Up North Report

With Northern Township planning to assess residents living along Lake Bemidji for a new wastewater treatment plant, the city of Bemidji is petitioning to annex and connect the same residents, who say questions about real costs for either project are unanswered.

And: A bear visits Main Avenue in Thief River Falls; Highway 169 J-turn construction starts Monday; Hermantown corridor study set for Monday; and registration soon for tech career pathway programs in Itasca County.

Plus: A McKinley City Council member is facing three felonies after allegedly disrupting power service to three Iron Range cities; St. Louis County assessors are setting up an alternate process for Fairbanks Township residents to appeal their 2025 valuations due to wildfire evacuations; Amazon is building a distribution facility in Grand Rapids; and drifting Canadian wildfire smoke is prompting air quality alerts in the Northland this weekend.

And: A Bemidji business owner faces a financial exploitation charge; and Northern Minnesota athletes to compete at boys tennis state tournament.

Plus: MnDOT will host a pre-construction open house ahead of a 3-year project on Highways 10 and 71; and Minnesota public health officials are sounding the alarm of alcohol misuse among women.

Steve and Val Engelman embarked on an adventure 8 years ago, becoming adoptive parents while also purchasing the Kitchi Landing Resort near Pennington — the very same resort Val's great-grandfather operated in the 1940s.

Started by nonprofit Smart North, the tech hubs aim to provide digital equity to students, providing access to technology and food, hygiene products and a safe space.

And: A new report says nearly a quarter of rural pregnant women in the state rely on Medicaid; and MnDOT will host a meeting ahead of construction on a Hill City roundabout.

And: Hermantown officials won't share details on a massive proposed development; Minnesota North College launches five new programs; and the Superior National Forest seeks comment on agreement renewal.

Plus: a Carlton County jury convicted a former Cloquet Police Officer of financially exploiting a vulnerable adult; Crews continue to make progress fighting the wildfires in the Arrowhead; the state's MMIR office-sponsored search kits have been distributed to tribal communities; and MnDOT will host an informational open house on May 22, 2025.