 For thirteen years, Bemidjians have dressed in their best red and black plaid and made their way down to the state capitol to lobby for projects that are important to the Bemidji area. People boarded the charter bus shortly before 6 am at Paul Bunyan Park. The group of 40 spent the day with legislators and even had the opportunity to meet with Governor Deaton's staff where they spoke about key areas of interest on behalf of the Bemidji community. Over the years, Bemidji Day at the capitol has proved to be extremely valuable to the city of Bemidji. We're four hours away from the cities. We don't always get meetings, so the chamber puts on this event to get our community members a chance to advocate what they're passionate about. So they can meet with legislators, they can meet with senators, they can get their point across to them without sending a letter, they can actually meet face to face. Key areas of focus included the Bemidji Veterans Home Proposal, the Highway 371 Expressway Expansion, and Bemidji State University's Hague Sauer Hall Project. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.