 Well, the city of Bemidji is strong, and the future is bright. That's the message Mayor Rita Albright wanted to send out tonight with the annual state of the city address. Reporter Cheryl Moore has a recap. The city of Bemidji is doing well, according to Mayor Rita Albright. The city is seeing tremendous growth, which can mean good things for the area. City Council and staff are working together to meet the challenges of our growing community. And our population is currently around 16,000. We are growing at more than 5% annually. Of course with new growth comes new challenges. The Mayor mentioned tonight that turnover is a problem in some area jobs, and that we also need to fill a few extra positions, along with solve a few infrastructure issues. There are a lot of things that we need to consider when meeting the challenges of tremendous growth. We have well contamination and a new well, a wastewater treatment facility I mentioned. Like engagement, we need to do more communication engagement with our community. The Mayor also reported tonight that the city's crime rate has fallen, and that we're also solving crimes at a rate of 72%, which is higher than average. Although drug and alcohol related crimes still remain an issue. During the state of the city, the Mayor also highlighted our three biggest community assets. Three community assets that add to the success of Bemidji and are really indicative of our growth. Our new liquor store, the Carnegie Library renovation in the Sanford Center. The new liquor store provides additional funds for various projects, while the Carnegie Library has been recognized as a historic landmark, and has received a few grants. While the Mayor says the Sanford Center adds $19 million to the economy, she also acknowledged property owners are footing some of the bill for operations and upkeep of the Sanford Center. She plans to address that with a new committee and public input. We put together a committee of community members to flesh out the idea of expanding the pie through attacks on food, beverage and lodging, or some combination of those. We want citizen participation and this discussion, and we'll have opportunities for you to learn more about our ideas and for an equitable funding strategy, and I'm counting on everyone's input for that process. Reporting from Bemidji, Shaw Moore, Lakeland News. The Mayor ended the address by highlighting some potential future projects, including the new Veterans Home, a renovated federal building and a new heart center at Sanford Health. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.