Northwest Blog

Dave West served NMF for 23 years CHANGES IN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT Change is underway at the Northwest Minnesota Foundation (NMF) as Senior Program Officer of Business Finance, Dave West will retire June 30. West began working for NMF, then the Northwest Initiative Fund, in 1990. His experience in banking helped ease the way toward developing a strong business development program. As the senior officer for the Business Finance Program, West had an integral part in building a loan portfolio that began with three loans and today is at $20 million. “We’ve helped people achieve their dream of owning a business,” said West. “My work has been very rewarding – knowing that I was a little piece of the puzzle that helped create nearly 2,500 jobs in northwest Minnesota.” Agricultural related projects were the most fun to work on throughout the years according to West because agricultural processing is a benefit to business and labor. He also enjoyed the nuts and bolts projec...

               The Bemidji Area Parks and Trails Fund, a component fund of the Northwest Minnesota Foundation, recently began fundraising for a special project to help develop the Nymore Dog Park. And fundraising efforts are “fetching” the attention of dog lovers everywhere! “Bark for the Park” is an online dog photo contest to raise money for the future dog park located off of Miles Avenue in Bemidji. The two acre fenced in area with a double gated entry will be equipped with water, benches and pet waste bag dispensers. There are two weeks left to vote for your favorite pooch and you can download your dog’s picture at www.360photocontest.com/184 . Be sure to tell your family and friends to vote on your dog’s picture. The top 13 dogs will be featured in a 2014 dog calendar. The calendars can be pre-ordered at the annual 5K-9 walk/run on August 24. Calendars will also be sold at area businesses this fall. Donate...