A major investment in southern Minnesota’s public safety infrastructure is officially underway.
Gov. Tim Walz and local leaders broke ground Monday afternoon on a new Bureau of Criminal Apprehension regional office and forensic laboratory in Mankato.
The $67 million project is designed to speed evidence processing, expand forensic capabilities and provide advanced training opportunities for law enforcement across the region. Once operational, the planned 56,000-square-foot facility, at 2350 Bassett Drive next to the Blue Earth County Justice Center, is expected to process up to 6,000 cases and 12,000 pieces of evidence annually, Walz said.
“While this will speed up processing time for crime scene investigations in southern Minnesota, it’ll have a cascading effect of taking pressure off the St. Paul BCA lab,” he said. “This is all part of making sure we’re able to process those crime scenes, get the evidence necessary, make sure it goes to the courts and we’re able to make sure that safety is the top priority.”
The facility will provide faster turnaround times for DNA, firearms and drug testing for local law enforcement who drive or ship evidence hundreds of miles to St. Paul for testing — a process that adds delays to investigations and court cases. Walz said an estimated 50 agents, forensic scientists and support staff will be housed at the new lab, creating new specialized jobs in the Mankato area while reducing the reliance on the Twin Cities facility.
Blue Earth County Sheriff Jeff Wersal said the new facility will allow officers to remain in their communities while ensuring faster evidence analysis and more efficient case management.
“To have that literally right in our backyard is going to be great, not only for us, but for the chiefs and sheriffs around the state that no longer have to make that trip again to St. Paul,” Wersal said.
The new regional office will serve as a hub for professional development, BCA Supt. Drew Evans said. Training rooms capable of accommodating up to 60 students will host law enforcement instruction in areas such as crime scene investigation, leadership and digital forensics. The agency trains between 6,000 and 9,000 students statewide each year, and he said the new site will make those opportunities far more accessible for officers in southern Minnesota.
The Mankato lab also is expected to strengthen partnerships between the agency and Minnesota State University, helping to develop the next generation of public safety professionals.
“What we’re working on as part of this is to have regionalization, so that areas like this can continue to thrive, so those partnerships can be there, so those specialized services can be born across the entire state,” Evans said.
Evans said the regional lab is a development five years in the making and fulfills a key component of the $887 million infrastructure bill signed by Walz in January.
Construction of the facility is expected to be completed in early 2027, with move-in planned for March of that year.
“The BCA’s strength lies in its people. The agents, forensic scientists, analysts and support staff who bring specialized investigative and scientific resources to southern Minnesota,” said Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson. “Their work often happens behind the scenes, but their impact is seen in every community that becomes safer because of their efforts, from crime scene response to forensic analysis to technology-driven investigations.”
