One of the state's largest prisons must close by 2029, but it's not closed yet.

The staff and population at Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater have been cut in half in the last year, but the campus remains a hub of activity as both offenders and corrections officers test new programs and initiatives, including Earned Living Units (ELUs). 

"I would say this was a place of despair and a hopeless place and now it's a place of hope and a place of change," Lt. Sam Marks, a 20-plus year veteran officer for the Minnesota Department of Corrections, told WCCO News. "I see these changes every day just in the dynamics in the way we're talking to each other."

Inside B East, inmates were seen working out on new gym equipment, tending to an indoor garden and even baking cookies. The inmates can only reside in the unit if they demonstrate "sustained positive behavior, accountability, and personal growth," according to officials.

"They're telling us we're closing in three years and we don't want to close but they've provided us with this kind of diamond in the rough where we can make this into something great and I've seen this start to happen," Marks said. "I think the lessons are we look at the communication tools we've built here with these guys and we translate that around with the rest of the department."

The planned closure was announced last spring as part of a budget agreement struck by the Legislature, with Democratic Gov. Tim Walz saying the operational costs of the 111-year-old building had become "untenable."

Over the years, inmates and staff have criticized the conditions inside the site. In 2023, Stillwater went into lockdown after inmates protested water quality issues within the prison. More than 100 men refused to return to their cells, decrying the extreme heat conditions — as the prison has no air conditioning — and limited access to ice and showers. 

State officials estimate that maintenance costs would hover around $180 million, and the cost of replacing the facility would be upwards of $1.3 billion. The four-year phased closure will result in annual state savings of $40 million. 

The department will conduct a management study to guide the operations, as well as a decommissioning study to plan for the long-term future of the site. The facade of the facility is a national historic site, which must be taken into consideration.

Beginning in July 2027, the department will start vacating the facility entirely. The full closure is expected to be complete by June 30, 2029.