Beltrami County Seeks Public Input to Update Hazard Mitigation Plan

Beltrami County Office of Emergency Management launched a public outreach phase to update the county’s Hazard Mitigation Plan, inviting residents, business owners, schools, townships and other stakeholders to submit feedback about local hazards, vulnerabilities and mitigation ideas. "Beltrami County residents, community leaders, business owners, area agencies and organizations now have an opportunity to share how severe weather events impact their property and lives," the county wrote in a press release dated February 20, 2026.

The HMP update will assess a list of natural threats named in the release, flooding, tornadoes, windstorms, winter storms, extreme temperatures, wildfire and drought, and will work to "identify local vulnerabilities and ways to minimize damage from future events." Beltrami County Emergency Management is working with U-Spatial at the University of Minnesota Duluth on the update, the release says, a partnership described as part of the county’s planning process.

County officials asked a broad range of stakeholders to weigh in, specifically naming Beltrami County residents, community leaders, business owners, area agencies and organizations, schools, townships and residents of cities and townships. The press release lists three prompts for comment: "What are the natural hazards you feel pose the greatest risk to your community?"; "Are there specific populations or assets in your community that you feel are more vulnerable to future storm events?"; and "What concerns do you have, and what sorts of actions do you feel would help to reduce damages of future hazard events in your community or the county as a whole?"

To provide feedback, the county instructs people to contact Beltrami County Emergency Management or "submit your comments via the online survey." The Emergency Management Facebook post that duplicated the press release included an additional call to action: "Visit the Beltrami County website (link in comments) or scan the QR code to provide your input." That Facebook post shows 21 reactions, 3 comments and 15 shares and was published by the Beltrami County Emergency Management page; the post capture shows a "23h" timestamp on the platform.

The press materials do not include some details residents and organizations commonly expect: no deadline or closing date for public comments appears in the press release or Facebook post, and no direct survey URL, phone number, email address or named staff contact is provided in the captured materials. The release also does not cite a timeline for completion of the HMP update, funding sources, or whether there will be public meetings or a public draft. The original short summary provided to this reporter read verbatim: "What happened: Beltrami County officials launched a public outreach phase for an update of the county’s Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP), inviting residents, business owners, schools, townships and other stakeholders to submit feedback about local hazards, vulnerabilities and mitigation ideas. The count"

County officials framed the outreach as both community opportunity and formal requirement, writing that "As part of the planning process, gathering input from the public is an important and required step." Officials say the input will help shape assessments and mitigation options as Beltrami County and U-Spatial move forward with the HMP update.