I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.
Jan. 12, 1999
By Devlyn Brooks
The proposed, new Headwaters Science Center would be a signature facility that would attract visitors and be a cornerstone of revitalizing Bemidji's downtown railroad corridor, according to an architect involved.
HSC board members and the public saw an almost-completed version of the proposed building's schematic design at a forum held Tuesday at the center's current site.
But, if the board members' work pays dividends, that state-of-the-art science center soon will sit on the banks of the Mississippi River just south of the Union Station Square, and west of Pamida.
"We are in the schematic design phase," Bill Huntress, an architect with the Minneapolis firm of Meyer, Scherer and Rockcastle, said Tuesday to a handful of HSC board members. "We will soon wrap that up and get the building conceptually designed so we are able to go in front of the Legislature."
The building, which has been in the works since 1997, would resemble the letter "C" with a base attached to the upper, rear side. The open face of the letter would face southwest toward the Mississippi River, and the prongs would surround an 80-foot-in-diameter courtyard, which would be the "heart and soul" of the complex, according to Huntress.
The C-shaped design was chosen from a total of four schemes -- one linear and the others basically square versions of the C-shape -- that were presented to the Bemidji City Council in September.
Huntress, and architect Pete Sieger of the firm TSP One Inc. in Excelsior, Minn., said there were several reasons the C-shape was chosen.
First, geometrically, it fits the best within the existing infrastructure of that part of the city, and that it also accents what's most important to the science center: the Mississippi River.
"This geometry has very significant meanings," Huntress said. "The site has that 360-degree feel to it ... lakes on both sides, the city to the north and the river on the south."
Second, the building is now designed around that central courtyard, which will become the gateway to the river from the science center and vice versa.
Third, the circle has an important spiritual and cultural meaning to American Indian people, which is significant to many in northern Minnesota.
"It's kind of a unique site," Huntress said. "If there ever was a spot for a signature building in Bemidji, this is it. It's a bad analogy, but it would be like looking at the Sydney Opera House."
The building's main entrance would face west toward a parking lot to be fed mainly by Minnesota Avenue Northwest. In fact, the parking lot would be shared by the renovated James Hill railroad depot, which will house the Beltrami County Historical Society.
As one enters the building, to their left, would be a science equipment store and an area that would house the center's collection of animals. To the right, would be a cloak room. The lobby would feature a two-story exhibit space where dinosaurs or other large attractions could be exhibited, according to the plans.
Further to the left, which would be the upper prong of the "C," would be the center's 12,000-plus-foot gallery and associated storage and support space. To the right, farther along the bottom prong, are various classrooms and two auditoriums that can be made into one large room, seating about 200 people.
The space that looks like the base attached to the "C" would be used as mechanical and support space.
On the second floor, the upper prong would have a multi-use board room, cafeteria, kitchen and more mechanical space. To the south, the other prong would contain administrative offices and lead to an outdoor, telescope observation deck.
Overall, the building would be more than 52,000 square feet, many times larger than the current science center. The building, and all of its exhibits, would cost about $14.5 million, of which $7.868 million would need to come from the state. The other $6.25 million would be raised from private sources, most likely outside of the region, HSC Executive Director Laddie Elwell said.
"We know the money isn't here locally," she said Tuesday at the forum, and added that most of the private donations would come form national foundations.
The Headwaters Science Center opened almost six years ago in a former J.C. Penney store located at 413 Beltrami Ave. N.W., in Bemidji. Two reasons HSC officials are seeking a new building are that the current one is not handicap accessible, and it is in poor physical condition.
HSC officials will meet for the first time with the Legislature Feb. 2 when they meet with Rep. Jim Knoblach, R-St. Cloud, who is involved in forming the House's bonding priorities.
If the Legislature favors the project, Elwell said a capital campaign will begin sometime soon afterward.
"If the Legislature laughs us out of there," she added, "I don't think there is any need for a capital campaign."
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