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Hotline



Hotline is a publication of the Minnesota Department of Corrections. It contains correctional news, upcoming events, position openings, and other items of interest to a correctional audience.




Initiative Report

The Minnesota Department of Corrections has released the Minnesota Juvenile Justice and Mental Health Initiative Final Report. A 44-member interagency advisory task force, formed as part of the initiative, studied issues impacting justice-involved youth with mental health or co-occurring disorders. Its findings and recommendations are found in this report.


Warden John King



Warden John King of the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater talks with a member of the media about the July 16, 2008, opening of a new segregation unit at the facility.The unit was designed to enhance security and safety features. Funding was appropriated by the 2006 legislature. For more information about the new unit, click here.



New segregation unit at Stillwater















The Minnesota Correctional Facility (MCF)-Red Wing, the depMCF-Red Wing graduationartment's juvenile facility, held a Celebration of Excellence ceremony July 11, 2008. The ceremony recognized approximately 20 residents who earned a high school diploma or GED. Those who made the honor roll or earned certificates in vocational programs were also acknowledged.

State Senator Steve Murphy and Representative Denny McNamara addressed residents at the celebration. The two were honored for their support of the MCF-Red Wing.



Roman George



The Minnesota Department of Corrections has named Roman George as 2008 Agent of the Year. George supervises offenders in Phase II of the department's Challenge Incarceration Program (CIP). For more information about George's selection, click here.

For more information about CIP, click here.

The Department of Corrections has released Minnesota Prison Population Projections Report - Fiscal Year 2008. Minnesota's prison population has increased fourfold over the last two decades. Though populations continue to grow, current projections indicate a slower growth rate than in previous years.

The 2007 Probation Survey is now available. This document, completed annually by the Minnesota Department of Corrections, is a compilation of probation data from all Minnesota counties.



During the earSTS crews sandbag in Austinly morning hours of June 12, heavy rains flooded the southeastern community of Austin, Minnesota. With water rising throughout the day, finding help was critical.

Seven Sentencing to Service (STS) crews were summoned to assist with sandbagging work. Crews responded from the counties of Mower, Olmsted, Fillmore, Freeborn, Rice, Faribault and Martin.

The STS crews worked at various sites around the city to protect the downtown area and residential properties. The sandbagging efforts were successful in preventing damage to vital areas of the city.

The Minnesota Correctional Facility-Lino Lakes held its offender Transitions Fair on June 17, 2008.

The annual fair provides offenders, nearing tAn offender receives employment information from an EMERGE representativeheir release from prison, with connections and support in the community. Thirty-two agencies set up booths and distributed information about employment, education, counseling, and more. These connections can greatly improve an offender’s chance of successfully reentering society and remaining crime-free.

Employers and volunteers were on hand to answer questions and provide guidance to the approximately 330 offenders who attended the Transitions Fair.

In May, a copy of Senate Resolution 0158 honoring volunteer Bea Hasselmann was presented to her at the Minnesota Correctional Facility (MCF)-Red Wing during the education unit's Celebration of Excellence. Mrs. Hasselmann has Bea Hasselmann receiving Senate Resolution from Barbara Cox.been a volunteer director of the MCF-RW boys’ choir for the past seven years. She has volunteered over 1,500 hours to the choir, traveling weekly to the facility from Minneapolis and sharing her love of music with residents.

In addition, one of the residents of the facility read a poem he wrote about "Mrs. H" and she was presented with flowers from the choir members.

The Celebration of Excellence is held five times a year to recognize juvenile residents who have attained the honor roll or are receiving their high school diploma or GED. Mrs. Hasselman and the boys’ choir perform at each of these events, as well as numerous other programs at the facility and in the Red Wing community.

ICWC clean up

Three Institution/Community Work Crews (ICWC) are helping with storm clean-up in Coon Rapids after an EF 1 tornado hit the suburb Sunday, May 25, 2008. Crews from the Minnesota Correctional Facility (MCF)-Lino Lakes and the MCF-Stillwater are removing fallen trees from parks and residential areas. ICWC crews are made up of carefully selected, non-dangerous, minimum-security inmates under the supervision of a DOC crew leader.

Megan's Law in Minnesota: The Impact of Community Notification on Sex Offender Recidivism, a research report of the Minnesota Department of Corrections, examines the state's three-tiered notification system that has been law since 1997.

The Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) recognized National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW) April 13-19, 2008. Each DOC facility and the central office hosted speakers, events and programs to raise awareness of crime victims' rights among staff and offenders.

