Bemidji mayor addresses ICE raid, new YMCA and disaster award
Prince said Bemidji officials got very short notice before the ICE operation, as he also discussed the new YMCA and a disaster leadership award.
City officials had very short notice before Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained workers from at least one Bemidji construction site on June 11, Mayor Jorge Prince said during a June 19 ChatAbout episode. Prince also said the Bemidji Police Department did not participate in the operation, which drew protests from community members and left local leaders trying to sort out what happened as it unfolded.
The enforcement action hit at least one active job site identified as Vista North, and local reporting said the number of detainees was not confirmed. The incident appeared to extend beyond a single location, with reports of traffic stops and activity near apartment complexes, turning a federal operation into a citywide public-safety and public-trust issue. Prince’s comments on the podcast put that pressure in sharp focus: Bemidji officials were not steering the operation and had little warning before it landed in the middle of the community.
The same episode also touched on one of Bemidji’s biggest development projects, the planned YMCA in the rail corridor. Greater Bemidji says the wellness center is tied to downtown redevelopment and the cleanup of a blighted site with long-standing industrial contamination. The organization has set a $25 million fundraising goal, and says cleanup and site preparation were underway in spring 2026, with groundbreaking and construction targeted for summer 2026 if fundraising is completed.
The proposed building has been described as roughly 60,000 square feet and is expected to include an indoor track, aquatics center, indoor playground, fitness areas, classrooms and drop-in childcare. Greater Bemidji says the broader rail-corridor effort could bring more than $65 million in development, and one project update estimated $300,000 to $350,000 in new property taxes if an additional mixed-use development comes through. The project is being pitched as a downtown investment with both environmental and economic stakes for Bemidji and Beltrami County.
Prince’s remarks also followed recognition for his response to last summer’s storm recovery. He accepted the Tommy Longo Disaster Leadership Award from LeadersLink at the June 15 Bemidji City Council meeting. LeadersLink says the award honors elected officials whose leadership helped communities recover from disaster, and MPR News reported that the June 21, 2025 derecho caused nearly $10 million in damage to city infrastructure. That backdrop gives the award added weight: Bemidji is still balancing disaster recovery, downtown investment and the demands of a fast-changing public-safety climate.
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