Bemidji has been chosen to be part of a national sustainable cities program, one of 32 cities in the country selected and the only one in Minnesota.

City officials will get technical help in achieving sustainable planning goals but won’t get any extra funding, reports the Bemidji Pioneer.

The Sustainable Communities Building Blocks program is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency, which had 354 community applications for the program.

Bemidji will have a day-long training session in the next few months, with information on using “smart growth to produce fiscal and economic health.”