RAMSEY — The nation’s newest veterans clinic will open next week in Ramsey, and the facilities are already drawing high praise from the hundreds of veterans who got a sneak peek.

The 20,000-square-foot outreach clinic will open Tuesday. And it is expected to serve veterans from Anoka, Sherburne, Wright, Isanti, Mille Lacs and western Hennepin counties.

Several hundred vets gathered for a preview Friday that included speeches from U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken.

Steven Young is a 62-year-old Vietnam veteran from Anoka. He says the new facility will save him from having to make the 50-mile drive to the St. Cloud facility in winter.

But some vets say they’ll continue to use the Veterans Administration facilities in Minneapolis or St. Cloud because they like their doctors.