Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs

Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs
Department overview
Formed1943 (1943)
Preceding agencies
  • Soldiers Welfare Bureau
  • Minnesota Veterans Home agency
JurisdictionMinnesota
Headquarters20 West 12th Street, Saint Paul, Minnesota
44°56′56″N 93°06′10″W / 44.9489°N 93.1029°W / 44.9489; -93.1029
Employees~1,500
Annual budget$365 million (FY 2026–27 biennium)
Department executive
  • Brad Lindsay, Commissioner
Parent departmentGovernment of Minnesota
Websitemn.gov/mdva/

The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) is a cabinet-level state agency that serves current and former members of the United States Armed Forces residing in Minnesota. Established by the Minnesota Legislature in 1943, the department operates eight veterans homes, four state veterans cemeteries, and benefit, education, and outreach programs for the state's approximately 300,000 veterans.[1][2]

The MDVA is headed by a commissioner appointed by the governor of Minnesota, who must be a Minnesota resident, U.S. citizen, and armed forces veteran under Minnesota Statutes Chapter 196.[3] The current commissioner is Brad Lindsay, appointed by Governor Tim Walz in December 2023.[4]

The agency grew out of the Minnesota Soldiers' Home, established in 1887 for Civil War veterans, and the Soldiers Welfare Bureau, created in 1925. The Legislature merged these functions in 1943. The veterans homes were briefly governed by an independent board (1988–2007) before being returned to MDVA control.[5] Three new veterans homes opened in early 2024, bringing the total to eight, and the department's homelessness programs have received the Abraham Lincoln Pillars of Excellence Award from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.[6]

History

Origins

In 1887, the Minnesota Legislature established the Minnesota Soldiers' Home in Minneapolis to provide health care and housing to Civil War veterans. The home opened in November 1887 and admitted its first residents the following year; its original campus, designed in part by landscape architect Horace W.S. Cleveland, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Minnesota Soldiers' Home Historic District.[7][8] A separate state agency, the Soldiers Welfare Bureau, was created in 1925 to administer special benefits for soldiers.[5]

In 1943, the Legislature merged the Soldiers Welfare Bureau with existing veterans service functions to create the Department of Veterans Affairs under 1943 Minn. Laws Chapter 420, codified as Minnesota Statutes Chapter 196. William Revier served as the first commissioner beginning in July 1943.[5][3]

Expansion and reorganization

The Minneapolis Veterans Home transitioned from military-style governance under a commandant to a professional administrative model in 1971.[9] In 1978, the former state hospital in Hastings was converted into a 200-bed domiciliary residence for veterans.[10]

In 1988, the Legislature separated the veterans homes from the MDVA, establishing a nine-member Veterans Homes Board of Directors appointed by the governor to oversee the facilities as health care institutions.[5] During the 1990s, three additional homes opened: Silver Bay (1991), Luverne (1994), and Fergus Falls (1998).[9]

Governor Tim Pawlenty reversed the 1988 separation on November 19, 2007, through Reorganization Order No. 194, which abolished the Veterans Homes Board and transferred all its functions back to the MDVA.[11]

State veterans cemeteries

The state's first veterans cemetery, near Little Falls, opened in 1994.[12] In 2009, the Legislature directed the MDVA to build additional cemeteries across the state; facilities in Preston (2015), Duluth (2018), and Redwood Falls (2023) followed.[5] The Redwood Falls cemetery, the last of the four, was dedicated on August 19, 2023, with Governor Walz and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar in attendance.[13]

Recent developments

Three new veterans homes — in Preston, Montevideo, and Bemidji — broke ground in August 2021 and admitted their first residents in January and February 2024, adding 198 skilled nursing beds to the system.[14][15]

In March 2023, Commissioner Larry J. Herke dismissed two senior administrators following allegations of a toxic workplace at the Hastings Veterans Home, where a state investigation had found a pattern of "doom, fear, and intimidation" among staff.[16][17] Herke retired as commissioner in September 2023 after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; he died in September 2024.[18]

By 2025, seven of Minnesota's ten Continuums of Care had declared an end to veteran homelessness, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs awarded the MDVA the Abraham Lincoln Pillars of Excellence Award.[6]

Organization

The commissioner heads the department and serves at the pleasure of the governor. Two deputy commissioners — one for programs and services, one for veterans health care — are appointed by the commissioner and must also be veterans.[3] The department's divisions include veterans claims and field operations, financial services, education and occupational resources, communications, human resources, government affairs, and facilities management.[19]

The Legislature appropriated $365.23 million from the General Fund for the 2026–27 biennium, a $50.5 million increase over the prior base, including $39.17 million to staff the three new veterans homes.[20]

Commissioners

Commissioners are appointed by the governor and serve at the governor's pleasure. Confirmation by the Minnesota Senate is required.[3]

  1. William Revier (1943–1957)
  2. Lyle Kinvig (1957–1959)
  3. Wilbur Lindholm (1959–1961)
  4. Robert G. Hansen (1961–1964)
  5. Alcuin Loehr (1965–1969)
  6. Herbert Anderson (1969–1971)
  7. Elmer Childress (1971–1975)
  8. George Winter (1975)
  9. Russell Green (1975–1979)
  10. Donald M. Miller (1979–1980)
  11. Charles Pinkham (1981–1982)
  12. James Main (1982–1983)
  13. William Gregg (1983–1991)
  14. Bernard R. Melter (1991–2001)
  15. Jeffery L. Olson (2001–2004)
  16. Clark Dyrud (2005–2010)
  17. Michael Pugliese (2010–2011)
  18. Larry Shellito (2011–2019)
  19. Larry J. Herke (2019–2023)
  20. Brad Lindsay (2023–present)

