 The Minnesota Safety Council made a stop in Bemidji for their 13th annual Northern Minnesota Safety Conference. The conference provided both employers and employees a chance to interact and learn from a variety of safety topics ranging from workplace violence to distracted driving. More than 125 people attended this year's conference which has doubled in attendance since last year. For many the conference is a chance to learn new safety measures and to be reminded of the basics. First of all we want people to get up to date. We want them to get re-energized and get a few new ideas about how to bring safety back. And then the last piece is to start thinking about other pieces of safety that do affect them at home and on the job that they might not have thought about before. The conference also focused on the growing opioid epidemic and its impact on businesses and society. 2018 marks the 90th anniversary of the Minnesota Safety Council. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland news please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.