Prairie Correctional Facility, private prison, not re-opening soon, says Rep. Andrew Falk

By Gregory Pratt Tue., Sep. 27 2011 at 8:46 AM

Prairie Correctional Facility closed in early 2010.

The Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton won't be re-opening anytime soon, at least not according to Rep. Andrew Falk.

Prairie Correctional Facility has been closed since February 2010. A report by the Minnesota Independent on the growth of private-prisons giant Corrections Corporation of America suggested that the facility will re-open in "early 2012" and serve as a prison for California's overflow of inmates, which Falk denies.

But that doesn't mean he doesn't want CCA to revive the facility -- and bring hundreds of prison jobs to his district.

Minnesota Independent reported about the prison corporation's plans to house California inmates in Appleton based on a November 2010 posting by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to that effect.

Andrew Falk doesn't think Prairie Correctional in Appleton is reopening soon.

City Pages called Falk, a DFL-er representing District 20, to ask if that was true. According to the legislator, CCA officials denied that there are plans to re-open the jail.

"The facility is sitting there idle," Falk said. "We want the jobs back."

He says that the Appleton facility was one of the largest property taxpayers in Swift County, Minnesota, since it was created in the early 1990s -- and also one of the top employers in the area.

"It could be a couple hundred to three hundred jobs," he says.

The jail closed in 2010 because Minnesota lawmakers expanded Minnesota correctional facilities in Faribault and Moose Lake, lessening the need for a private facility in Appleton.

CCA did not respond to a request for comment.

Tags:

Andrew Falk, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Corrections Corporation of America

We Recommend

Jimmy buff mathews

I too worked at PCF, as far as staff having afaires I have never worked at a large company that this was not the case, In regard to union, when I worked at a jail in another part of the state I was a union member The union did nothing for me excepete take money from my pay, I had a grievens, the union was not there for me, because there was no reward for the union.PCF and staff are some of the best people I have ever worked with,I hope and pray CCA reopens PCF soon .

Darren the Barbarian

Hey there campers, I too worked there from opening til 2002. The truth of the matter is that CCA has never been a big fan of Mn. There are quite a lot of alumni from that have done very well with them. There are always people that thought that they were passed over for promotions, wah wah wah. Almost every successful private facility has a working relationship with their home state. Mn and private corrections do not. Some of the best people and work friends came from PCF. You cannot blame Falk for corporate decisions. The metro representitives will not let any job dollars go out to Swift County. For staff the only solution is for the state to buy it and create union jobs. This will ensure that they will have jobs in the future. CCA will fill beds in other states before Mn. Best of luck to my former collegues in corrections. If you marry CCA you will eventually find out that you married a whore.Darren Olson

Kansan

Did you know Andrew Lemcke? If so, what did you think of him?

Thanks

Mastercraftdeb

Darren: glad to see u didn't loose your wonderful wit, u were always a favorite of mine!Deb

Tems12

I worked there to. I had a 2 year degree in law enforcement plus over 4 years of security and law enforcement experiences and I was passed for a senior correctional office ( which is a Sgt position) the people who got the position did not have a degree or experience. The job posting stated a person needed a degree or a least 3 years of experience. The back ground check was only driver license check and the DHS check. When one person got promopted they would then promopt there friends.

Kansan

CCA avoids background checks. In Arizona, they made a guy who killed another motorist an assistant warden.

Mastercraftdeb

I worked there and know for a fact there was so many cover ups for staff (inappropriate relations with inmates, lots of extra-marital affairs with staff on staff, false education/human resource violations and inmates that should never been in that area due to classification cover-ups), that closing was a good thing, CCA is so crooked, Appleton/Swift Countyshould be thankful.

Cowgirljo80

Falk is an idiot! And hasn't done Anything to help out the community or the people who worked at the Appleton prison. He had been full of false promises from day one and cannot be trusted!

Cowgirljo80

I also worked there and KNOW this to be true!

Dez

I used to work there. It's a small rural area without a lot of job opportunities. When they closed it down a lot of my friends and former coworkers moved out of the area to find work. It will take a good deal of time and some relocation money to convince people to either come back or to move there.