Minnesota has five state veterans’ homes housing 850 residents, located in Silver Bay, Fergus Falls, Luverne, Hastings and Minneapolis. In the last legislative session, $32 million was set aside to meet the state’s required portion of a building request for three additional 72-bed veterans’ homes in Montevideo, Preston and Bemidji. The Veterans Administration (VA) would be responsible for the remaining two-thirds of the construction costs.
The VA has strict prioritization criteria that must be met before federal funding is provided. The requested homes would be at the bottom of the priority list, and it is very doubtful that they would be approved for VA funding before the $32 million in state bond authorization expires. Continue reading “Providing care for veterans is essential. How and where are critical questions.”