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BEMIDJI — A recommendation to distribute opioid settlement funds to five local organizations was approved by the Beltrami County Commissioners on Tuesday.

The opioid settlement is state funding that is distributed around the state to aid local organizations in combating the opioid epidemic through reimbursements.

Local organizations applied by showcasing projects that could utilize the funding, along with a dollar request. Then, the comprised of 17 different community members, reviewed the applications before drafting a recommendation that was presented by Public Health Director Amy Bowles.

Beltrami County applicants will receive a total of $70,050. Face it Together will receive $10,000, the Bemidji Fire Department will receive $4,050, Stellher Human Services will receive $21,000, the Nameless Coalition for the Homeless will receive $30,000 — the maximum — and the State of Minnesota Drug Court will receive $5,000.

The commissioners unanimously approved the recommendation as presented on Tuesday after initially delaying action.

The recommendation was first presented during a May 20 county board meeting. District 5 Commissioner John Carlson removed the recommendation from the consent agenda to cast a separate vote.

District 2 Commissioner Joe Gould motioned to approve it and District 4 Commissioner Tim Sumner seconded. Carlson followed with a motion to table, which sparked confusion. County Attorney David Hanson clarified that a motion to table takes precedence over a motion to approve, leading to the 3-2 vote to table.

District 1 Commissioner Craig Gaasvig, District 3 Commissioner Scott Winger and Carlson voted in favor of tabling the motion. Gould and Sumner opposed the motion.

Community leaders who rely on the opioid settlement fund expressed concern over this decision.

Columns

Justin Sherwood Column: Speaking up for those who can't

Any further delay by the county in approving the funds could have serious implications for our ability to respond effectively to opioid-related emergencies.

May 28

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By  Justin Sherwood, Bemidji Fire Chief

Isabella Schaefer, owner of the Recovery Space LLC, will not benefit from this year's settlement. However, she spoke during public comment, pleading with the board not to delay action any longer.

"My business has an operating budget of $0," Schaefer began. "As a person with lived experience, I can appreciate the board wanting to take as much due diligence in the dispersion of our funding. However, people are dying. Any delay in the release of funds prevents our organizations from continuing to provide or begin providing new and emergent services."

Carlson was the first commissioner to speak about the recommendation.

"I just would like to thank the public for their patience for the two week time period that I specifically asked for," Carlson said, "to be able to check the process to make sure that I was satisfied that we were following the Memorandum of Understanding with the state, that all the allocations were done properly so we didn't get any trouble later on."

Carlson spoke in favor of the recommendation, citing positive communication with the Public Health Department and community leaders who rely on the funding.

"I really want to thank Amy Bowles ... for taking the time to go over that with me," Carlson said. "I also want to thank (Face it Together Executive Director) Chris Earl. I had expressed to Chris that I was a little dismayed that maybe we didn't fund 100% of his project, if maybe somebody else got 100%. At the end of the day, Chris said he's grateful to get something.

"I did find that there's some synergy between Face it Together and the Nameless Coalition for the Homeless and The New Day Center, so that was very, very exciting. Whatever grants are going to the Nameless Coalition could maybe, in some way, still help Face it Together."

Gaasvig asked why some organizations that applied a year ago did not apply this year. Bowles explained that organizations have 18 months to spend the funds, meaning some do not need another round of funding yet. She also stated that no organization expressed any issue with the application process.

Carlson motioned to approve the recommendation. Gould seconded and the board unanimously approved the motion.

At a later date, Beltrami County will distribute another round of funding meant to combat the opioid epidemic.

The board also approved a Beltrami County Housing Trust Fund Cabinet recommendation for two housing development projects.

North Star Neighbors, a community land trust, is a Northwest Minnesota Foundation program designed to develop more affordable housing units in the area. submitted both of the approved requests.

The first asked for $300,000 to construct two affordable, single-family homes, beginning this summer. The second request asked for $220,000 to construct eight affordable, single-family homes, starting this year and concluding in 2027.

The second request is less than the first because funding was secured. The Cabinet will fund the remainder of the projects.

The recommendations were approved in a 4-1 vote — Carlson only supported the second request, citing cost concerns, and voted against the motion.

"I'm in favor of the proposal for the eight units," Carlson began, "but I can't be in favor of spending $300,000 on two houses. It just doesn't seem right to me to spend $300,000 on two houses when I think that there's an opportunity for larger developments that we could we could leverage our money (toward). I don't know that the immediacy of having two more houses in one year is going to make that much difference."

Winger later chimed in to say that housing projects are too important to pass up, especially if they are affordable.

And Sumner discussed the importance of supporting commissions that make such recommendations.

"We have a housing need in our community," Sumner said. "I don't withhold funds if there's already a plan in place.

"To me, it seems like if we are going to continue to question folks in these committees that do their work on our behalf, then maybe we should just dissolve all the committees and do all the work that they're doing. I can guarantee you that a lot of these folks who sit on these committees are more of an expert and knowledgeable about these types of things than us. I think that's why it's important that we support the people who do the work and bring their decisions and recommendations to us."

The board also passed revisions to which will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026. The revision will include minor changes to definitions, formatting and terminology.

The board then approved a new mailbox support policy. This policy will follow current practices by the county, including the replacement of private mailboxes that are damaged by county snow plows and the furnishing and installation of swing-away mailbox supports.

The board also approved a project that will replace all non-conforming mailbox supports along county roads. The project is fully funded by a grant, and the county will look for bids in 2026. Public Works Director Bruce Hasbargen believes this project will be complete by September 2026.

The newsletter committee submitted a newsletter policy to officially guide what can be published within the county newsletter, which is mailed to residents and published on the The new policy was approved by the board during the meeting.

The commissioners will next meet at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 17, in the County Board Room, preceded by a work session at 3 p.m. All meetings can be viewed on the county's