Camp Ripley funds included in omnibus bill

CAMP RIPLEY - Col. Richard Weaver, Camp Ripley commander, said Monday he was hopeful the 2008 omnibus appropriations bill would include $17.45 million in federal money that would accelerate the camp's construction of an urban setting to be used for training by National Guard soldiers.

The measure is included in the bill as Congress nears its end-of-the-year deadline for spending bills.

Sens. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., announced in separate news releases that they had secured the money to construct phases I and II of the Combined Arms Collective Training Facility at