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One of Minnesota’s oldest prisons, the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Stillwater, is set to close. That 

 came as part of a state budget deal reached Thursday. Lawmakers say the prison has become unsafe and would be too costly to maintain. 

The phased closure will take place over four years and the more than 1,200 people incarcerated at Stillwater will be moved to other facilities across the state. 

The Office of the Ombuds for Corrections, the state’s independent investigator of complaints about correctional facilities, released a 

 last year detailing its concerns about the deteriorating conditions. It listed the Stillwater prison as one of “highest needs,” with maintenance required for everything from plumbing to falling concrete and a lack of air conditioning. 

“We know these issues go back decades,” said Margaret Zadra, ombudsperson for corrections. “And there’s been a lot of attempts over the decades to make the facility work and the issues just remain too significant.”

The office plans to continue monitoring the situation as the phased shut down gets implemented. With this closure comes an opportunity to re-evaluate, Zadra said.

“We know that better substance use treatment, better mental health care investments on the community side lead to a reduction on the correction side,” she said. “So, as a state we have an opportunity to decide how we want to invest our money."

For the full conversation with Zadra, use the audio player above. 

Emily Reese

Host

Ngoc Bui

Author

The Minnesota Correctional Facility in Stillwater has a long and costly list of maintenance needs as one of the oldest prisons in the state.

One of Minnesota's oldest prisons, the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Stillwater, is set to close. That news came as part of a state budget deal reached Thursday by lawmakers. The Office of the Ombuds for Corrections, an independent investigator of complaints about correctional facilities, released a report in 2024 detailing its concerns about the deteriorating conditions. It listed the Stillwater prison as one of “highest needs”, with maintenance required for everything from plumbing to falling concrete and a lack of air conditioning.

Minnesota corrections investigator welcomes phased closure of Stillwater prison

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