Maple Grove submitted a grant proposal for almost $500,000 to assist in the rebuilding of its Law Enforcement Training Facility.

Maple Grove’s proposal was among the 90 applications that the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) received. The amount of funding requested in the applications adds to a total of $288.4 million of the $47.5 million available for capital projects.

Maple Grove City Administrator Al Madsen said in an email to Patch that the Law Enforcement Training Facility provides valuable and needed services to metro-area law enforcement agencies and includes a DNR gun training program.

“Our training facility is more than just a gun range," Madsen said. “It provides a wide spectrum of training that is mandated for police departments… Our Law Enforcement Training Facility has been and will be used by many metro area police department agencies.”

According to a DEED release, officials will select the grant recipients based on several criteria, including:

• Number of full-time jobs created or retained,
• Increase in the local tax base,
• Ability to attract private investment,
• Health and safety benefits, and
• Evidence of a strong return on investment and cost-benefit ratio.

Madsen said that although rebuilding the Law Enforcement Training Facility will not generate a large number of jobs, it greatly benefits area law enforcement agencies.

“The facility has provided a tremendous service to law enforcement for the past 18 years,” he said, “and we need to continue that.”

DEED expects to announce the grant recipients in late September.