New Fergus Falls VA clinic opens, expands care for local veterans

The new Fergus Falls Community-Based Outpatient Clinic opened at 1205 West Lincoln Avenue with far more room than the old site, a change veterans will feel in the waiting room as much as on the drive home. The Fargo VA Health Care System says the clinic is three times larger than the previous location and now adds general radiology, including X-ray and ultrasound, along with expanded specialty care and physical therapy, turning a basic outpatient stop into a fuller one-stop visit for routine care and follow-up.

Before the move, veterans in Otter Tail County had a smaller clinic footprint and more reason to make repeat trips for tests or specialty visits. Now the clinic provides primary care, mental health care, laboratory and pathology services, and more under the same roof, with weekday hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding federal holidays. For a veteran balancing work, winter roads or a long round trip, the practical gain is fewer miles and fewer appointments that have to be pushed back because travel is hard.

James Olson, the Otter Tail County veteran service officer, had already pointed to the bigger building as a chance for more access, and the new site places Fergus Falls inside a broader Fargo VA Health Care System that serves veterans in northwest Minnesota and North Dakota. That regional footprint matters in a county where care often depends on whether people can get to Fargo or keep an appointment close to home.

The grand opening ribbon-cutting was held April 29 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the new clinic, after an earlier Oct. 29, 2025 ceremony was postponed. The VA and Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs invited veterans, families and the surrounding community, and the clinic can be reached at 218-739-1400 at 1205 West Lincoln Avenue, Fergus Falls, MN 56537-1003. In Otter Tail County, the new building is not just a new address; it is a sign that more veteran care is staying local.