Bemidji Rotary Club

10/23/2026

Congratulations to Rotarian, Alice Thompson - Service Above Self!

10/21/2026

Last Night’s Paul Harris Dinner at the Korean Village at Concordia Language Villages was a memorable evening filled with meaningful connections, great conversations, a delicious Korean meal, and plenty of Rotary Spirit!

Inspirational presentations from District Governor Peter Nelson, Gary Johnson, and others reminded us why we’re proud to be Rotarians and the difference we can make together!

Thank you to everyone who attended and helped make the evening so special!

10/21/2026

It was an honor to have District 5580 Governor, Paul Nelson at our Rotary Meeting this week! Paul gave an inspirational presentation on reinvesting in our future. He focused on five strategic pillars of action that our club can build on: Youth, Membership, Rotary Foundation, Polio Eradication, and International Service. We appreciate Paul’s leadership and commitment!

10/14/2026

Bemidji Rotary welcomed TJ Melcher of MnDOT for an informative presentation on regional transportation updates, including Bemidji’s Highway 197 corridor improvements and upcoming roundabout construction at the Middle School and Hannah Avenue intersections.

Members also heard from Baron Norgren about Highway 2 safety improvements in McIntosh and learned about future highway projects planned for our region.

Thank you to TJ and Baron for keeping us informed!

10/06/2026

🦋 Where do the monarchs go? And how can we help protect them along the way?

Those were just a couple of the questions Bemidji Rotary explored during a fascinating presentation from Dr. Brian Hiller, Professor and Wildlife Specialist in Bemidji State University’s Biology Department.

Dr. Hiller shared more about BSU’s Monarch Project, where students are getting hands-on experience capturing, studying, tagging and releasing monarch butterflies.

The project is about more than simply counting butterflies. Researchers are working to better understand long-term population declines and how factors such as habitat loss, weather, disease, predators and pesticide use affect monarchs.

Using solar-powered tracking technology, researchers can follow tagged butterflies and see their migration patterns in real time. From Bemidji, monarchs can take about a month to reach the Mexican border! The data can help identify important stopover areas, places that need protection and where additional food sources should be planted.

It’s an incredible example of science, technology and conservation working together, and a great reminder of just how amazing the monarch migration really is. 🦋

10/05/2026

Congratulations to Gary! What a wonderful, well-deserved honor.

District 5580 is pleased to announce the of selection of Rotarian Gary Johnson to serve as District Governor for the Rotary year 2029-2030. Gary is a member of the Bemidji Rotary Club. Please join us in congratulating Gary and welcome him to the district leadership team!! Congrats, Gary!

10/05/2026

Several of our Bemidji Rotary members traveled to Brainerd for the Rotary District 5580 Conference, where they had a wonderful time learning, sharing ideas, and connecting with fellow Rotarians from across the district.

We are grateful for the opportunity to grow, learn, and bring ideas back to our club and community!

09/30/2026

We were excited to welcome David Rave and Jim Boell from the Bemidji Pickleball Club to Rotary to learn more about their plans for 12 new dedicated pickleball courts and a pavilion near the new YMCA.

The Pickleball Club has grown from just a handful of players to approximately 220 members! A new facility would create more opportunities for players of all ages, while opening the door for youth programs, family nights, community gatherings and more. ❤️

The project has a $600,000 fundraising goal and has already received generous support, but welcomes more!

Thank you, Dave and Jim, for sharing this exciting project with us! We’re looking forward to watching this vision take shape!

09/29/2026

🌹 99 DOZEN ROSES SOLD! 🌹

A HUGE thank-you to the amazing Sharon Frutel for selling an incredible 99 dozen roses during this year’s Rotary Rose Sale! ❤️

Sharon, we are so grateful for your dedication, hard work, and continued support of the Bemidji Rotary Club.

All proceeds from the Rotary Rose Sale support community projects, including the YMCA Inclusive Playground Project. Thank you to Sharon for helping our community bloom! 💙💛

09/28/2026

Big thank you to Rotary Members, Evonne, John, Gary, and Dana for volunteering at today’s Mobile Food Drop!

Mobile Food Drop is a collaboration with Bemidji Food Shelf, North Country Food Bank, and the United Way of the Bemidji Area.

We are proud to support our community!