Happy New Year! As I look ahead to 2022, I am excited about the initiatives underway and progress being made on behalf of Minnesota Veterans and their families.

For example:

• Three new State Veterans Homes are now under construction in Bemidji, Montevideo and Preston and expected to open in mid to late 2023.
• A new State Veterans Cemetery in Redwood Falls will open in fall 2022 with a formal dedication in spring 2023.
• Efforts toward ending Veteran homelessness are making great strides with now only three of 10 Continuums of Care remaining to reach the goal of Minnesota becoming the fourth state in the country to effectively end Veteran homelessness. Hennepin, Ramsey and St. Louis Counties are focused on effectively ending Veteran homelessness in the next year.
• Additional State funding has increased our resources around preventing Veteran Suicide. Two new staff are moving forward with work around psychological autopsies to learn more about the cause of Veteran suicide and expand training and community outreach and partnerships.

We also recently published our /mdva/assets/2021-mdva-annual-report_tcm1066-511949.pdfFY 2021 Annual Report that includes statistics on Minnesota Veterans. Among our more than 300,00 living Veterans:

• 103,000 served during the Vietnam era
• 46,000 served post 9/11/01
• 34,000 served pre-9/11/01
• 21,000 served during the Korea era
• 7,300 served during World War II
• 92% are male; 8% are female
• 91% are white; 3% are African American; 2% are Hispanic/Latino; 1% are American Indian; and 0.8% are Asian

The diversity among our Veterans – including age, gender and race – adds to the richness of Minnesota’s Veteran population and our community at large.

As a State of Minnesota agency, MDVA is committed to hiring both Veterans and a broadly diverse workforce. I am proud that our staff includes 26% people of color, exceeding the Governor’s goal of 20%. While MDVA’s diversity is concentrated among a few job groups, we believe our current workforce has laid the foundation for increasing diversity across locations and careers.

MDVA recently hired two new staff to lead our efforts around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).

Rich Nymoen, DEI Director, started in December and joined us from the MN Department of Human Services where over nine years he held roles of Investigator and Equal Opportunity Consultant and then ADA, Civil Rights and Affirmative Action Consultant. He did similar work for HealthPartners for 4+ years and for the City of Saint Paul’s Human Rights Department for 11 years.

Valerie Williams, DEI Coordinator, began her role in November, coming from the MN Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) where she worked as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor.

Rich and Valerie are focused on both the technical and partnership sides of their work. Technically, they ensure that MDVA DEI policies are in place and being followed, track data, provide training, and assist with accommodation requests. Among the partnerships they foster, they build relationships with MDVA leaders, supporting functions such as Human Resources and Communications, and with employee groups.

Having just celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and planning for the recognition of Black History Month in February, MDVA recommits to its DEI efforts and looks forward to sharing our progress in the months ahead.

As always, if you need information or support on any Veteran issue, please visit our website, contact your County Veterans Service Officer, or contact LinkVet at 1-888-LinkVet.

Thank YOU for your service!