Beltrami County Commissioners heard from all sides of the refugee resettlement topic during the comment period at Tuesday night’s board meeting. Two weeks ago in a 3-2 vote, Beltrami County Commissioners voted no for local involvement in refugee resettlement.

Speakers were given five minutes to speak during the comment period. While several people were in favor of the commissioner’s decision, restating the county’s financial issues, many criticized the way commissioners handled the meeting on January 7th.

Last Wednesday, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order that granted states and counties the opportunity to opt out of the refugee resettlement. The injunction is placed on hold, but Beltrami County Commissioner Reed Olson says Beltrami County is still being hit by the vote, saying area resorts have lost bookings as a result.

U.S. Senate candidate Jason Lewis is holding a town hall event in Bemidji at the Hampton Inn and Suites on Thursday at 5:30 PM regarding the recent county refugee decision.

By — Malaak Khattab

News Reporter