Bemidji Heads to St. Paul for Annual ‘Day at the Capitol’

Over 60 people from Bemidji, ranging from government officials to concerned citizens, traveled to St. Paul on Wednesday for Bemidji’s 18th annual Day at the Capitol. The event gives Bemidji citizens a chance to tell Representatives and Senators in St. Paul their concerns and lobby for potential funding for city projects.

When the tradition started in 2005, many of the legislators at the Capitol didn’t quite understand why Bemidji wanted to meet with legislators outside the area. But now, those same lawmakers look forward to the city’s every year.

“Some people today have not been down in the Capitol before, haven’t learned the process, don’t realize how you can meet with legislators that aren’t even in our territory,” said Scott Turn, Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce President. “They want to hear what’s going on in Bemidji, so those are always great things. And then there’s things that we come down and we try to make impacts locally with either a bill that’s trying to be passed or something else that we can lead some support to.”

He continued, “But I think overall it’s been a great experience, so a lot of good feedback from both legislators and our group. So it’s been fun.”

We’ll have a more detailed look at what was discussed during Bemidji’s Day at the Capitol Thursday night on Lakeland News.