Minnesota Department of Corrections announced phased closure of Stillwater prison

The Minnesota Department of Corrections announced Thursday that state leaders have agreed to a plan to close the more-than-a-century-old Stillwater prison.

The agreement between Gov. Tim Walz and legislative leaders calls for a “phased closure” of the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater and moving the people incarcerated there to other facilities where there is capacity. The lawmakers say the facility is outdated, unsafe and too expensive to maintain.

Walz told reporters Thursday that the prison would be closed in phases over four years. He said no one incarcerated there would be released early, due to the facility closing.

The plan to close the prison by June of 2029 is included in the end-of-session budget agreement that was agreed upon Thursday. Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth says the facility is not safe for inmates or guards.

“This would be a phased plan, recognizing the need to keep the incarcerated persons safe within the environment, and that facility is very old, and the upgrades and the deferred maintenance would be too much,” Demuth said.

Health, safety concerns for staff and inmates

Stillwater was the site of Minnesota’s first prison in the days before statehood. The current facility — which is in Bayport, just south of Stillwater — is 111 years old.

The living conditions within the aging prison have raised concerns and drawn protests in recent years. In 2023, the facility went on lockdown after inmates refused to return to their cells, citing concerns over dangerously hot conditions within the prison, as well as poor water quality.

At a news conference Thursday afternoon, State Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell said Stillwater has racked up an estimated $180 million in maintenance costs.

“There are issues around windows, energy efficiency, furnace, plumbing, tuckpointing of that building, maintenance of the outbuildings,” Schnell said. “Literally on an annual basis we’re investing tens of millions of dollars in deferred maintenance money into that facility.”

Population will be moved to other prisons

Stillwater houses around 1,200 men out of the roughly 8,300 people who are incarcerated in Minnesota state facilities. Schnell says they’ll be split between the state’s other prisons for men.

The DOC operates nine other facilities for men in the state including prisons in Faribault, Lino Lakes, Red Wing, Rush City, Oak Park Heights, St. Cloud, Togo, Moose Lake and Willow River, as well as a women’s prison in Shakopee.

In the coming weeks, Schnell said corrections department staff will start the process of assigning inmates to other facilities. He said there’s enough room at Minnesota’s other prisons for everyone at Stillwater, so early release is not part of the plan.

“We’re not reducing population or releasing anyone to make this happen. This would be handled by existing open bed space phased over time.”

The main Stillwater prison building is on the National Register of Historic Places, so it’s not likely to meet the wrecking ball. Schell says there’ll be a decommissioning study to figure out possible future uses.

Staff unions push back

About 450 people work at the Stillwater prison. Schnell says employees could be sent to work elsewhere in the corrections department or offered other state jobs.

But the unions that represent staff say Stillwater should stay open. AFSCME Council 5 is demanding that state leaders stop the closure.

In a statement, the union’s executive director Bart Andersen calls the move an “unacceptable budget gimmick.” He says closing Stillwater will lead to overcrowding and dangerous conditions at the other prisons and displace dedicated employees.

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