Lake County veterans move closer to Two Harbors memorial project

Lake County veterans are trying to turn a Two Harbors waterfront site into a permanent memorial, but the project still hinges on one last funding push and the political will to keep it moving. Organizers say the plan now has enough momentum to point to a construction timeline, with a goal of raising $250,000 that would be matched by about $250,000 from Lake County and fully finance the installation.

The Lake County Veterans Memorial Association wants the memorial on a prime stretch of the Two Harbors waterfront, overlooking Lake Superior, the ore docks, the breakwall and the Edna G. The group says the site is meant to do more than mark a place. It is intended as a public anchor for the waterfront and the Two Harbors Lakewalk, and as a place where people can reflect on the number of Lake County residents who have worn a uniform.

The association says more than 1,000 veterans live in Lake and Cook counties, most of them in Lake County, a small county with a 2024 population estimate of 10,698. That is part of why organizers argue the memorial belongs in Two Harbors, where veterans already gather and where Lake County Veterans Services is based at 616 3rd Avenue, helping people with claims, benefits counseling, advocacy and discharge-document assistance.

The project has changed shape over time as organizers and local leaders have tried to fit it into the waterfront. In May 2023, Keith Larson asked the Two Harbors City Council to consider donating or leasing land near the Edna G site. By fall 2024, the concept had shifted toward Van Hoven Park as part of the waterfront redevelopment plan. More recent county-board coverage said the design had been cut from a $1.3 million concept to a project costing under $500,000, with nearly all work expected to go to local contractors.

Organizers say the redesigned memorial is intended to honor veterans from all branches of the military and to create space for reflection, celebration, education, community and history. The association’s application materials list personalized plaques at $300 for a 9-by-3-inch plaque and $500 for a 9-by-6-inch plaque, and it says it will try to help veterans who cannot afford one.

The group has already secured some local backing. Two Harbors donated the property, and Lake County has offered matching funds of about $250,000. A separate proposed $40,000 state appropriation for fiscal year 2026 would help pay for planning, not construction, underscoring that the project still needs money and buy-in before it can break ground.

The association hopes to start construction and complete the slab in 2026, then finish the memorial by summer 2027. Its monthly meetings are held the third Wednesday of each month at 10 a.m. at Costley & Morris, P.C. Law Office in Two Harbors, and it lists a mailing address at 2 Waterfront Drive, PO Box 218, Two Harbors, MN 55616.