More taxes for Mora post?

County assessors are all over the map with property taxes

MORA — American Legion Post 201 in Mora has no bar or restaurant. It has a small piece of land with a veterans memorial on it, and a building which displays local veteran-related memorabilia, like a museum. It functions as a meeting space.

Still, Kanabec County wants to charge the post $7,000 in commercial property taxes. The American Legion, VFW and other organizations in the Minnesota Commanders’ Task Force are calling on lawmakers to treat the 501(c)(19) and 501(c)(4) veteran organizations like 501(c)(3)’s and let them qualify for zero property taxes.

On Feb. 12, Mora Post 201 Adjutant Alan Skramstad, a former Mora mayor, testified at the State Capitol before the House Veterans Affairs Division, which is a subcommittee of the State Government Finance and Policy Committee, on HF195.

“Our post has no intentions of using the site for commercial enterprise, except for meetings and as an educational tool for the community,” he told the lawmakers. “Currently, we charge no fees to use the meeting room.”

Joining him were American Legion Department Commander Carl Moon and VFW Department Commander David Staehlin. State Rep. Peggy Bennett of Albert Lea is the chief sponsor.

Moon pointed out how many posts have closed and the community suffered from the loss of their fundraising efforts for other nonprofits. He noted how many tax assessors have confusion over tax laws, something discussed for decades at veteran get-togethers.

“A zero-tax measure would clear up much of the confusion county assessors across our 87 Minnesota counties have regarding posts’ taxes. This drives workload and inefficiencies that are inevitably covered by taxpayers,” Moon said.

People often assume posts are just bars and restaurants or places to gamble, he said.

“We prop up small, local nonprofits providing important community services including youth sports, addressing food insecurity and homelessness, and funding public safety equipment for our cities, such as fire trucks. These are important gaps filled that federal, state, and local government cannot address.”

He added that the American Legion has 531 posts, and 261 of them have buildings. He said Stillwater, Marshall, Northfield, Waite Park, Coon Rapids and others, especially in the metro, have had to sell their buildings to survive in recent years.

“How many more communities will need to lose the gathering center for charity fundraising and activities before relief is provided?” Moon asked.

Staehlin went through the various costs posts are facing: payroll taxes, insurance costs, building upkeep. He said these places have been generous with their communities and are 100 years old. He said in gambling alone VFW posts gave $1.6 million last year. That’s not counting bake sales and other fundraisers happening at the posts.

The banquet spaces often are free for local nonprofits to use, and when they do charge, such as for wedding receptions, they cost less than many other options. It is a service for people celebrating key moments in life but without the deep pockets often needed, he said.

Many Legion and VFW members, when they interact with veterans from other states, find that posts don’t pay property taxes in the other states.

The committee voted to refer the bill to the House Taxes Committee. It has bipartisan support.

Post homes in Minnesota are supposed to be taxed at 1 percent through an annual filing process. However, before 2017, it was at 30 percent, so some assessors still think it is at the old level. Further, some assessors, like in Kanabec County, think the 1 percent is “1 percent reduction” instead of actually 1 percent. There are many places where assessors tax Legion and VFW posts at 100 percent and make no effort to allow them to reach 30 or 1 percent.

“Despite that reduction in property taxes, Legions and VFWs are struggling to keep their doors open,” Bennett said.

The post home in Mora is like a local military and veterans museum. Right next to it is the Kanabec County Veterans Memorial, complete with a Huey helicopter that actually flew as an air ambulance in Vietnam.

Groundbreaking began in 2023, with completion in 2024. The post raised $265,000 via donations, fundraisers and assistance from the Lions Club and Federated Co-op. A married couple donated the land.

Skramstad was mayor at the time and had been seeking a site for a memorial considering the city was out of park space for one.

Among the displays is a U.S. flag spangled with 48 gold stars that Walt Olen’s family received after the uncle’s death. Staff Sgt. Floyd Snare was wounded three times in Belgium in World War II until he died of wounds sustained in the Battle of the Bulge.

Another display shows pages from the Minneapolis Tribune that lists every Minnesotan killed in World War II — by county. An Ogilvie postmaster had saved it.

There are weapons of war, like a Russian M44 carbine with bayonet, a 1951 Russian SKS assault rifle and an 1854 Austrian Lorenze Musket bayonet.

It has a bronze statue Post 201 commissioned called “Silent Battle” The artist is from Colorado, and the Gulf War veteran of the 1st Infantry Division who posed for it suffered from severe PTSD. Sadly, Brian Lee Zimmermann, recipient of three Bronze Stars, succumbed to his demons in 2021.

The Legionnaire attempted to reach Kanabec County Assessor Tina Diedrich-Von Eschen for this story.

To donate to Mora Post 201, send a check to American Legion Post 201, P.O. Box 44, Mora, MN 55051.

Because Post 201 does not have a gambling license, it is lawful for posts with gambling to donate to Post 201 for purposes of its mission, such as its memorial or military displays, not the property tax burden.

Editor’s note: The Legionnaire has checked on this subject with the Gambling Control Board staff many times. It’s a common misnomer that “a Legion can’t donate to a Legion.”

In reality, they mean a gambling-licensed Legion can’t give to a gambling-licensed Legion. Mora Post 201 is not licensed for gambling and, thus, can receive donations.