Who is Bemidji’s new Mayor?

Mayor Dave Larson hopes his biggest accomplishment is getting more people involved

By Taylor Klinke

Word Count: 596

On November 2, 2010 Bemidji residents went to polling places around the city to vote for a new mayor. Coming out on top was Dave Larson – who has been living in Bemidji for the past four years.  As new mayor, he hopes one of his biggest accomplishments will be to get more people involved in the government.

Larson is a native of Kensington, Minn. where he grew up on a farm with his two sisters. He went to high school in the nearby town Morris and attended the University of Minnesota. “I moved to Bemidji for two compelling reasons,” said Larson, “I was offered a job I couldn’t refuse and I had the map upside down,” He said with a smile on his face.

Something that people might not know about Larson is that he has been a registered architect for the past 26 years. He is currently the senior architect at EAPC Architects Engineers – which is one of the top 200 fastest growing Architecture, Engineering, and Consulting firms in the United States – according to www.eapc.net -  The company has about 100 employees with offices in Bemidji, Grand Forks, Bismarck, Jamestown, Minot, and Norwich.

In his free time, Dave Larson enjoys spending time with family. He and his wife have three married daughters and eleven grandchildren that keep them busy. He also enjoys boating on their pontoon, spending time with friends, and getting involved in church activities.

Dave Larson was interested in becoming mayor after attending council meetings as an observer for more than three years. He felt that he had a really good feel for how other cities had handled things and felt he had a much broader perspective than the other mayoral candidates. “I’m a firm believer in something called common sense and logic, “ said Larson. “And that’s something that’s definitely needed in government.”

When asked what he hopes will be his biggest accomplishment as mayor, he responded, “Surviving two years – And I really want to get people involved in the government.” Larson believes that availability is critical. He makes himself available every month at various area restaurants to hear from Bemidji residents. “Someone asked me what I was going to talk about. I said, nothing but I’m going to listen.” 

Larson believes that the relationship between the city and the mayor should be on the same page. He has worked with Bemidji State University in the past – so he is already familiar with many people on campus. He said that the city has authorized a study called the Quality Neighborhood Initiative (QNI), which deals with issues such as off campus housing and how that does or doesn’t conform to the way the city rules and regulates. This involves issues with parking and on a very limited basis – behavior. QNI is still in the process of being formulated and finalized but it hopes to resolve many issues.

“Most of all I want to let students know that they’re welcome all over town,” said mayor Dave Larson. He encourages everyone to come to a council meeting to see how it works. The meetings are held the first Monday of each month at 7 P.M. “We need to hear at City Hall from the students,” said Larson, “What are your issues with the city?”

If Dave Larson could give advice to all BSU students, he would say, “Enjoy Bemidji, study hard, and graduate. Getting a degree will open up doors of opportunity.”

Mayor Larson at a City Council Meeting