Ward County Veterans Service Office

Ward County's Veteran's Service Office is in Suite 124 of the county administration building at 225 SE Third Street, P.O. Box 5005, Minot, ND 58702-5005, phone (701) 857-6492, fax (701) 857-6491, shared inbox [email protected]. The staff are Director Brock Gilstad (appointed veterans service officer July 27, 2020, (701) 857-6490), Veterans Services Officer Heather Dignan (appointed March 1, 2024, (701) 857-6468) and Administrative Assistant Laurie Linnertz ((701) 857-6492). The county's mission statement: "Our primary goal is to make sure that every eligible veteran or dependent has access to the benefits to which they are entitled." The county publishes no office hours; the state's county page says Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The office's pages route veterans to the federal benefits (compensation, pension, burial, medical), the state's hardship assistance program, the veterans aid loan program, the veterans cemetery and home, and the Minot Air Force Base community-based outpatient clinic. Section 37-14-18 requires the county to employ a veterans' service officer, and the commission's minutes show the office reporting directly to it: the director presented the department's 2027 budget on June 23, 2026, and the board evaluates the office's director as a department head. The county pays the office's dues to the state county veterans service officers association and its three staff's conference and training travel, most recently the fall 2026 conference. Discharges work differently here. The county's Military Discharge Records page says discharges "are kept on file in the County Recorder's Office" but "all access to these files is handled through the Veterans Service Office" - "No records will be released to individuals; you must request information and copies by contacting Veteran Services at 701-857-6492." The recorder, Kristin Kowalczyk, (701) 857-6413, holds the files. Filing a new DD 214 is still recommended by the state at no charge, and a certified copy for a benefits claim is free under Section 37-01-36, but the request goes through the veterans service office, not the counter. The Minot veteran organizations the county lists meet in the county building or nearby: American Legion Post 26, AMVETS, DAV Chapter 4 (whose plaque the commission hung in the Veteran's Room, meeting room 105, in October 2025) and VFW Post 753. The state's transportation listings for Ward County include Souris Basin Transit, whose dispatch says veterans ride free on showing a veteran ID; the provider's own county page does not mention the fare, so confirm at 701-839-7433 or 800-927-8318.