Mower County veterans recently got to see the new 169-acre Veterans Cemetery in Preston that recently opened.

“With a cemetery this size it will take over 100 years to fill all the grave sites available to Minnesota veterans,” Rob Gross, a director in Preston, said in a press release.

The acreage was donated by Fillmore County and will be funded by the state of Minnesota Veterans Services, with an original amount of $10 million by the state to ready the facility. Two military veterans and former mayors of Preston, the late Earl Hoff and the late Clarence Quanrud, were the first two buried in the facility on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2015, the opening day for the new cemetery.

A Dec. 19 bus trip brought 19 veterans from Mower County to the Veterans Cemetery in Preston. State Veterans Cemetery Administrator Dave Swantek led the veterans on a tour of the new facilities.

The trip was hosted and sponsored by Mayer Funeral Home. Hy-Vee of Austin contributed to the event with box lunches. Representatives from Mayer Funeral Home Eric Weerts, Scott Borchers and Ed Brady supplied the hands-on work to make the free trip possible for the veterans who are considering utilizing the State Cemetery. Weerts said organizers are planning another trip to the VA Preston Cemetery in spring of 2016 for more veterans to see it in person. Veterans can apply for burial now by filing out specific paperwork to be kept on file.

Mower County Veterans Services Director Wayne Madson led the retired military group on the visit to the new Minnesota Veterans State Cemetery.

“The trip was very informative to the veterans that participated and to the representatives from the service clubs providing military honors,” Madson said in the release.

According to Madson’s office, there is no cost to an honorably discharged veteran to be buried there and the veteran’s spouse can be buried for a nominal fee.

For more information, call Wayne Madson at 507-434-2712 or Eric Weerts at 507-433-1817.