 Last night we told you about a big change for Bemidji's premiere 4th of July celebration. Haiti Clotter joins us now and was able to talk with people on both sides of the surrounding the issue. Haiti? That's right, Josh. I spoke to a few businesses who had opposing views on what the carnival brings to downtown and while many questions remain, the Bemidji JC's are going back to the drawing board. It's a travesty that that there's a thought that maybe the water carnival will not happen this year. This has been a busy week for the Bemidji JC's. They just announced a water carnival is relocating once again after a handful of local downtown businesses voiced their concerns. Parking was the main reason. That was the biggest concern that we heard from almost every business that had an issue. They didn't know where their regulars would be parking. Nothing that that we came up with was quite enough to make them happy. According to water carnival chairman Nicole McKinnon, the JC's worked with the downtown alliance parking committee to offer solutions such as a shuttle to drop off patrons. The JC's want to also maintain a positive relationship with the local businesses. We have a lot more projects than just water carnival and we need their support for those as well. Bemidji Woollen Mills would have been near the water carnival and knows the boost it could bring. In 1995 when the carnival was on 4th street, it was the single largest sales week in the history of the Woollen Mills. As a business owner, I would love to have the JC water carnival directly in front of the Bemidji Woollen Mills because what business wouldn't want for a week's period of time, 30,000 people right in front of their store. Almost every year of the water carnival is represented here in this display case. However, one empty spot may remain if the water carnival doesn't happen this year. Rachel Swards of Katie Floral says she's thrilled the water carnival will no longer be held downtown. She says that type of event affects her business in more ways than one. We do deliveries every single day. That's right in the middle of our wedding season. I had major concerns about how we were gonna be able to load our product and get it out to our customers. I think the opportunity for a downtown location is possibly there but at some point it needs to be considered how it's affecting the businesses because they're a large part of our community as well. The JCs say there isn't much of a financial loss versus a loss of time. It takes about six months to plan the carnival. Right now we're just looking for any options we can find. If there is a way to have the carnival in Bemidji, the JCs will find it but right now we don't have any guarantees that it will be coming back. Not only time will tell if the Bemidji JCs will even host a water carnival and that's only if they can secure a new location. Josh? Thank you very much, Haiti. If the celebration does take place, the event would run from June 29th through July 4th. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.