Five Shoes Waiting to Drop on Bemidji’s Future

August 2024

Dave Hengel
Executive Director

I was recently visiting with a friend of mine, who asked, “When does your next overly optimistic newspaper op ed come out.” I couldn’t help but laugh.

Truth be told – I do tend to focus on the positive. In fairness – it is my job to extol the tremendous virtues of the greater Bemidji region, highlight its positive developments and encourage our local leaders to keep pushing our region forward. My work is far more effective when I have a positive message.

But I don’t live and work only with rose-colored glasses on. I fully grasp the challenges we face and do have concerns about our region’s future.

Several years ago, I read a report by the Morrison Institute at Arizona State entitled “Five Shoes Waiting to Drop of Arizona’s Future”. It was incredibly well done and highlighted the difficult challenges Arizona faced to move its state forward. Not only did it point out some (intentionally) under-the-radar issues, it called Arizona’s public and private leaders to action.

I’d like to do the same today by sharing Dave’s “Five Shoes Waiting to Drop Bemidji’s Future”. Word of warning: I am not offering solutions. Rather I am simply looking to shine a spotlight on the community challenges that keep me lying awake at night (quite literally).

Shoe #1 – The Future Workforce Crisis:
I have shared my belief that economic development is now a race for workforce, not a race for companies. The workforce crunch every community is facing is just in its infancy – demographics clearly show that new workers will not keep pace with Baby Boomer retirements.

Growing, attracting and retaining a skilled workforce has to be job #1. The good news is great work is already being done. The Bemidji Career Academies at Bemidji High School, the 218 Relocate workforce recruitment campaign at Greater Bemidji, and our recent regional focus on addressing impediments to work – child care, housing, transportation- all show promise to
impact number of workers and our workforce participation rates.

While great, they are not enough. We have to do more to grow the pipeline of workers for our region. Any region that fails to continue to grow its workforce has a bleak economic future ahead.

Shoe #2 – Our Fuzzy Community Identity:
If a visitor walked downtown and asked random community members to describe Bemidji – I suspect they would get very different answers. A small tourist town. A vibrant regional center. The wood basket of the upper Midwest. A hub of arts and culture. A world class location for outdoor recreation. A center for education. I could go on and on. The challenge is without a clear “identity” or a sense of who strive to become, it is difficult to align our focus, ideas and resources to achieve it. We need an agreed-upon community vision.

Bemidji – what do we want to be known for? What do we want to be great at? Where does our future lie?

Shoe #3 – Emerging Growth and Development Patterns:
I’m am excited about the amount of development occurring in our region. We are blessed with strong growth, exceeding nearly every regional center in greater Minnesota. I am concerned, however, about our development patterns.

As neighborhoods emerge somewhat haphazardly throughout the region and business developments run further and further out along Highways 2 and 71, I get concerned. To be clear – I am very grateful for private investment in our region – no matter where it occurs. But this pattern brings questions to my mind – Will the “sprawl” cause us to lose what we love in Bemidji? What challenges does sprawling development create for traffic, safety, and other parts of our quality of life? How does the City of Bemidji continue to provide regional center infrastructure and amenities without the growing tax base to support it?

Shoe #4 – The “Good Enough for Bemidji” Sentiment:
I can’t tell you how many times I have heard local leaders state something is “good enough for Bemidji” (or even worse that something is “too good for Bemidji”). It’s like fingernails on a chalkboard for me. Doesn’t our community deserve quality regional amenities – housing, education, parks, wellness and recreational opportunities, entertainment options, etc.?
Moreover, aren’t we striving to build a world-class community?

The ”good enough for Bemidji” sentiment I hear feels remarkably similar to Lake Wobegon’s grocery store – Ralph’s Pretty Good Grocery – whose motto was, “If you can’t find it at Ralph’s, you can get along (pretty good) without it.” I have no doubt that sentiment – left unchecked – will hold our community back.

Shoe #5 – Two Bemidjis or One Community:
Every economic indicator tells the same story – that not all in our community are sharing in the benefits of our region’s growth. Clearly many in our community are doing well, increasing their standard of living and enjoying a desirable quality of life. Yet others have not prospered. We continue to have roughly one in five of our families living in poverty. Of course, your
impression of Bemidji and its future looks very different depending on whether you are looking through a “have” vs. a “have not” lens.

As my career has progressed, I have become more concerned with the gap between the have and have nots because I have come to see the impact it has on community life. Are we successful if we leave families behind? Is our goal increased overall prosperity, or are we still committed to shared prosperity? Are we going to remain two Bemidjis, or become on community in the truest sense of the word?

I know our region, like all regions, face many challenges. The “Five Shoes” I have shared are ones that truly concern me. In many ways our region’s future prosperity is tied to our ability to effectively address these challenges. Acknowledging them is the first step, but it will take leadership and action to move forward.

The good news – I’m confident we have everything we need to effectively address our challenges. The solutions won’t come from Washington D.C. or from St. Paul. The solutions will come from within our community. It will come down to leadership and will.

In the end, despite our challenges, I’m optimistic. It just comes naturally.