ND Military Museum proposed for state Capitol grounds

Submitted Artwork
This can be a concept-only drawing of the amphitheater for the proposed North Dakota Navy Museum in Bismarck.

BISMARCK – A museum dedicated to North Dakota navy members is within the preliminary part of planning.

The North Dakota Nationwide Guard Basis and the State Historic Society of North Dakota are engaged in a collaborative effort to advertise building of the N.D. Navy Museum.

The positioning for the proposed museum could be an addition to the south facet of the present North Dakota Heritage Heart & State Museum on the Capitol grounds in Bismarck.

N.D. Nationwide Guard Lt. Col. (retired) Shirley Olgeirson, who’s N.D. Nationwide Guard historian, mentioned the Basis has contracted with PACE Fundraising, Fargo, to conduct a feasibility research in Could to find out the statewide “urge for food” for a navy museum and the propensity for elevating personal funds to assist it.

“We’re making telephone calls to the checklist of 40 folks with a mix of legislators, donors, neighborhood leaders – folks from throughout the state – to find out, No. 1, whether or not there’s an urge for food for a museum and whether or not we could possibly elevate the sum of money that we predict we want for the museum,” Olgeirson mentioned.

This idea-only drawing reveals the proposed North Dakota Navy Museum in Bismarck. The proposed museum could be an addition to the present North Dakota Heritage Heart & State Museum on the Capitol grounds in Bismarck, positioned south and west of the east parking zone with an amphitheater within the southwest nook.

She mentioned a shorter electronic mail survey will probably be going out to veterans all around the state, together with veterans service officers, Nationwide Guard retirees and plenty of different veterans. She mentioned the emails will most likely be going out in June.

Initially, a Nationwide Guard museum was being thought-about, Olgeirson mentioned.

“That’s been on our dream sheet for a lot of, a few years,” she mentioned. She mentioned at one time there was a draft proposal to take to the Legislature nevertheless it was not submitted attributable to budgeting, and so forth.

Final legislative session Maj. Gen. Alan Dohrman, N.D. Nationwide Guard adjutant basic, requested for fundraising authority for $10 million from personal sources for a small Nationwide Guard museum.

Then the thought expanded into not only a Nationwide Guard museum however a North Dakota Navy Museum as a result of North Dakota has Air Pressure bases, a historical past associated to all of the companies, particularly from World Struggle II, and extra, Olgeirson mentioned.

For the positioning for a N.D. Navy Museum, the present proposal is to find it on the Capitol grounds in Bismarck as a proposed up-to-60,000-square-foot addition to the North Dakota Heritage Heart & State Museum. The addition would come with an amphitheater. The N.D. Navy Museum could be operated by the State Historic Society of N.D., and the Nationwide Guard helps elevate the cash.

The expanded thought comes with an even bigger price ticket for the ability, together with matching the looks of the opposite buildings on the website, Olgeirson mentioned. She mentioned they anticipate about $30 million will probably be wanted for building, architectural charges, a mission officer and inside shows.

The Nationwide Guard and State Historic Society of N.D. will search legislative approval through the upcoming 2022-23 session.