MPR News with Angela Davis

Opportunities and hope behind bars

An inmate flips through a well-used paperback
Education and art programs can be lifesaving for people who are incarcerated.
Elisabeth Fall for APM Reports

When people who are incarcerated have access to education and other resources, they’re more likely to be successful when they come home to their communities.

More than 8,000 people are incarcerated in Minnesota correctional facilities and thousands more are in county jails and federal prisons in the state.

Coming up at 9 a.m. on Thursday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with the leaders and alumni of three programs that provide opportunity — and hope — to people behind bars. 

Guests: 

  • Jennifer Bowen is founder and artistic director of the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop, which teaches creative writing and offers one-on-one mentorships in all the adult correctional facilities in Minnesota. 

  • Antonio Williams is an alum of the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop and founder of Tone Up, an organization that helps formerly incarcerated people find a place back into their communities. 

    four people sitting in a radio studio
    From left to right, MPR News host Angela Davis, MPR News editor Brandt Williams, Antonio Williams and Jennifer Bowen photographed in the studio on Thursday.
    Maja Beckstrom | MPR News

  • Sgt. Adam Hernke is program director at the Hennepin County Adult Detention Center where he oversees the HOPE program, which stands for “Helping Others by Providing Education.”

  • Brittany Kallman Arneson is the executive director of Voices of Hope, a nonprofit organization that brings choral music to prisons.

  • Ashleigh Casey sang with the Voices of Hope Choir at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Shakopee and has continued singing with alumni of the choir after her release.

four people smile and sit in a studio
From left to right. MPR News host Angela Davis, MPR News editor Brandt Williams, Brittany Kallman Arneson and Ashleigh Casey photographed in the studio on Thursday.
Maja Beckstrom | MPR News

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS. 

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.