketing visits to businesses when appropriate, and designates the Joint Economic Development Commission to undertake ongoing administration of the marketing component of the project on a day to day basis.

The final plan can be downloaded using the file at right.

Bemidji Regional Airport Economic Development Initiative
PDF Download

In 1962, a group of progressive Bemidji residents saw potential for industrial development in Bemidji, and organized the Bemidji Development Corporation (BDC).  Shortly thereafter, they began acquiring land on the south side of the City, and the Bemidji Industrial Park was created.  Through their leadership and willingness to partner with the City over the past 40 years, the Bemidji Development Corporation has led the Industrial Park’s growth through three expansions.  Because of their leadership, the Park presently contains more than 175 acres, houses 48 businesses, employs roughly 1,200 people, and has an annual payroll in excess of $28 million.

Within recent years, business growth has been very strong in the Industrial Park, and only one lot remains.  Throughout the past six months, the Headwaters RDC has been working with the Bemidji Development Corporation and the City to obtain EDA funding to assist with a 68-acre, $2.7 million Industrial Park expansion.  In an application recently submitted to the EDA, $1.2 million was requested.  If funded, the EDA grant will enable the Industrial Park’s expansion to develop 35 additional industrial lots through expansion of the Park’s infrastructure.

In late April, the Bemidji Development Corporation and the City were invited to submit their joint full-application to the EDA, and are now awaiting final word on whether they will be funded.

Over the past two years, the Headwaters RDC has very actively worked with the leaders of the Seventh Generation Initiative.  One of the accomplishments of these leaders has been to define the following vision and building blocks for the Community: 

By deliberately working together, the 7th Gen Community will be:

• a thriving community that creates ever expanding opportunity for all its residents through educational excellence;
• a healthy, safe community that supports and celebrates family;
• a community that respects and honors its relationship with the natural environment;
• a community that celebrates and finds strength and opportunity in its differences; and
• a community that highly values, supports and nurtures leadership, and one that expects participation from its residents.

Leaders of the Seventh Generation have identified “education” as a key building block to creating a thriving community.  These leaders have further established within this building block an education-related goal of having a “fully accredited Tribal and Community College on a new campus by 2010”.

The White Earth Tribal and Community College was established in 1997 by the White Earth Tribe.  Residents of the White Earth Reservation have responded positively to this culturally-based college, and the College has grown to 132 students, of which 106 are full-time and seeking degrees.  The College is projecting that forty (40) additional students will enroll in the College this fall.

The College has established numerous degree programs which are recognized by the Region’s higher education institutions, and within the next few years, plans to strengthen its science, technology, engineering, math, entrepreneurial and human services programming.  The White Earth Tribal and Community College achieved its initial candidacy for accreditation in 2004, and will be reviewed in the coming months for full accreditation.

While the rapid growth and expansion of the White Earth Tribal and Community College is very positive, it has also yielded one major problem – the need for more space.  Without having its own building, the College is required to rent space in buildings throughout the City of Mahnomen.  Courses are presently offered in four buildings which are small, crowded and difficult to maintain.  Course scheduling has become difficult, and enrollment – as well as future program expansion - is inhibited by the limited amount of available space in which to hold classes. 

The Headwaters RDC is providing assistance to the leaders of the White Earth Tribal College in an effort to alleviate these problems.  In particular, the Headwaters RDC is currently preparing an application for EDA funds to help construct a 24,300 square foot building.  If funding can be secured, the new facility will incorporate the College’s classrooms, science laboratory, media center, commons, conference room, faculty offices and dining area.  A potential design of the future facility can be viewed using the file at right. 

A new centralized facility would enable the White Earth Tribal and Community College to expand its programs, and increase student enrollment.  Just as importantly, it would also move the Mahnomen Community toward its goal of becoming a thriving community, and a place for economic opportunity.

There was speculation that the JOBZ Program would not survive beyond the recent legislative session.  The program did survive, and still has 7 ½ years of benefits remaining.

The Headwaters Economic Opportunity Zone (Region 2) presently has five businesses that are participating in the JOBZ Program.  We have recently begun to receive inquiries about the Program, and we soon hope to see more businesses begin to participate in the Program.

There are still significant JOBZ acres available throughout the Region for eligible businesses to take advantage of.  The Headwaters Economic Opportunity Zone currently has JOBZ acres available in Bagley, Baudette, Bemidji, Blackduck, Clearbrook  Gonvick, Mahnomen, Park Rapids, and Williams.

If your community or township is presently without JOBZ acres, and there is a business in your jurisdiction that wants to participate in the Program, we will work to obtain acres from a Community who has extra acres available.

If you would like more information on the JOBZ Program, please contact Laurie Kramka at the HRDC.  More information can also be found in the Economic Development section of the HRDC website.