DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Officials say the clinic serving veterans in Dubuque will be moved from Mercy Medical Center to a former Kmart store. The owners of the Plaza 20 center said Thursday that construction will begin immediately to transform part of the former retail space. The store closed in spring 2017. The Department of Veterans Affairs clinic is expected to offer X-rays, audiology, mental health and physical therapy services and a primary care team. It will have more than four times the space of the hospital-based clinic.

Clinic manager Ann Fessler says it serves about 5,000 veterans a year from seven counties that are home to an estimated 25,000 veterans. Fessler says the number served annually is going up.