 Well, if you ever wanted to get away from it all without leaving town, there may be an option for you. A new business in downtown Bemidji is offering a virtual escape from reality. As Mal Meyer reports, FreudTech is one of the many tech companies to call Bemidji home. It's about four o'clock and business is booming. FreudTech first opened its doors at the end of November. Since then, the virtual reality arcade has found its footing, appealing to high school and college students, gamers and people stopping in to check it out. Dylan Peterson was driving by when he saw the arcade and decided to drop in. It's a lot of fun. You really feel like you're into the games versus where you're just looking at a screen. Everything around you is always changing and you can always look at something different. Sean Freud says the space is about three and a half years in the making. Paul Bunyan had their gaming tournament with League of Legends last summer, and so I thought, you know what, I'll take a shot at it and see if it'll work. And so far it has. Freud saw how successful other tech companies like Paul Bunyan Communications, TJ Studio and Asgard Computers were in the area. Freud says he knows if he can make it in Bemidji, he can make it anywhere. I thought it would be really cool to have something cutting edge, which virtual reality arcades are very cutting edge, here in Bemidji, first city on the Mississippi, where normally we wouldn't probably see something like this for another five to ten years. But Freud isn't the only one bringing innovative technology to the area. So what is it about Bemidji that makes it a tech hub? Every Wednesday morning, business owners from a variety of fields meet at the launchpad. So they can have an opportunity to network with other entrepreneurs in addition to getting feedback, using it as a resource and finding mentors with whom they can work as they build their businesses. John Repco is a new Bemidji transplant and brought his software company to the community. He says the city is a natural hub with the community that comes together to support one another. And we're smart with Bemidji state and the people that come do it. We have a really magical environment for doing things here. In Bemidji, I'm Al Meyer, Lakeland News. Many Minnesota companies are frequently recognized for their success. 92 private companies around the state were recognized on Inc. magazine's annual list of America's 5,000 fastest growing companies. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.