(KNSI) – The Stearns County Veterans Service Office has plans to expand access to resources for the county’s growing veteran population, which now ranks as the seventh-largest in Minnesota.
With more than 9,200 veterans calling Stearns County home, officials have been ramping up efforts to connect them with federal, state, and local benefits earned through military service. Last year alone, the office recorded over 11,000 client interactions and filed more than 2,200 claims on behalf of veterans and their families.
Those efforts helped secure $2.4 million in retroactive benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, $290,000 in State Soldiers Assistance Program grants, the highest total in Minnesota, and a combined $75.5 million in VA compensation, pension, and survivor benefits in 2024.
While the VSOs continue to help more vets, the office has identified a troubling trend in western Stearns County, where veteran interactions dropped 7.4% between 2019 and 2024. Sauk Centre saw an especially sharp decline, 51% following the closure of a local veterans office.
To address the issue, the county is planning to add a satellite office in Melrose in 2026 and to launch monthly outreach visits to Belgrade or Brooten as part of a pilot program.
The demographics of Stearns County’s veteran population are shifting. Nearly half of local veterans are age 65 or older, while younger veterans from the Gulf War and post-9/11 eras now represent the largest segment.
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