Status of the MINOS Near Detector

MINOS is a long-baseline two-detector neutrino oscillation experiment. Neutrinos produced by the NuMI beamline at Fermilab are observed at the Near and the Far Detectors placed 735km apart. The Far Detector has been fully operational since summer 2003 and has been taking atmospheric muon and neutrino data since early on in its construction. The installation of the Near Detector was completed in December 2004 and the detector is now fully operational. A significant amount of cosmic ray data has been collected in the Near Detector and used for the initial commissioning and preliminary calibration. Details of the Near Detector construction and installation will be presented and the first NuMI neutrino events in the Near Detector will be shown.