Independent file photo The Red Baron Arena and Expo was one of the new additions in the Marshall area during the 2010s.

MARSHALL — The end of a decade is getting closer — and it’s been an eventful 10 years for the Marshall area. Among the changes affecting area residents have been major public building projects, growth and changes in business and industry, and even changes in schools and education.

The Independent spoke with area residents and officials, and asked what they thought some of the changes with the biggest impact in the past 10 years were. Their answers covered a wide range of topics.

Infrastructure and services

In Marshall, the changes with the most impact have been ones that aren’t easy to see, said Marshall Mayor Bob Byrnes.

“There’s a substantial investment that has been made in infrastructure,” especially improvements to flood control, water retention and the city’s sanitary sewer, Byrnes said. That investment has proven to be important, as southwest Minnesota has weathered some intense storms over the past 10 years, he said. While Marshall has had incidents of neighborhood flooding, water control has helped prevent worse damage.

“That has allowed development to happen,” Byrnes said.

Byrnes said the past decade has also brought changes in health care access in the Marshall area. After the sale of the Marshall city hospital to the Avera Health network, Avera has continued to add specialized health care services “that really didn’t exist before,” like a cancer treatment center.

Having a wider range of health care services available is important not just for current residents, but for attracting new families to the region, Byrnes said.

At the regional level, big changes have included the formation of multi-county organizations for public services. Lyon County Commissioner Steve Ritter said the formation of Southwest Health and Human Services, which serves Lincoln, Lyon, Murray, Pipestone, Redwood and Rock counties, was a major step for public health and human services in the region.

“As we lose population in this area, we needed a way to make it more cost effective,” Ritter said. “It’s been successful.”

Economic change

Changes in business and industry also took place in the area over the past 10 years.

“There have been increases in overall employment” in Marshall, Byrnes said.

“During the 2010s Marshall solidified its role as southwest Minnesota’s regional center,” said former Marshall city councilman and area transportation advocate David Sturrock. “Employment and economic activity became more diversified, with new jobs in service sectors such as education and medicine.”

Marshall has seen growth in industry, as businesses like Action Manufacturing and Runnings grew and expanded, Byrnes said. Another major change in Marshall’s economy came when Schwan’s was bought by South Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang. As a result of the sale, Schwan’s Company and Schwan’s Home Service will be separating from each other — but this will mean having two corporate businesses in Marshall, instead of one, Byrnes said.

Sturrock said large retailers continue to provide jobs and draw shoppers from around the region to Marshall. However, the mix of stores has changed. For example, over the past decade businesses like County Fair, Kmart and Shopko have closed, while new ones like Menards, Aldi, and Hobby Lobby opened. Marshall has also seen a number of new small to mid-sized stores open in its downtown, on East College Drive and on the southern edge of town, Sturrock said.

There have been some notable developments in business and industry in other parts of Lyon County as well, said Lyon County Commissioner Rick Anderson. The expansion of Ralco in Balaton, and the construction of an indoor shrimp production “reef” in 2017 were “huge” developments for the area, Anderson said.

“Nobody would ever have believed the transformation of the old school,” Anderson said. While the efforts of tru Shrimp to start shrimp production in Minnesota and South Dakota have been off to a slow start, he said it still brought “a lot of hope” for economic development.

In the past year, new industry also came to both the cities of Tracy and Minneota, as dog treat manufacturer Chasing Our Tails moved into vacant properties there, Anderson said.

Transportation

Roads and bridges are vital for both area residents and businesses in the region around Marshall, and updates on key transportation corridors were built in the past decade. Several of the changes have focused on stopping deadly crashes along Minnesota Highway 23.

“J-turn intersections, passing lanes, and the pedestrian overpass on Minnesota Highway 23 have made that thoroughfare safer and provided better connectivity between our city’s neighborhoods,” Sturrock said. However, he said even more connection with population and economic centers is needed to help support Marshall’s economy. “In particular, this means continuous four-lane roadways where feasible on Minnesota 23, U.S. Highway 14, and U.S. 212, and targeted improvements like passing and merge lanes to link us with these four-lane corridors.”

Ritter and Anderson said the introduction of a county sales tax was also an important development in the past 10 years. The tax has helped fund needed area road repairs and maintenance.

Recreation and culture

Construction of the Red Baron Arena and Expo in Marshall has been a visible change for sports, recreation and big events in the Marshall region. The project was made possible through a local-option sales tax put in place in 2013.

In the years since then, Byrnes said the local sales taxes have also generated more funds than initially projected. Meanwhile, the arena and expo have hosted events from hockey tournaments to home shows and even weddings.

The list of recreation and cultural projects that have been completed in the Marshall area is sizable, area officials said. The Marshall Regional Track and Field complex, completed in 2014, renovated and expanded the old Mattke Field stadium at SMSU. The project, a partnership between SMSU and Marshall Schools, included a nine-lane, 400-meter track as well as facilities for high jump and other track and field events.

The Marshall-Lyon County Library was completed in 2015, with the construction of the Robert L. and Phyllis Carr Children’s Library.

Construction of the Camden Regional Trail, running from Marshall through Lynd and into Camden State Park, was completed in 2017. The planning for the regional trail started back in 2011, with a partnership of Lyon County and the cities of Marshall and Lynd.

Education

The past 10 years have brought a lot of changes in education in Marshall, as well. Marshall Public Schools will be closing out the decade by building a new elementary school to replace West Side Elementary, and adding on to Park Side Elementary. The planning for those projects, and the attempts to pass a building referendum for them, go back a few years.

“But there are many more changes that have happened over the past 10 years,” said Marshall School Board Chairman Jeff Chapman. A lot of those changes have happened in the classroom instead of in construction zones.

“We have added one-on-one technology for every student. This has changed the way we teach,” Chapman said. “We have added college courses in high school which means our students can now earn college credits without leaving the building. We have added welding and CNA courses.”

Chapman said MPS has also added more sports and activities, and brought them up to the state and national levels of competition.

Local schools will continue to face some challenges, like unfunded mandates from the state and federal government, as well as cuts to the free and reduced-price meals program, he said.

“But this community will, as always, do what it takes to see that our children’s education needs are met,” he said.