On Sunday, April 14, at 10:30 p.m., the Minnesota State Patrol closed its last remaining outstate dispatch center. The Virginia center had been in operation for 60 years. Actually, the final announcement that the center was closing came at around 10:40 p.m. when Radio Communications Supervisor Tom Ralidak came on the air and said that “After 60 years of service, the Virginia Dispatch Center is now 10-7”. Operations were consolidated with a dispatch center in the Twin Cities. On Thursday, April 11, the State Patrol hosted an Open House to mark the closing of the Virginia center. The guests included former dispatchers(Radio Communications Operators), former state troopers and even a few local community and public safety officials. The closing of the Virginia Center also marked the retirement of Ralidak, the State Patrol’s longest serving RCO. Ralidak has served 43 years with the State Patrol and has seen the Virginia Center move to several locations. Originally, the center was located in a two story building on 9th Street North, across from the Greenwood Cemetery. It later moved to the MN/DOT building on Hoover Road and then to the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board building south of Eveleth on Highway 53. The center’s final move was back to the MN/DOT building. The Virginia Dispatch Center closed with a long and proud history of serving northeastern Minnesota. The only remaining structure of the Virginia operation will be the 300 foot tower, located in the Midway area of Virginia.
RCO Tim Twomey “working the board” at the State Patrol Dispatch Center in Virginia. The center closed on April 14, after 60 years of service.
