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

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