Bemidji athletes head to Special Olympics USA Games in Twin Cities

Bemidji’s Special Olympics network put the spotlight on the people behind the athletes Thursday, from longtime coach Jodi Sandmeyer to family members and Unified partners who have helped build the path to the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games. Katie Fellows and Unified Partner Lisa Kiewatt were sent off at Lucky Dogs in downtown Bemidji before the celebration moved to the Paul and Babe statues, a local turn that showed how deeply the trip was rooted in Beltrami County.

The Games themselves will be a major Minnesota event, running June 20-26 across the Twin Cities. Organizers say the meet will bring together roughly 3,000 to 4,000 athletes, 1,500 coaches, 10,000 volunteers and about 75,000 fans from all 50 states. The University of Minnesota is the official host venue, with competition sites including the National Sports Center in Blaine and special-event programming at Allianz Field in Saint Paul.

For Bemidji, the trip carries more than a medal chase. Kiewatt is listed as a 38-year-old Unified Partner from Bemidji in bowling at the Minnesota 2026 USA Games, a detail that underscores the role Unified Sports plays in the local program. Special Olympics Minnesota says Unified Sports pairs athletes with and without disabilities on the same team, while its year-round programming includes sports training, free health screenings and leadership opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities.

Sandmeyer and her daughter Kristen have been part of that system for years, and Jodi Sandmeyer said she has spent 43 years coaching and volunteering in Special Olympics. Their work reflects the kind of steady, behind-the-scenes commitment that makes trips like this possible, not just for the athletes headed to Minneapolis and Blaine, but for the next wave of competitors coming up through Bemidji.

That local pipeline is visible in Area 2, where official listings include Bemidji Community and Bemidji High School teams. It is also visible in the continuing search for volunteers in the Bemidji area, a reminder that the movement depends on more than a few summer days on a national stage. For Beltrami County, the USA Games are a showcase, but they are also proof that inclusion here is built year-round, one practice, one volunteer shift and one athlete at a time.