St. Cloud VA Director to Retire

ST. CLOUD -- The director of the St. Cloud VA is calling it a career. Barry Bahl has announced he will retire from the position June 3rd.

Bahl was named Acting Health Care System Director in 1996 and appointed as the permanent director in 1999.

During his time with the VA, it has grown from serving just over 8,700 veterans in the mid-90's to more than 38,600 last year.

Bahl has helped oversee several expansions and helped modernize the VA campus during his time in St. Cloud. Some of the more notable improvements include a new outpatient mental health clinic, expansions to several clinics including dental, audiology and respiratory clinics, and a new acute psychiatric building.

The St. Cloud VA employs 1,741 people and has an annual budget of $272,000,000.

A successor has not been named to the post.