Photo by Deb Gau Ryan Hoffmann of the Marshall Police Department explains the layout of earth berms at the site of a planned outdoor firearms training range at the MERIT Center in Marshall. The berms are located around the edges of open spaces for both a 50-yard and a 300-yard training range.

MARSHALL — The long grass-covered berms to the west of the Minnesota Emergency Response and Industrial Training Center’s driving track in Marshall were built with a purpose, Marshall Public Safety Director Jim Marshall said. They were part of the groundwork for a firearms training range the MERIT Center hoped to construct in the future.

Now, the project could move forward with the help of a $2.25 million state grant. A grant agreement is planned to go before the Marshall City Council for approval tonight.

“This would allow us to do more” with firearms training, Marshall said. The proposed range facility would be a resource for local law enforcement, he said. “We know the value of training.”

A construction grant agreement for the firearms training range is one of the business items on tonight’s city council agenda. In 2023, the MERIT Center received $2.25 million from the state of Minnesota Management and Budget Office for expansions at the facility. However, at that time the funding was not enough to complete some of the planned additions, according to agenda materials for tonight’s council meeting.

In 2025, the Minnesota Legislature approved amended language for the original bill, to allocate the $2.25 million grant to building a firearms range and support buildings at the MERIT Center.

“Our goal for completion would be by the end of 2027,” Marshall said.

The proposed grant agreement called for construction of a 50-yard and a 300-yard range.

Developing the MERIT Center has been a long-term project, Marshall said.

“It really goes back to almost 30 years ago,” he said.

In 2000, the MERIT Center was established as a regional training center supported with state and local funds, and private sector donations. The organizations partnering to make the facility possible included the city of Marshall and Minnesota West Community and Technical College, Marshall said.

The vision behind the MERIT Center was to be able to provide high-quality training to emergency services and industrial employees, he said. However, it wasn’t feasible to build all the planned parts of the facility at once. Over the years, development at the MERIT Center has stuck fairly closely to the original vision, Marshall said.

“It’s just done in phases,” he said.

Some of the first major structures at the MERIT Center included a garage bay, and a tower used for firefighter and industrial training, Marshall said. Since then, the facilities have expanded to include classrooms, a driving track, and equipment for driving and law enforcement training simulations.

Having a firearms training range would be valuable for local law enforcement, Marshall said. Marshall Police officers have mandatory firearms training four to five times a year, he said.

“We’re really excited about this,” Marshall said of the proposed grant agreement. “There’s been a lot of work and effort put into this.”

There are still future additions that supporters hope to make to the MERIT Center, Marshall said.

“Eventually, we want to do a live burn prop,” which would be used for firefighting training, he said. “We’re still trying for that.”