About Bemidji State University

Bemidji State University (BSU) is a public academe in Bemidji, Minnesota. Founded as a preparatory institution for teachers in 1919, it provides later education to north-central Minnesota. It is share of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.

Bemidji (/bəˈmɪdʒiː/ bə-MIJ-ee) is a city and the county seat of Beltrami County, in northern Minnesota, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates Bemidji’s population as of 2019 at 15,434, making it the largest commercial middle between Grand Forks, North Dakota and Duluth.

As a central city for three Indian reservations, Bemidji is the site of many Native American services, including the Indian Health Service. Near Bemidji are the Red Lake Indian Reservation, White Earth Indian Reservation, and the Leech Lake Indian Reservation. Bemidji lies upon the southwest shore of Lake Bemidji, the northernmost lake feeding the Mississippi River; it is nicknamed “The First City upon the Mississippi”. Bemidji is moreover the self-proclaimed “curling capital” of the U.S. and the alleged birthplace of legendary Paul Bunyan.