Within two years, the historic Veterans Administration campus in Knoxville will be vacant for the first time since President Hoover created the VA 75 years ago. Iowa Public Radio’s Rick Fredericksen reports.
From its peak of more than 1,600 patients at the end of World War Two, the Knoxville VA has been downsizing. The last major veterans presence is the outpatient clinic. Now that is being replaced with a new primary care facility to be located in a Knoxville neighborhood off campus. In early 2017, the sprawling 163 acre federal property will be unoccupied. Its nearly 40 buildings, where so many veterans were treated for war injuries, will be shuttered. When this last obstacle is removed, according to Sen. Grassley, the VA needs to work with the community on the best use for the historic campus. I’m Rick Fredericksen, Iowa Public Radio News.