SAINT PAUL – Monday, the Minnesota Department of Corrections announced plans to close state correctional facilities in Togo and Willow River to address an approximately $14 million budget deficit. State Rep. Julie Sandstede (DFL – Hibbing), who represents the legislative district home to the Togo facility, is adamantly opposed to the proposed closures and has asked Governor Tim Walz and his administration to reconsider.
“COVID-19 has given us an extremely challenging budget outlook, but closing these facilities with dedicated staff and effective programming is the wrong approach. I call on the governor and DOC to take this option off the table,” Rep. Sandstede said. “I’ve visited MCF-Togo multiple times and have seen firsthand exactly how well the model works and how personally invested the staff are in offender success. Especially during a time when criminal justice reform is at the forefront, we need to expand approaches rooted in redemption and rehabilitation like those at Togo and Willow River. Closing these facilities may save a few dollars now, but will lead to the loss of untold opportunity down the road.”
The Togo and Willow River correctional facilities are home to the Challenge Incarceration Program (CIP), a six-month voluntary boot camp style program for eligible offenders that includes chemical dependency treatment, restorative justice, physical training, transition planning, and other programming. Offenders who successfully complete the program can be eligible for early release.
The Togo facility employs 48 full-time equivalent positions, most of which will be eliminated. Rep. Sandstede is extremely concerned about the continued loss of job opportunities in northern Minnesota during the global recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Northern Minnesota is experiencing a disproportionate amount of hardship compared to other regions, and our state has the responsibility to avoid exacerbating this. We’ve already experienced painful job losses as a result of the mining and timber industries – the economic backbone of our region – slowing down. When jobs continue to disappear, more families who have had roots on the Iron Range for generations will be forced to look elsewhere for opportunity,” she said. “Our region simply isn’t positioned to adapt to changing economic conditions as easily as the metro area. We’re all optimistic things will turn around, but hope alone doesn’t pay the mortgage or put food on the table. For our rural communities to remain vibrant, we can’t continue to lose good-paying jobs like those at MCF-Togo.”
According to a DOC study, CIP participants’ chances of reoffending with a new felony conviction drop by 32 percent compared to other offenders with similar criminal factors, and their chances for reincarceration for a new crime are decreased by 35 percent.