The Pine County Board broke ground on the new North Pine Government Center in Sandstone on Tuesday.
The new government center is being built to replace the old building that was demolished last winter. It will serve as a new facility for Veterans and Health Services as well as host extra space for the county.
Pine County Board Chair Steve Hallan said, "I think it's an awesome thing for the county. It is a regular brick and mortar building that will serve Pine County for 50 to 75 years."
Sandstone has always housed the Veteran Services office for Pine County. Since the old building was demolished, Veteran Services has been operating out of a temporary space.
This new building will house Pine County's Health and Human Services department. This will include child and adult mental health units as well as several other Health and Human Services offices.
The building will take around six months to complete, and Hallan says that the North Pine Government Center should be occupied by January of 2019.
Photo of Pine County Courthouse taken courtesy of Pine County Genealogical Society website.