DVS testing station to re-open

Contributed report:

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Driver and Vehicle Services Division has announced its plan to re-open several driver-testing centers, including the one in Buffalo.

The Buffalo site is scheduled to open in December. The Buffalo DVS station has been closed since the pandemic hit in early 2020 and all DVS stations closed. When the closure was lifted May 19, 2020, DVS did a reorganization of its testing sites, reducing the number from 93 to just 14 – the closest for Wright County residents being either Plymouth or St. Cloud. Six more sites were opened in November and December of 2020, including Faribault, Virginia, Worthington, Alexandria, Moorhead, and Austin. In early 2021, five more stations re-opened, including Chaska, Hastings, Winona, Cambridge, and Minneapolis Midtown.

Six more stations are scheduled to re-open in November, including Gaylord, Glencoe, Hutchinson, New Ulm, Red Wing and St. Peter. Buffalo is one of nine testing stations scheduled to re-open in December, along with Elbow Lake, Lindstrom, Mahnomen, Milaca, Mora, Park Rapids, Pine City and Stillwater. The remaining 52 stations are slated for re-opening in early 2022.

The re-openings are subject to lease and staffing needs being met. DVS already has a lease for its Buffalo location, so there is a chance it could open sooner, but for now, the plan is for a December re-opening.