Governor's construction budget includes proposed funding for Greater Mankato area

@ap.news Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz sits for an interview with The Associated Press at his office in the state Capitol on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, in St. Paul, Minn. Walz said his upcoming budget proposal will include tax rebates from the state’s enormous $17.6 billion budget surplus, but conceded that the payments will be smaller that he once hoped. (AP Photo/Trisha Ahmed)

Governor Tim Walz announced his $3.27 billion construction plan Thursday.

His proposal includes $47.6 million to fund a Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Regional Office and Lab in Mankato. It would be the third BCA crime lab in the state and would process evidence for all of southern Minnesota. Last spring at a roundtable in New Ulm, local police told to Walz about the inconveniences and long wait times to process evidence because of the absence of a crime lab closer to home.

Walz’s construction budget also includes a proposed $10 million for a new fieldhouse at Caswell Park in North Mankato, $37 million for the former state hospital campus in St. Peter, and nearly $8.5 million to replace the archaic Armstrong Hall at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

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Mankato Bureau of Criminal Apprehenion office