Feb. 26—BEMIDJI — The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development will be hosting an event in Bemidji at 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 14, about resources available to help local entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Bemidji’s event will cover the northwest region of Minnesota and will be held at the LaunchPad offices in the Mayflower Building at 102 First Street West.

LaunchPad events are opportunities for entrepreneurs to meet one-on-one with local, regional and state economic development experts who serve small businesses, main streets and start-ups.

At the meetings, DEED will convene

Launch Minnesota partners,

Small Business Development Center consultants

and other local partners that provide services to entrepreneurs in their region of the state.

“Supporting the vital contributions small businesses provide for state and local economies is a core priority at DEED,” said DEED Commissioner Matt Verilek. “We are thrilled to offer this new event series showcasing regional experts and resources that are eager to help existing and new small businesses to launch, grow and thrive.”

DEED noted the importance of small businesses in Minnesota, sharing that they make up 99.4% of businesses and employ around 75% of the state’s workers.

“We developed this event series to help make it easier for small businesses throughout Minnesota to learn how our state serves them and to showcase local, regional and statewide resources available to support businesses,” said Neela Mollgaard, the innovation director for DEED’s Office of Small Business.

The event is free and open to the public. To register, visit

Small Business Resource Connection Registration.