 The Minnesota State Lottery was in Bemidji today and it wasn't to present a big check to some lucky winner. Instead they were in town to host a town hall-styled meeting where retailers and other interested parties could discuss ways they could work together. Bemidji was the last stop out of five town hall meetings that have been held around the state. For lottery officials these events are extremely beneficial for both lottery and its vendors. People have great ideas. I mean you know part of this is you know when people are on the front lines working with our customers I mean they see things they hear things that we wouldn't hear necessarily as we're sitting in Roseville you know for instance so so it's really important that we that we hear and they yeah they have they have some really good ideas. The Minnesota State Lottery has had record-breaking sales over the past two years. 40% of lottery sales go towards the state environmental projects with the remaining going to the state's general fund. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland news please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.