MARSHALL — Plans to build a firearms training range at the Minnesota Emergency Response and Industrial Training Center in Marshall took a step forward this week.

On Tuesday, members of the Marshall City Council voted to approve a $172,000 architecture and engineering proposal for the project.

Marshall Public Safety Director Jim Marshall said the range construction would complete part of a years-long plan for expansions at the training center.

“It’s a project we’ve been working on for a number of years, probably going back to 2018, when we first started seeking funding,” Marshall said.

The MERIT Center, located along County Road 33 in Marshall, features classrooms as well as facilities for emergency response, law enforcement and driver training. When the current driving track was built at the MERIT Center, the project also included groundwork for two outdoor firearms training ranges.

“We’ve had a long process securing funds” to complete the ranges, Marshall said.

In 2023, the MERIT Center received a $2.25 million grant from the state of Minnesota Management and Budget Office for expansions. But at that time, the funding was not enough to complete some of the planned additions.

In 2025, the state Legislature approved amended language for the original bill, which allocated the $2.25 million grant to building a firearms range and support buildings. The grant agreement called for construction of a 50-yard and a 300-yard range, as well as a support building.

“In April we had met with the PIT (Public Improvement and Transportation) Committee, and got the go-ahead to move forward with putting out a request for proposals,” Marshall said. The city received two proposals for the design and construction of the firearms range, he said. The committee and Marshall Public Safety reviewed the proposals. “The good thing was that both of the architect and engineering firms that submitted proposals were familiar to the city,” he said.

The PIT committee recommended that the city award a $172,000 proposal from the firm of Bolton & Menk for the architect and engineering portion of the range project, Marshall said.

“The end of the plan is to have it done in 2027,” Marshall said.

City council and PIT committee member Craig Schafer said the firearms training range not only had potential for law enforcement training, but possibly firearms training for the public. The longer range could be used for firearms like rifles, he said.

Council members voted to award the architecture and engineering proposal from Bolton & Menk.