A group of National Guard and Arden Hills officials, including from left, Red Bulls Brig. Gen. Lowell Kruse, Congresswoman Betty McCollum, Arden Hills Mayor David Grant, and others break ground on a new headquarters building for the Minnesota National Guard 34th Red Bull Infantry Division at the Arden Hills Army Training Site (Tad Vezner / Pioneer Press)
A full fifth of the National Guard’s military construction budget was allocated to Minnesota this year — to pay for a new “Red Bulls” headquarters building in Arden Hills.
The 34th Infantry Division’s move from its current 100,000-square-foot building in Rosemount to a soon-to-be-built 136,000 square-foot building in Arden Hills should happen in two years, officials said.
“I look forward to digging some dirt,” said Brig. Gen. Lowell Kruse at a groundbreaking Monday. “I know the mayor of Rosemount’s probably sad.”
“Yeah, well, the mayor of Arden Hills is pretty happy,” chuckled Arden Hills Mayor David Grant as he headed toward a large swath of wetland at his city’s Army Training Site to pick up a shovel.
The new building will accommodate the full 800, and include new security upgrades that will allow the building to handle both secret and top secret data; upgrades that require both digital advancements as well as physical clean rooms that allow for oversight and segregation of staff.