North Dakota's new $70 million State Laboratory, in the northeast area of the Capitol grounds in Bismarck, gets its ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. CT Tuesday, Oct. 20, according to a North Dakota Health and Human Services announcement. The 100,000-square-foot building will house public-health and environmental lab staff from HHS and the Department of Environmental Quality, according to state announcements.
The Details
- What: Ribbon cutting for the new North Dakota State Laboratory, per HHS.
- Where: The northeast parking lot of the North Dakota State Capitol in Bismarck, HHS said.
- When: Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 10 a.m. CT. HHS says Gov. Kelly Armstrong will lead the ceremony and that it will be livestreamed at governor.nd.gov.
- Who works there: About 50 staff from Health and Human Services and the Department of Environmental Quality, per state announcements.
The Backstory
The state broke ground on the lab in April 2024, according to the governor's office and the Office of Management and Budget's project page. State announcements at the start of construction set a June 2026 completion target; OMB's project page lists the facility's completion as 2026.
What It Means for Bismarck-Mandan
The governor's office describes the lab as a hub for consultation, training and testing related to infectious diseases, water-quality monitoring and disaster response. HHS lab pages say the State Laboratory also carries out mosquito and tick surveillance and supports investigations in response to natural or man-made disasters. The state says the lab provides consultation and training to labs around North Dakota on the safe handling and testing of samples, and the HHS project page says the new building includes a training lab.
Before You Go
- A December 2025 HHS memo to public water systems said the State Laboratory would move to a new location in spring 2026 and that drop-off details would be emailed closer to the move. HHS's Laboratory Services page lists a newer lab relocation memo dated Oct. 2, 2026. Anyone dropping off water samples should check with the lab for the current location and hours before going. The DEQ Chemistry Laboratory lists 701-328-6140.
- To watch the ceremony, use the governor's office livestream at governor.nd.gov.
Sources: https://www.hhs.nd.gov/news/ribbon-cutting-ceremony-new-north-dakota-state-laboratory-take-place-tuesday-capitol-grounds, https://www.hhs.nd.gov/nd-state-laboratory, https://www.hhs.nd.gov/public-health/laboratory-services, https://www.hhs.nd.gov/sites/default/files/documents/DOH%20Legacy/Lab_Services/2026-water-testing-memo-exclusion.pdf, https://www.governor.nd.gov/news/groundbreaking-ceremony-marks-start-construction-state-art-north-dakota-state-laboratory, https://www.governor.nd.gov/news/location-selected-new-north-dakota-state-laboratory-northeast-area-capitol-grounds, https://www.omb.nd.gov/about-omb/construction-projects/north-dakota-state-laboratory, https://deq.nd.gov/chemistry/
