Bemidji’s new veterans home is looking to open in fall of this year, but before that, they need to fill the building with workers.

The organization Minnesota Veterans Home held a career fair on August 16 at their temporary office in Bemidji for people to learn about and apply to different positions open at the home.

Positions that people could learn about at the career fair include nursing, maintenance and food service. With this fair, the Bemidji veterans home is hoping to fill 56 positions. And despite the workforce shortage, plenty of people stopped by to drop off their resumes.

“We’ve had a lot of people, that’s been successful,” said Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs HR Business Partner Peter Paquette. “We’ve had a great group of people coming in, flowing through. It’s been more than we expected. So it’s great. Thanks to the local partners that we have getting the word out, it’s been amazing.”

The career fair ran from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Job openings can also be viewed at the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs website.

By — Mary Balstad