Bemidji Senior Center offers driver safety class, Medicare 101 session

Older drivers in Bemidji will have a chance to sharpen their driving skills and get Medicare questions answered in the same building next week, with one session carrying a $15 fee and the other free.

The Bemidji Senior Center will host a driver safety class at 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 15, at 216 Third St. NW. Retired Minnesota State Trooper Mike Flatley will lead the class, which is aimed at drivers age 55 and older. The center says class materials must be mailed, so early registration is recommended.

At the same time and place, Joan Miller will present a free Medicare 101 session that is open to the public. The pairing gives Beltrami County residents one afternoon to handle two practical concerns that often come up at the same stage of life: staying safe behind the wheel and making sense of health coverage.

The driver safety program is more than a refresher course. The senior center says it works in coordination with the Minnesota Highway Safety Research Center to teach defensive-driving skills for changing streets, and it says many participants can receive a direct discount on their car insurance. Minnesota Department of Public Safety guidance says accident-prevention courses for people 55 and older are approved for a premium reduction on private-passenger vehicle insurance. AARP also says its Smart Driver course is designed for drivers 50 and over and may qualify participants for an auto insurance discount.

That financial side matters as much as the safety lesson. A course that can help a driver read traffic more carefully, update habits and possibly lower insurance costs can pay off long after the class ends.

The Medicare session is aimed at a different but equally common source of confusion. Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people age 65 or older and younger people with disabilities. Its basic enrollment window, called the Initial Enrollment Period, starts three months before a person turns 65 and ends three months after the birth month. The 2026 Medicare & You handbook also says out-of-pocket Part D drug costs are capped at $2,100 in 2026 for people with Medicare drug coverage.

The senior center has become a broader hub for older adults in Beltrami County, with weekly technology help and other regular programming. For families trying to help a parent or grandparent stay independent, this kind of local session can answer questions that affect daily life, monthly bills and peace of mind, all in one stop.