Washington DC – Koochiching County will own the old National Guard armory building in International Falls.  This week the U.S. Senate unanimously passed Congressman Jim Oberstar’s bill to transfer the property to county control.  The President is expected to sign the bill in the next two weeks.

The armory will provide much needed space for the Koochiching County Sheriff and Emergency Management departments, which have outgrown their current facilities.  The county highway department will be able to use the building to store equipment and the armory will also provide space for the Borderland Humane Society. 

“This is a good deal for taxpayers in Koochiching County  They are getting a lot of good usable space for $30,000 and the cost of needed maintenance and repairs to the building.  This is an excellent use for a piece of surplus government property.”

“This bill would not have been introduced without the help of county board members like Kallie Briggs who brought the matter to my attention,” Oberstar continued.  “The help of Senator Amy Klobuchar was also critical.  There is an old saying that the Senate is the place where good bills go to die, but Amy pushed her leadership to bring the bill up this week.”