 The smell of good old fashioned cookout was in the air at Lake Bemidji's Paul-Bengie Park. Many people turned out for the fundraising kickoff for Bemidji's Veterans Home. The Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce hosted the event and served Stitsworth Brotts with all proceeds benefitting the future Veterans Home. With a tight timeline in place, all local and state contributions will be matched by the federal government by two dollars for every dollar raised. The next step is to accumulate the matching funds into the federal application. Currently, there is a process going through what's called the State Designer Selection Board in Minneapolis, St. Paul. They interview architects, engineers that will design the facility, and they in turn help us put this whole federal package together that we send to Washington, D.C. for final approval. Fundraising efforts will continue through the end of the year for more information you can contact the Beltrami County Veterans Affairs Office. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.