- Sept. 10, 2002: By a margin of 4 to 1, Willmar voters approve a referendum allowing the city to issue $51.2 million in revenue bonds to finance major construction and renovation at Rice Memorial Hospital.
- Oct. 9, 2002: Official groundbreaking.
- April 2004: The emergency department, the first department to occupy the new patient care wing, moves into its new space.
- August-September 2004: The new main entrance opens. A new ambulatory surgery unit opens.
- November 2004: The new surgery department is completed.
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- January 2005: Two new floors of patient rooms are completed.
- Summer 2005: The west wing undergoes asbestos removal and interior gutting.
- Fall-winter 2005-06: The west wing is renovated.
- February-April 2006: The inpatient mental health unit opens in renovated space in the west wing. The outpatient Rice Institute for Counseling and Education opens in newly renovated space. Medical staff support services, health information systems, respiratory therapy and hospice offices open in the west wing.
- June 2006: Demolition begins of the hospital's original 1937 wing.
- August 2006: New parking areas are completed.
- Oct. 12, 2006: Official dedication marks the completion of the project.
