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About Bemidji

Adapted from Wikipedia:

Bemidji (pronounced /bəˈmɪdʒiː/) is a city in Beltrami County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was estimated at 13,419 in 2007. It is the county seat of Beltrami County. Bemidji is the most major city in North Central Minnesota and the largest commercial center between Grand Forks, ND and Duluth, MN. Bemidji lies on the southwest shore of Lake Bemidji, the northernmost lake feeding the Mississippi River and, as such, is deemed “the first city on the Mississippi.” Home to Bemidji State University, Northwest Technical College, and Oak Hills Christian College. Bemidji is also dubbed the “curling capital,” of the U.S.

Lake Bemidji is a small glacially-formed lake, approximately 11 mi² (28 km²) in area, in northern Minnesota in the United States. Located less than 50 mi (80 km) downstream from the source of the Mississippi River, it both receives and is drained by the Mississippi.

The lake is located in southern Beltrami County, near the city of Bemidji, which sits on its southwestern shore. Due to the shape of Lakes Bemidji and Irving, according to folk legends, Lakes Bemidji and Irving was formed in Paul Bunyan’s footprint. The Ojibwe described the Lakes Bemidji and Irving collectively as a single lake being a bimijigamaa (lake that traverses another body of water), thus the Ojibwe name the lake as Bemijigamaag-zaaga’igan (Traversing Lake), since the lake is considered to traverse the Mississippi River.