The City of Bemidji will accelerate its annexation of a portion of Northern Township, just north of Anne Street. The portion extends up to Lakewood Drive Northwest and westward to U.S. Highway 71 and the Bemidji Regional Airport.

The orderly annexation agreement between Bemidji and Northern Township originally was set for June of this year, but the city council talked about moving the date because of the upcoming U.S. Census that starts April 1st. The area is about 2.8 square miles, which will be divided into Ward 2 and Ward 3.

“We have to create and extend two wards and also obviously adjust our city boundaries,” Bemidji City Manager Nate Mathews said. “And in doing that, that takes some time. And we want to provide the time for the residents that are going to be annexed to be able to file for office. So, [we need] to work with the state and potentially the district court to adjust this.”

Before the changes are made official, they need to be approved by the Minnesota Municipal Boundary Adjustment Office.

By — Malaak Khattab

News Reporter