Science Center site in doubt

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

Aug. 20, 1996

By Devlyn Brooks

Staff Writer

Leaders of the Headwaters Science Center encountered a setback in their pursuit of a new facility at Monday's Bemidji City Council meeting. Mayor Doug Peterson informed them the city-owned land, formerly known as the "old Candy Company" site, cannot be guaranteed as a building site.

Last winter, the Science Center had been tentatively promised the land east of the Mississippi River, between Paul Bunyan Drive and Midway Drive, for a new facility. However, since then, Peterson said, two issues have arisen which might make the site unsuitable.

First, the formal abandonment of the former Soo Line corridor, running from Bemidji to Gully, could change the eastern entrance to Bemidji, Peterson said. It was suggested at an earlier council meeting that the city could purchase the piece stretching from southeast Paul Bunyan Drive, near Lake Bemidji, to Paul Bunyan Drive N.W. The Public Works Committee has suggested it could be used as a westside traffic collector to reduce the traffic load on Bemidji Avenue.

The second issue that could halt construction on the site is the Minnesota Department of Transportation asking the City Council to reconsider the issue of realigning Midway Drive. Peterson said the council decided not to discuss the issue again, but has asked MnDOT to share its recommendations with the city.

Peterson said he believes MnDOT will want to construct a left-turn lane, which would widen the road significantly. He said there could be half as much land left in a couple of years as there is now.

"We (the council) continue to support you," Peterson said to the Science Center leaders, "but I don't know if the council is ready to commit that piece of land for anything. We're a little nervous about what is going to happen."

Another issue of concern, according to Councilor John O'Boyle, is findings of past archeological surveys of the site. He said a survey demonstrated the piece of land was well used for hundreds of years, and a facility maybe could not be built there because of the land's historical significance.

The council took no action on the Science Center's request to proceed with "requisite initial planning" for building a new facility on the site. However, Peterson urged center director Laddie Elwell to continue with fundraising efforts for construction of a new building, and in the meanwhile, the city might learn more about what will happen with the property in the future.

"We would very much like to tied to the downtown because there are a lot of street kids that spend a lot of time in the center," Elwell said. "In your future deliberations will you consider us near the river?"

In other action Monday night, the council, citing budgetary concerns, denied a request from the Bemidji Youth Hockey Association in its request for $250,000 in city funds for BYHA's hockey facility proposal.