Bemidji, Minnesota
 |
Location of Bemidji, Minnesota |
Bemidji is a city in
Beltrami County,
Minnesota,
United States. The population was 11,917 at the 2000 census. It is the
county seat of
Beltrami County6. Bemidji is best known nationally as being the "curling capital" of the United States. The skip of the Bronze Medal winning men's national curling team competing at the
2006 Winter Olympics in
Torino is Bemidji native
Pete Fenson, 37, and the skip of the women's national curling team, also competing at the Olympics, is fellow Bemidjian
Cassandra Johnson, 24. Bemidji natives and sisters Kari Liapis Erickson and Stacy Liapis represented the US in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.
Bemidji lies on the southwest shore of
Lake Bemidji, the northernmost lake feeding the
Mississippi River.
Its name derives from the
Ojibwe Bay-may-ji-ga-maug meaning "lake with cross waters". On occasion in Ojibwe, the city of Bemidji is called
Wabigamaang (at the lake channel/narrows) because part of the city is situated on the Lakes Bemidji-Irving narrows, located on the south end of Lake Bemidji and extends to the eastern shore of Lake Irving.
The lake attracts water recreation for summer tourists. Bemidji is the home to
Bemidji State University,
Northwest Technical College and
Oak Hills Christian College.
Bemidjipedia has also started a wiki about everything pertaining to Bemidji and the surrounding area. The statues of
Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox are well-known landmarks. Bemidji is also the first city on the Mississippi River.
Lake Bemidji State Park is nearby.
NFL Pro Football Hall of Famer
Dave Casper was born in Bemidji, as was actress
Jane Russell.
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 33.5
km² (12.9
mi²). 30.5 km² (11.8 mi²) of it is land and 3.1 km² (1.2 mi²) of it (9.11%) is water.
As of the
census2 of 2000, there were 11,917 people, 4,669 households, and 2,427 families residing in the city. The
population density was 390.6/km² (1,011.8/mi²). There were 4,948 housing units at an average density of 162.2/km² (420.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.31%
White, 0.76%
African American, 11.52%
Native American, 1.12%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 0.20% from
other races, and 2.06% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 1.14% of the population.
There were 4,669 households out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.0% were
married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.0% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.2% under the age of 18, 24.9% from 18 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 15.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 87.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,072, and the median income for a family was $37,250. Males had a median income of $28,312 versus $20,694 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $15,264. About 13.2% of families and 19.2% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 19.7% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.
Bemidji serves as a community hub for over 55,000 people. The majority of the area's population lives in townships that border the city limits. With high growth in jobs, Bemidji is seeing population growth, much of which is unmeasured due to the townships' refusal of annexation.
Bemidji is a progressive college town, with strong technology and art influences. The city's streets are lined with small shops and art sculptures. The community puts high importance on art, music, science, and religion. The city, while fast-paced, offers a quaint, laidback feel and lifestyle. Politically the city is relatively liberal. The
Concordia Language Villages are located near Bemidji and this has perhaps been influential in the existence of several language conversational groups (including French, Norwegian, Spanish, Italian, and German) which meet weekly in local coffee houses.
A highlight of Bemidji summers is the
Paul Bunyan Playhouse, a non-equity
summer stock theater. Now in its 56th season, the Playhouse offers Bemidji area residents the opportunity to see a combination of the best local, state and national talent in a variety of theatrical offerings.
The city is well known to fans of the sport of
curling. Both men's and women's rinks from the
Bemidji Curling Club won the right to represent the
United States in the
2005 World Curling Championship and the
2006 Winter Olympics in
Torino, Italy.
Pete Fenson, a member of the US curling team that took the bronze medal at the
2006 Olympics is a native of Bemidji.
Newspapers
:
Local newspaperThe Bemidji Pioneer - local daily newspaper
www.bemidjipioneer.com:
Regional newspapers - these newspapers from other cities are also available
Star Tribune (
Minneapolis)
Duluth News Tribune (
Duluth)
The Forum (
Fargo, ND)
Grand Forks Herald (
Grand Forks, ND)
TV Stations
Most of Bemidji's TV stations primarily rebroadcast the television stations of
Minneapolis.
*
KAWE 9 (
digital 18)
PBS, "Lakeland Public TV" -- the only locally-based TV station in Bemidji
*
KCCW 12 (
digital 20)
CBS, rebroadcasts
WCCO Minneapolis
*
KFTC 26
UPN (
My Network TV in September 2006), rebroadcasts
WFTC Minneapolis
*K28DD 28
ABC, rebroadcasts
KSAX Alexandria*K30DK 30
Fox, rebroadcasts
KMSP Minneapolis
Radio Stations
:
FM radio*88.5 KCRB
Minnesota Public Radio classical music/
NPR*89.7
KBSB College radio (
Bemidji State University), "FM 90"
*91.3 KNBJ
Minnesota Public Radio news/
NPR*92.3
KBJI-
LP 3ABN Christian network
*92.7 W224AB
Christian,
KBHW translator*95.5
KKZY Adult Contemporary, "KZY"
*98.3
WBJI Classic country, "Real Country"
*99.1
KLLZ Classic Rock, "Z99"
*101.1
KBHP Country "KB101"
*103.7
KKBJ Hot Adult Contemporary, "
Today's Best Hits Mix 103.7"
*105.3 K234AD
Community/
IPR/
NPR,
KAXE translator*107.1
KKEQ Contemporary Christian music, "Q107", audible signal on most radios, based in
Fosston, MN but targets Bemidji listeners:
AM radio*1360
KKBJ News/Talk*1450
KBUN KFAN Sports network, "The Fan"
Image:Paul Bunyan and Babe statues Bemidji Minnesota crop.JPG|Paul And BabeImage:campark.jpg|Lake Bemidji From Cameron Park just off the BSU CampusImage:tamarackhall.jpg|Tamarack Hall On the BSU campusImage:People.JPG|Art in front of CourthouseImage:Dragon.JPG|"Escape from The Depths" Chris GustafsonImage:courthouse.jpg|Court HouseImage:Fedbulding.JPG|Bemidji Federal Building
*
The Bemidji Pioneer Newspaper*
City of Bemidji*
Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce*
Bemidjipedia – "the online encyclopedia for all things related to Bemidji, MN"
