Stillwater Prison – Photo from mn.gov
STILLWATER, Minn.—The Minnesota Correctional Facility – Stillwater will be phased out over the next four years, with full closure expected by 2029. Governor Tim Walz included the decision in the recently announced state budget, citing the high cost of maintaining the 111-year-old facility.
Republican Senator Michael Kreun of Blaine says he was caught off guard by the move.
“Down the road at some point, if we want to get tougher on public safety in this state, we’re not going to have anywhere to send people. This is really a problem that they thrust onto Minnesota in the cover of darkness.”
Kreun also raised concerns about capacity across the state’s prison system.
“If you take out Stillwater, there’s only 809 open beds and at the time Stillwater had a population of 1,171, so the math doesn’t seem to work.”
DFL Representative Maria Isa Perez-Vega of St. Paul supports the closure, saying resources should be redirected toward preventative measures.
“Data shows when you give social services, when you give basic rights of feeding children and making sure they have the proper education and youth therapy, you see less of an adult prison system.”
Perez-Vega added that she has toured the Stillwater facility and found it to be unsafe.
“If there is something that is taking away human rights from the water, the infrastructure, the building, the conditions are not safe, that was the decision that they made.”
The Department of Corrections plans to transition operations and staff over the coming years as the facility winds down.
