Posted: 10/28/04
By Aaron Vehling
From Aug. 13-26 there was a non-routine inmate lockdown at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Rush City, Warden Robert Feneis revealed Oct. 19 at the quarterly community advisory committee meeting.
The lockdown was the result of a series of inmate aggressions and overall tensions, Feneis said.
ěWe normally schedule lockdowns (routine) at least once a year,î he said. Feneis noted that this was the first lockdown of the entire institution in the prisonís five-year history. It prompted the early implementation of the ěNo Work/No Playî concept.
Feneis, along with education director George Kimball, discussed the prisonís new housing arrangements and education and work programs, designed to help inmates succeed when they leave the prison and to reduce the rate at which inmates return to prison.
Inmates who work or are enrolled in an educational program are housed together and are allowed recreational activities such as gym and yard time. Those who donít have jobs or classes to attend are housed separately in what are called ěSpecial Housing Units,î Feneis said.
These inmates spend most of their time locked in their SHU with limited time for phone calls, religious activities and exercise.
One woman at the meeting inquired about what sort of activities the inmates do when locked in their cells.
ěThey read, watch TV and talk to each other,î Feneis said, but asserted that the inmates preferred having a job or taking classes.
ěThe guys donít want idle time,î he said. ěOne reason is that they have to spend it with a roommate.î
Feneis said that this arrangement reinforces the idea that following rules and having a job is rewarded.
ěThe guys appreciate their jobs a bit more,î he said.
Inmates will spend about eight to 10 weeks in an SHU before their name reaches the top of a waiting list. If they have a high school diploma they are allowed to work. If they donít have one, they must enroll in the education program and get a GED.
Rush City has a GED center that grants 50 to 75 GEDs a year, Kimball said.
In addition to this program, the education department also offers computer courses that delve into the innerworkings of Microsoft Office, a critical thinking class, a ěfamily buildingî course and literacy classes.
The prison has some classrooms, Feneis said, but a request has been made for a new education building. Prison administration is currently in the process of designing the building. The building is set to open in summer 2005, Feneis said.
About 200 inmates are involved in an education program full-time, Kimball said. Studies have shown a correlation between inmates who complete a program in prison and a lower rate of recidivism (return to prison), he added.
ěEducation makes them better men,î he said.
By having a GED, an inmate is eligible to work in a variety of jobs, ranging from ěsupportî positions such as janitor, food service and library staff to ěindustryî work through the MINNCOR program, which makes everything from office and home furniture to farm equipment.
About 110 inmates are in the MINNCOR program, Feneis said. MINNCOR recently signed a contract to provide book and paper recycling services to a large paper manufacturer that he said he hopes will add another 40 jobs by January. About 150 inmates are in ěsupportî positions.
The classes run Monday through Friday, three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon in six different classrooms. There are also three-hour evening classes that occupy two or three classrooms, Kimball said.
A new building would expand the amount of classrooms and allow for more inmates to participate in the program, Feneis said.
The classes are taught by both male and female teachers who have the same qualifications as K-12 teachers, he said.
ěWe have no trouble getting teachers,î Kimball said.
The inmates are as eager to acquire education.
ě(The classes) are almost always full,î he said of the waiting list kept to meet the demand.
Feneis said that the inmates generally take the education program seriously.
He described the typical graduation ceremony, which features about 200 well-behaved inmates gathered together in a room, all displaying pride for their accomplishments.
ěFor some of these guys it is the first time they are getting positive feedback.î
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