Civic

MANKATO, MINN. — Kraus-Anderson has completed a new public works facility for Blue Earth County on a 40-acre greenfield site in Mankato, a city in southern Minnesota. Designed by ISG Architects, the $29.8 million facility features an 89,363-square-foot main building with office space, an exercise room, shop areas, locker rooms, garage parking, three overhead cranes and a multipurpose room for county and public use. The project also includes a 30,000-square-foot vehicle storage building, an 1,100-square-foot fuel island and a 14,000-square-foot salt and sand storage building with a 90,000-gallon water tank to supplement the fire suppression system for the campus. Construction began in October 2024.

TWO HARBORS, MINN. — Kraus-Anderson has completed a trails and landscape renovation at Split Rock Lighthouse in Two Harbors along Lake Superior. Designed by Quinn Evans, the project returns circulation patterns to their historic locations with modifications for accessibility needs of the site, including a new ADA ramp, a precast boardwalk that follows the path of the original tramway, structural components and new fencing. The site was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2011. The Minnesota Historical Society directed archeological efforts. The lighthouse remained open to the public during the majority of construction, which began in May. Split Rock Light Station was completed in 1910, and for half a century it helped freighters carry freshly mined ore from Minnesota’s Iron Range. The State of Minnesota obtained the historic and scenic landmark in 1971 and transferred administrative responsibility for the 25-acre Split Rock Lighthouse historic site to the Minnesota Historical Society in 1976. The historic core has been restored to its early 1920s appearance. The project was made possible by the people of Minnesota through an appropriation made by the Minnesota Legislature and approved by the governor.