Speaker Jackie Millar at the MCF-Moose Lake

A display at the Minnesota Correctional Facility (MCF)-Lino Lakes, for example, featured a silhouette and pair of shoes representing each woman and child killed in Minnesota in 2007 as a result of domestic violence. At the MCF-Willow River/Moose Lake, nearly 100 offenders heard Jackie Millar speak about being shot in the head by two juveniles in 1995 and her rehabilitation from the resulting trauma. She also touched on choices and forgiveness. Millar is an advocate of restorative justice.

"This week provides us an opportunity to renew our commitment to address the needs of victims and their families, and to increase awareness of crime victims' rights," said Corrections Commissioner Joan Fabian.

To learn more about NCVRW, click here.

Officer Gwen

In mid-April, the City of Cottage Grove hosted the forum, Sexual Predators Among Us: Who Are They? The event examined the characteristics of sexual predators as well as how to recognize the signs of sexual abuse. This community dialogue featured panelists from the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC), the Cottage Grove Police Department, the Jacob Wetterling Foundation, and Human Services, Inc. “We are pleased to have these opportunities to share accurate information with people so they can use it to increase safety for themselves, their families and communities,” said DOC Risk Assessment/Community Notification Director, Bill Donnay, who participated in the forum.

Spring cleaning of Minnesota roadways is underway with the help of offender work crews and Adopt-a-Highway volunteers. Governor Tim Pawlenty announced the fourth annual Operation Clean-Up to pick up litter along the state’s higTrash pickuphways through September.

Since 2005, the Minnesota Departments of Corrections (DOC) and Transportation (MnDOT) have worked together on Operation Clean-Up. The DOC provides both state work crews and coordination of county Sentencing to Service (STS) crews, who are utilized along the state’s most highly-traveled highways. More than 95,000 offender hours have been dedicated to cleaning roadways across the state since Operation Clean-Up began. This year, offenders will work an estimated 35,000 hours. Minimum-security prison inmates on Institution/Community Work Crews (ICWC) are also assisting with the clean-up effort.

STS and ICWC offenders work on a variety of community improvement projects including litter pick-up, river clean-up, trail development, and graffiti removal. Crews also prepare for and clean up after floods and severe storms.

The Frank W. Wood Religious Resource Center at the Minnesota Correctional Facility (MCF)-Oak Park Heights was dedicated on April 18, 2008. The event celebrated Wood's 37-year correctional Woodcareer. Wood started as a corrections officer in 1959 and worked his way up through the ranks. In 1980, Stillwater Warden Frank Wood was named the first warden for the MCF-Oak Park Heights, which was under construction at the time. Wood was instrumental in staffing and planning for the facility's opening in 1982. In 1992, Wood was named deputy commissioner of institution services; he was appointed commissioner of corrections by Governor Arne Carlson in 1993 and reappointed in 1995. Wood retired from state service in 1996.

On April 12, 2008, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu addressed residents of the Minnesota Correctional Facility (MCF)-Red Wing as paWarden Otis Zanders, Government Relations Director Barbara Cox, and Bishop Tuturt of a Day of Peace. The annual event is a collaborative effort of the MCF-Red Wing and the non-profit organization “youthrive,” an affiliate of the International Peace Jam Foundation. Additional support was provided by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

The MCF-Red Wing has had the privilege of having a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate speak at the facility annually for the past seven years. The purpose of the Day of Peace is to give residents the opportunity to learn from individuals who use non-violent means to make positive changes in their communities.

The 3 Nations drum group, made up of 10 American Indian residents of the facility, performed an honor song for the Archbishop. Facility residents also made a $312 donation to the Desmond Tutu Foundation.

Thumbnail of color 2008 NCVRW theme poster (22x28).

National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW) is April 13-19, 2008. A resource guide is available online to help communities and organizations provide awareness of crime victim issues. The online guide includes posters, press releases, public service announcements and crime victimization statistics. To download the resource guide or learn more about NCVRW, click here.

During NCVRW, Department of Corrections' facilities will hold programs and events to recognize and raise awareness of crime victims’ rights.

The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) has recognized two DOC Office of Special Investigations staff for their outstanding work.

David Schiebel receiving award

David Schiebel, fugitive investigator, was awarded a Medal of Commendation for his efforts that resulted in the arrest of a robbery suspect in October 2007.

Erin Spruance, investigator-corrections intelligence, was nominated for the MPD Investigator of the Year award. Spruance has been involved in a two-year federal investigation of a violent street gang in South Minneapolis. She dedicated thousands of hours to the investigation, which resulted in 18 federal convictions, 9 murder convictions, 63 guns recovered and more than 5 kilograms of crack recovered.

