Camp Ripley briefs county on training, construction and museum plans; installation says local economic impact is about $83 million

Lieutenant Colonel Steve Hall, deputy commanding officer at Camp Ripley, gave the board an overview of the installation's activities, facilities and community outreach. "Just shy of $83,000,000 is our economic impact for this past year," Hall said, adding that Camp Ripley employs about 800 full-time staff and surges to roughly 1,000 in summer months. He framed the installation as an important partner for state and local agencies and described training for large-scale combat operations and winter-warfare readiness.

Hall outlined infrastructure plans including a funded project to replace the historic main gate with a new, force-protection-compliant access control point west of the current gate; design work is underway and a groundbreaking is targeted for late 2026 or early 2027 with an expected two-year build. He also clarified that the museum opening planned for summer 2026 is the Minnesota Military Museum (a state museum) being moved to public land outside the secure gates, and he urged residents to use public notices and social media to track training noise and prescribed burns.

Commissioners asked about how Camp Ripley aims to increase training throughput to become the nation's second-busiest training center; Hall said the installation focuses on customer service, range upkeep and outreach to visiting units. He also highlighted environmental stewardship, prescribed burning (about 14,000 acres annually) and procedures for safe disposal of unexploded ordnance, urging residents to call the installation or 911 if they find suspicious items.

The briefing was informational; commissioners thanked Camp Ripley leadership for the presentation.