By Avid Fischer
Published 10:00 am on April 1, 2025
Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College are setting sail on a new era of aquatic biology.
A new luxury cruise ship docked outside BSU’s Sattgast Hall is ready to bring students and alumni up and down the Mississippi River for a new 4,000-level course called “Mississippi Limnology.” The giant vessel, known as the “Bemidji Belle,” was donated by a Bemidji State alumna and will make its maiden voyage in the fall of 2025.
“This exciting initiative brings a forward-thinking opportunity to our students and alumni,” said President John L. Hoffman, who also volunteered to serve as captain aboard the Belle. “By leveraging our unique geographic footprint at the northernmost point of the Mississippi River, BSU and NTC have become the first university and the first college to offer an accredited course within the booming cruise ship industry.”
The state-of-the-art Bemidji Belle comes equipped with 507 staterooms and capacity for up to 818 guests. Its 14 total decks span 1,112 feet long and 185 feet wide. The boat features two multi-level dining rooms, specialty restaurants, three swimming pools, a theater, a fitness center, Linden Hall and more.
Academically, the ship carries six science labs, including specialized labs for marine biology, wetlands ecology and limnology. Enrolled students will have the ability to Zoom into their other courses virtually in special study rooms. Student-athletes can also participate in their sports through virtual reality while aboard the Belle.
In addition to students, Bemidji State and Northwest Tech alumni are invited to come aboard, as well. All graduates from both institutions can enroll in the course free of charge so long that they wear their cap and gown from their Commencement ceremony throughout the voyage.
Passengers will have a vast array of wildlife to study. On top of more than 200 species of fish throughout the river, American alligators, stingrays and various octopus species will be abundant in southern climates. Meanwhile, further north, walleye, bald eagles and snow sharks are rather frequent and will likely be spotted near BSU’s campus.
Limnology, the study of inland aquatic ecosystems, will take a prominent leap forward on the Bemidji State landscape, according to Marina Harbor, a junior majoring in aquatic biology who will also serve as a resident advisor on the Belle.
“I grew up on pirate ships, but this will be the best chance I’ve ever had to become one with aquatic nature,” said Harbor, whose father is known as “Greenbeard” in the Great Lakes region and graduated summa cum laude from BSU in 1996 with a degree in piracy administration. “I’m thankful that Bemidji State alums invest in such incredible research opportunities for students like me.”
The Mississippi Limnology course will last 32 days — using BSU’s long-standing and successful EuroSpring program as its model — and will make two round-trip voyages from the humble headwaters to the mighty gulf per semester. Students may register once per academic year. Late registrants will be added to a waiting list, with slots being awarded to the best singers first. President Hoffman will serve on a celebrity judges panel alongside Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson to rank the waitlisted students.
In the event of overbooking, a select number of guests will be drafted at random to compete in an upcoming season of “Survivor” in order to stay aboard, with eliminated contestants forced to peacefully disembark or walk the plank (their choice) and find their own safe passage home.
“We expect the rooms to fill up fast, so we encourage students and alumni to apply sooner than later,” Hoffman said. “Stay up late, cut class, hack into the mainframe, do whatever you have to do in order to get yourself on this boat.”
Registration opens tomorrow, the day after April Fools’ Day.
How the Belle came to be
The “Bemidji Belle” name harkens a bygone era of Bemidji history. The original Bemidji Belle launched as an extravagant party boat in 1953 and navigated the Lake Bemidji waters for two decades. Another iteration of the Bemidji Belle popped up in 1987 but lasted only two years. The original 66-foot stern-wheeler remains perhaps the most famous tourist boat in the town’s history.
Bemidji State’s new adaptation of the Belle — which will be unveiled publicly this summer — was constructed on Lake Bemidji throughout the winter, with nocturnal construction crews working in secret at night and then hiding the ship underneath the frozen lake during the day. (You didn’t hear it from us, but you can also stay up past your bedtime to witness the late-night construction if you want a sneak peek.)
The cruise ship will be the first in a series of Bemidji State vessels coming out between now and 2028. The next boat will debut in 2027 for unsupervised children, while a third cruise ship will open in 2028 exclusively to all left-handed members of the public.
All boats will also come fully equipped with real-life beavers, meaning the Bemidji Belle will become the first cruise ship in the world to offer guests an immersive colony experience.
Funding for the cruise ship was made possible through a generous donation by 2001 Bemidji State alumna April F. Ools and her reputable nonprofit, the Gotcha Foundation.
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