State to close Willow River prison facility

The Minnesota Department of Corrections will close its two smallest prisons - Willow River and Togo - because of a budgetary crisis, the DOC announced Monday. The move comes after the legislature adjourned from the recent special session without action on the agency's supplemental budget request.

The Department of Corrections faces a budget deficiency of approximately $14 million in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021. The combined annual budget for Togo and Willow River is approximately $11 million.

The closure is a decision State Rep. Mike Sundin (DFL-District 11A) intends to challenge, he said, along with Hibbing's State Rep. Julie Stanstede (DFL-District 6A).

"I find it very disappointing that they are eliminating a successful program, albeit more expensive to run, when a large percentage of the offenders (there) never return to the criminal justice system," Sundin told the Pine Knot News on Monday.

Both prisons operate phase one of the Challenge Incarceration Program (CIP) for men, a boot-camp-style program that offers non-violent offenders a chance to earn early release for successful completion.

Not familiar with CIP? Picture every Army boot camp movie you've ever seen, with men marching in straight lines, responding to questions with "sir" and "ma'am," rising at the crack of dawn and working long days. In addition to working on the prison farm and outside of the prison for community projects, programming components also include education, vocational skills, critical thinking skills development, chemical dependency programming, and rigorous physical exercise.

Moose Lake mayor Ted Shaw said the CIP does a lot for the small communities in the area. CIP inmates were honored during the Moose Lake July Fourth parade in 2012, for their work to help the small community fill 80,000 sandbags during that year's massive flooding.

"They do a lot of work at the arena, parks, the cemetery, streets, ... just a fantastic job in that volunteer area. You get a crew of people and they can make a big job happen really quickly," Shaw said. "We would really miss them."

Down from a maximum of 180 inmates, the Willow River facility - which actually lies in a tall pine forest between Sturgeon Lake and Willow River - currently holds 81 people. A number of prisoners there qualified for a Covid-19 early release program, contributing to the lower numbers. Phases 2 and 3, supervised release phases, are generally six months in duration and served in the community. Once they successfully complete all three phases, offenders are placed on supervised release for the remainder of their sentences.

It's not a program for career criminals. Most CIP participants have been convicted of drug or property crimes. State statute prohibits CIP for offenders who have been convicted of murder, manslaughter, criminal sexual conduct, assault, kidnapping, robbery, arson, or any other offenses involving death or intentional personal injury.

According to a Minnesota DOC study conducted from 1993-2002, CIP participation:

-decreased the chances of reoffending with a new felony conviction by 32 percent;

-decreased the chances of reincarceration for a new crime by 35 percent;

-reduced costs by $4,600 per participant.

Job losses will hurt

Monday's announcement did not include a timeline for closure, rather it stated that the DOC will begin work with staff, labor partners, and other stakeholders to develop a comprehensive timeline and plan to implement the changes.

DOC spokesperson Nicholas Kimball said the men's CIP program will transition to one of the remaining minimum custody facilities.

"The planning is underway and it's not yet determined which facility," Kimball said. "So the program will continue in full, just at an alternate site."

A few jobs will transition as well, but most will not. Currently the state facility at Willow River employs 51 people full-time, while the Togo facility employs 48.

"Those two communities are going to take a beating," Sundin said. "And while I don't represent the Willow River community (which lies in Pine County), I do represent many of the employees."

According to the press release, in addition to the two facility closures, the DOC will implement additional reductions in commissioner's office personnel and central administrative services, and renegotiate purchase of service contracts to achieve a balanced FY21 budget and help stabilize the agency for the next biennium. Corrections officials are projecting that the agency's budget deficiency will be approximately $25 million in the next biennium. The total DOC budget in the current fiscal year is approximately $611 million.

While the state's next biennial budget will not be set until next year, the agency is readying for the economic challenges caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic.

"We take these steps out of a commitment to deliver critically needed services that offer opportunity for transformation and a safer Minnesota," said DOC Commissioner Paul Schnell. "While the actions we announced today are immensely difficult, Minnesotans rightly expect that we be responsible stewards of public resources as we fulfill the agency's mission," Schnell added.

Not on the chopping block is the state's CIP women's program at Shakopee. Sundin highlighted the fact that under the commissioner's recommendation, outstate Minnesota will lose double the DOC jobs than the metro area.