Source: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library[5]

Veterans homes

Main article: Minnesota Veterans Home

The MDVA operates eight veterans homes across the state, providing skilled nursing care, domiciliary housing, dementia care, and rehabilitation.[21]

Home Location Opened Beds Type
Minneapolis Minneapolis 1887 ~350 Skilled nursing and domiciliary
Hastings Hastings 1978 145 Domiciliary (boarding care)
Silver Bay Silver Bay 1991 83 Skilled nursing
Luverne Luverne 1994 85 Skilled nursing
Fergus Falls Fergus Falls 1998 106 Skilled nursing
Preston Preston 2024 54 Skilled nursing
Montevideo Montevideo 2024 72 Skilled nursing
Bemidji Bemidji 2024 72 Skilled nursing

The Minneapolis Veterans Home, the oldest, occupies a 53-acre (21 ha) wooded campus overlooking the Mississippi River near Minnehaha Falls. Its original buildings form the Minnesota Soldiers' Home Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[7] The three newest homes — Preston, Montevideo, and Bemidji — followed more than a decade of advocacy and legislative appropriation. All three admitted first residents in early 2024 and filled quickly, with waiting lists at each facility.[15][22]

State veterans cemeteries

Main article: Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery - Little Falls

The department maintains four state veterans cemeteries. The first, near Little Falls, dates to 1994; three more were built under a program the Legislature authorized in 2009.[12]

Cemetery Location Opened Acreage
Little Falls Near Little Falls 1994 39 acres (16 ha)
Preston Fillmore County 2015 169 acres (68 ha)
Duluth Near Duluth 2018 104 acres (42 ha)
Redwood Falls Near Redwood Falls 2023 77 acres (31 ha)

The Preston cemetery, on land donated by Fillmore County, has an ultimate capacity of approximately 35,000 gravesites.[23] The Redwood Falls cemetery was built on land donated by a veteran; his brother became the first veteran interred there in August 2023.[24]

Services and programs

The MDVA administers statewide programs in outreach, claims assistance, education, and homelessness prevention:

LinkVet

The LinkVet hotline (1-888-LINK-VET) serves as the department's central contact point, connecting veterans by telephone, web chat, and email to information on housing, mental health, financial assistance, education, and employment.[25]

County veterans service officers

Minnesota statute requires every county to employ a county veterans service officer, who provides free advocacy, counseling, and claims assistance for state and federal veterans benefits. More than 170 certified veterans advocates serve statewide through the Minnesota Association of County Veterans Service Officers.[26]

Minnesota GI Bill

The Minnesota GI Bill provides up to $15,000 per eligible applicant for postsecondary education, including tuition, certification exams, and preparatory courses. Eligible recipients include Minnesota resident veterans, National Guard members with five or more years of service, and surviving spouses and children of servicemembers who died or have a permanent total disability from military service.[27]

Veteran homelessness programs

The department runs homelessness-reduction programs, including the Homeless Veteran Registry and partnerships with community organizations for housing assistance and benefits access. Between February 2023 and 2025, statewide veteran homelessness fell 47 percent and chronic veteran homelessness fell 80 percent, according to the department.[6][28] Hennepin County received federal certification from the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness for effectively ending veteran homelessness.[29]

See also

References

  1. ^ MDVA FY 2024 Annual Report (PDF) (Report). Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs. 2024. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  2. ^ "Minnesota: Home to nearly 300,000 veterans". KTTC. November 11, 2025. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d "Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 196 — Department of Veterans Affairs". Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  4. ^ "Governor Tim Walz appoints former Olmsted County veterans leader as Commissioner of Veterans Affairs". KTTC. December 21, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs". Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  6. ^ a b c "Governor Walz Announces Minnesota Receives Federal Recognition for Work to End Veterans Homelessness". Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  7. ^ a b "Minnesota Soldiers' Home Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  8. ^ "Minnesota Veterans Homes: 130 Years of Service". Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  9. ^ a b "Veterans Homes History". Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  10. ^ "Hastings Veterans Home Turns 40". Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  11. ^ "Reorganization Order No. 194" (PDF). Office of the Governor of Minnesota. November 19, 2007. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  12. ^ a b "State Veterans Cemeteries". Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  13. ^ "Walz, Klobuchar speak at veterans cemetery dedication". The Journal (New Ulm). August 20, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  14. ^ "New Year Rings in Three New Veterans Home Openings". Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  15. ^ a b "After years of advocacy, Minnesota opens 3 new veterans homes". MPR News. January 18, 2024. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  16. ^ "State dismisses two administrators amid concerns about Hastings Veterans Home". MPR News. March 20, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  17. ^ "Report detailed 'toxic culture' at Hastings Veterans Home". St. Paul Pioneer Press. April 15, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  18. ^ "Larry Herke, Minnesota veterans affairs commissioner who retired after ALS diagnosis, dies at 61". St. Paul Pioneer Press. September 17, 2024. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  19. ^ "MDVA Organizational Chart" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs. April 10, 2025. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  20. ^ "Veterans conferees sign off on $50 million funding increase". Minnesota House Session Daily. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  21. ^ "Veterans Homes". Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  22. ^ "'Sacred responsibility': After 20 years, Bemidji Veterans Home opens with a long wait list". Star Tribune. February 2024. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  23. ^ "Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery — Preston". Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  24. ^ "New State Veterans Cemetery Holds Special Meaning for the Family of the First Interred Veteran". Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  25. ^ "LinkVet Support". Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  26. ^ "Minnesota Association of County Veterans Service Officers". MACVSO. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  27. ^ "Minnesota GI Bill". Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  28. ^ "Ending Veteran Homelessness — Efforts Making an Impact". Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  29. ^ "Hennepin County Effectively Ends Veteran Homelessness". Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
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