Construction officially starts for new State Lab during groundbreaking ceremony

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - There’s a lot that goes on in North Dakota’s State Laboratory every day. Both North Dakota Health and Human Services and the Department of Environmental Quality operate out of the building. However, those departments have outgrown the space.

Director of Biothreat Stacey Alexander said every day she and her team run special tests that aren’t usually performed in your everyday doctor’s clinic. These include specialized medical tests and environmental tests. She said the nearly 104,000-square-foot building is a welcome change.

“All of the instrumentation that we have now, it seems like it’s so close to each other, and now we’re able to spread out and are able to really enhance our testing,” Alexander said.

Alexander said on top of being cramped, the old State Lab has some structural issues.

Dr. Christie Massen said building a larger, more modern building will allow the state to expand its services. She said this is something everyone is excited about.

“If you go to a hospital or a clinic, or if you drink the water, or you breathe the air in North Dakota, or you have a pet, there’s potential for a sample for any kind of those types of things to come to us,” Dr. Massen said.

The project’s architects and several state officials took part in the ceremonial groundbreaking. Governor Doug Burgum and Health and Human Services Commissioner Wayne Salter attended as well. The architects say the building should be done in about two years.

Governor Burgum said this is the first time they’ve had a new building built on Capitol grounds since the completion of the Heritage Center. The State Vet will also operate from the new lab.