Jack and Adelle Young

The former warden's house at the Minnesota Correctional Facility (MCF)-Stillwater has been dedicated as the Jack & Adelle Young Conference Center. The Youngs were the last family to live in the home when Jack was warden from 1968-1971. The dedication on November 21, 2007, recognized the partnership between the Youngs and their many contributions to the Department of Corrections. Jack Young went on to serve as Corrections Commissioner from 1979 to 1982. The center is currently being renovated and, when complete, will also be home to artifacts from the existing prison as well as the old territorial prison that burned down in 2002.

Volunteers are an integral, essential, and valuable resource to the Department of Corrections. They help accomplish the department’s mission by enhancing services and programs that impact offenders’ healthy development. Over 1,300 volunteers serve as role models and critical links to resources that prepare inmates for successful entry into the community following completion of their court-ordered incarceration.

Volunteers supplement services and programs offered by department staff, supporting community reentry efforts and promoting institution safety. Volunteers assist the department in delivery of programs and services that help offenders become educated, self-efficient, law-abiding citizens. For more information about current volunteer opportunities, click here.

Two extensive research reports on sex offenders have been issued by the Minnesota Department of Corrections. Sex Offender Recidivism in Minnesota examines recidivism among more than 3,100 sex offenders released from a Minnesota correctional facility between 1990 and 2002 as well as the factors associated with sex offender recidivism. Residential Proximity & Sex Offense Recidivism in Minnesota examines the potential deterrent effect of residency restrictions by analyzing sexual reoffense patterns of sex offender recidivists.
The Department of Corrections' Master Academic Plan 2006-2007 provides direction and focus in planning educational opportunities for the offender population. The Plan is heavily influenced by - and supportive of - the department's mission and vision, and is driven by the goal of providing offenders the pathway, through education, to achieve an enhanced quality of life and improved economic stability.

The Minnesota Correctional Facility (MCF)-Oak Park Heights commemorated 25 years of operation at an event on March 23, 2007. The facility was constructed in 1982 at a cost of $32 million. It was Wood presentationconsidered state-of-the-art, with its earth-sheltered design incorporating advanced technology and architectural concepts. Oak Park Heights serves as the state’s highest custody level facility for adult males (level 5, maximum). It houses offenders classified as maximum custody or extreme risks to the public. Capacity is 466 inmates.

The facility currently has nine self-contained complexes that can operate independently. Six are designed to house 52 inmates each. The remaining three complexes contain the mental health, transitional health care, and admin-istrative control units that serve adult male offenders department-wide. Oak Park Heights is also the site of the consolidated offender canteen service, operated by MINNCOR Industries and servicing all department adult facilities. (Pictured from left to right are Corrections Officer Ross Larson, retired commissioner and warden Frank Wood, and current warden Jessie Symmes.)

CIP women

The Challenge Incarceration Program (CIP) boot camp saves taxpayer dollars and reduces recidivism, according to an in-depth outcome evaluation just released.



The report looked at all CIP offenders since the program began in 1992, one of the longest periods for such an evaluation. It compared CIP participants with a control group with similar criminal factors. For more information, click here.

In August 2003, the African American Employment Task Force (AAETF) began an examination of current policies and practices relating to employment. Membership included representatives of the St. Paul Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People as well as staff of the DOC. This highly committed group has worked very hard, through some difficult issues, for the past three years. The report of the Task Force is now available. In response to the report, the DOC has issued a statement of commitment that includes changes in DOC policies and practices already implemented as a result of AAETF input as well as an implementation plan for recommendations contained in the AAETF report.

African American Employment Task Force - Findings & Recommendations - February 2006

Department of Corrections' Response - Statement of Commitment - April 2006

Department of Corrections' Response - Implementation Plan - April 2006
Our Mission

To hold offenders accountable and offer opportunities for change while restoring justice for victims and contributing to a safer Minnesota.

FOCUS on Strategic Planning details the Department of Corrections' mission, vision, and goals for July 2004 to December 2006. For a pdf copy of strategic plan, click here.



Hot Topics
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Minnesota Level 3 Sex Offender Information
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National Sex Offender Public Registry
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Virtual Prison Tours
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Daily Inmate Profile Reports
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Challenge Incarceration Program (CIP)
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Department Results

Additional Resources
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Governor's Commission on Sex Offender Policy







Link to Stop It Now






Minnesota Department of Corrections
1450 Energy Park Drive
Suite 200
St. Paul, Minnesota 55108

651-361-7200

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