 A recent economic impact study on the Minnesota State System revealed that Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College have combined for more than $300 million for Minnesota. Reporter Cheryl Moore breaks down the numbers and tells us what went into the study. When you're thinking about the economic impact and you think about the dollars that are invested into higher education, into Minnesota State, for every one dollar that's invested, the return is $12. Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College impact the region in numerous ways, but thanks to Minnesota State, we can now equate that impact to a number, $321 million plus 2,700 jobs. We meet as presidents on a regular basis, on a monthly basis, and one of the things that we talked about was making sure that we were telling the story about Minnesota State and what the impact of all of the college's universities across the entire system was. The $321 million combined impact is broken down by three factors, direct effect, indirect effect, and induced effect. When you think about the partnerships BSU and NTC has with the local businesses surrounding tribal colleges and Bemidji High School, the impact is crystal clear. We have students who are continually volunteering. They might be out raking leaves, they might be out helping with a project in town, so there are plenty of opportunities for students to give back and contribute to the community. The goal of the whole Minnesota State study was to provide a full, incredible assessment of the total economic and employment impact. That way contributors know exactly how their investment helps Minnesota. I think that's a really important point when you're speaking to legislators and lawmakers to really say, here's what we're contributing and now how might that impact what you feel you can invest in us. Reporting of Bemidji, Shawmour, Lakeland News. The last economic impact study was done in 2013. It's possible another study could be done in three to five years. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.