Groundbreaking Held Sunday for New Military History Museum

(KNSI) – Ground was broken Sunday for the first of its kind in the nation Minnesota Military and Veterans Museum at Camp Ripley.

The facility will be 40,000 square feet and cost $32 million when it opens in 2026.

Former four-star commander at U.S. Central Command delivered the keynote address at the ceremony. Retired Army General Joseph Votel said he knows of “no other state [that] has committed both private and public funds to build an institution of the kind envisioned here. And when I say ‘world-class,’ I don’t just mean a gleaming building with well-appointed display cases. I mean world-class stores of service, sacrifice, and love of country, all told well.”

Minnesota Military and Veterans Museum

In a press release, officials say the venue will honor all service branches. Executive Director of the Minnesota Military & Veterans Museum Randal Dietrich says, “It will also truly represent a community effort, encompassing fiscal support from federal, state, community and private funding sources.”

A recently restored World War II-era bulldozer razed a small portion of the site, and Civil War reenactors were also on hand for the event. Modern events will be in the spotlight at the opening, including living history displays about the War on Terror that began post-9/11 and a 50th-anniversary exhibit marking the end of the Vietnam War.