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Department of Corrections announces phased closure plan for MCF Stillwater; commission told bed impacts will be managed
Summary
The Department of Corrections told the Sentencing Guidelines Commission that state law requires closure of Minnesota Correctional Facility–Stillwater within four years and that DOC will reduce population in phases, with no early releases planned.
State corrections officials told the Sentencing Guidelines Commission on Thursday that Minnesota Correctional Facility–Stillwater will be phased out after enactment of a provision in the 2025 public safety omnibus law that requires the Department of Corrections to move toward closure.
A DOC representative explained that Stillwater, one of the state’s oldest prisons, faces extensive deferred‑maintenance and livability challenges and that the law requires the agency to plan for closure within the next four years. The department will approach closure in phases: the first phase will reduce the facility population (staff described current capacity as "a little over a thousand" beds and said the initial effort will reduce that population by roughly half over several months) and the second phase will study full closure options and future uses of the historic site.
DOC staff emphasized that the phase‑down will not involve early release of people serving sentences; officials said the department has bed capacity in other facilities to absorb moved individuals in the short term and that attrition will also reduce Stillwater’s population over time. Officials said they will stand up internal committees to plan transfers, continuing programs, and uses for the parts of the facility that remain in operation while closure preparations proceed.
The department also told commissioners that the closure presents operational and planning questions the commission should consider as it finalizes guideline changes, because ranking decisions affect the size and composition of the prison population. DOC said it will post status updates, memos to families and other communications on an agency web page and will provide information to the commission as planning advances.
Why it matters: The planned closure could change where and how Minnesota houses sentenced individuals and could influence prioritization of prison bed use in future guideline discussions. Commissioners noted the need to monitor bed capacity and to consider closure impacts when adopting guideline rankings that affect expected prison population.
Next steps: DOC will continue planning and post regular updates on its Stillwater phased‑closure webpage; the commission’s staff said it will consider bed‑impact information when finalizing rankings.
