MARSHALL — The city of Marshall was approved for a state grant meant to help make it easier for people with disabilities to vote. The grant of more than $9,000 could help make sidewalk repairs and install accessible doors at the Red Baron Arena and Expo, according to information provided to the Marshall City Council this week.

The Red Baron Arena facility is currently used as a polling place for Marshall’s Ward 1.

An information item included in the agenda for Tuesday’s Marshall City Council meeting said the city had applied for a 2025 Polling Place Accessibility Grant from the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office. The Minnesota Legislature had approved a total of $500,000 in funding to help improve disabled people’s access to polling places.

A Dec. 15 letter from the Secretary of State’s Office said Marshall had been approved for a grant award of $9,251.90.

The information in the council agenda packet said one requirement of the grant is that the funds must be used for a polling place owned by the city. Currently, Marshall has three polling places, but the Red Baron Arena is the only facility out of those three that is owned by the city.

After consulting with Marshall Parks and Recreation Superintendent Preston Stensrud, Marshall city staff found three areas of the Red Baron Arena that would qualify for the grant. The grant funds could be used for signage, to make sidewalk and curb repairs, and to install ADA accessible doors, the council agenda packet said.

Marshall’s grant award letter said grant contracts were being prepared, and would be sent to the city to be signed.