By Madison McVan | Reporter
Good morning, Reformers.
Reformer photographer Nicole Neri and I roadtripped out to Appleton, Minnesota, this week for a roundtable discussion with local elected officials on the new ICE detention center opening up in the former federal prison.
I wrote about that meeting here, but figured I’d share some details and musings that didn’t make it into the story.
CoreCivic said in a statement that it would provide limited visitation hours — but the vast majority of the state’s population (and attorneys) would have to schlep pretty far to visit detainees. Appleton is far from the Twin Cities — about a 3 hour drive each way, if you only make quick stops. I completely lost cell service on long segments of the drive. There’s just one small hotel in Appleton.
A quote from state Sen. Torrey Westrom, R-Alexandria, part of his response to a question from the audience about how the elected officials will ensure detainees are treated humanely: “This facility, for anybody that hasn't had an opportunity to ever be in it, it is a remarkable facility…as I was talking to some of you in the room before the meeting started…they reminded me of the stories I've heard years ago that many of the prisoners didn't want to leave and go back home to Puerto Rico or Hawaii, where they came from.” What?
CoreCivic says it expects the 1,600-bed facility to be fully operational by the second quarter of 2027. But will it reach capacity, and hire people for all 525 jobs it claims to have created? I’ll be watching this closely. ICE is rapidly expanding its detention capacity and increasing arrests — but this Appleton prison is far from large immigrant population centers and major airports, posing potential logistical hurdles for the mass deportation machine.
The Swift County Fair was going on next door to the prison grounds. The parking lot backs up to the barbed wire on the outskirts of the prison. As Nicole and I walked past a family’s camper to find a good angle for a photo of the watch tower, we explained that we were reporters there to take photos of the prison, and that we weren’t photographing the family. “Are you protesters?” one woman asked. “Protesters aren’t allowed in here.” No, we weren’t protesters, we explained, and we’d paid the entry fee to get into the fair. Seems many of the locals are on edge about the presence of the people with signs and bullhorns on a busy intersection.
To the rest of this week’s Reformer:
The watchtower of CoreCivic's Prairie Correctional Facility, which will now be used as an ICE detention center, stands next to the Swift County Fair as riders warm up their horses before their events Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)
THIS WEEK IN THE REFORMER
Nursing home workers received final federal approval for increased minimum wages. Starting in September, the minimum wage will be $22.50 for certified nursing assistants, $23.50 for trained medication aides, $27 for licensed practical nurses, and $19 for all other nursing home workers. The hourly wages will increase another $1.50 per hour across all job categories on Jan. 1.
And, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by nursing home industry leaders seeking to dissolve the state’s nursing home labor standards board, which the Legislature created in 2023 to set minimum wages and employment standards.
A federal judge tossed out a Trump administration lawsuit seeking Minnesota’s unredacted voter rolls. The U.S. Department of Justice is now 0-23 in such cases.
Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order banning nonferrous mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, though it bears a strong risk of litigation from mining interests.
Union members and activists, many of whom were under surveillance during Operation Metro Surge, called on Minnesota-based companies to demand accountability and transparency from the Trump administration. Some of the 15 people indicted spoke about how they will not be intimidated by surveillance efforts.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison sued Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, alleging that Abbott is holding up the extradition of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer charged with assault in the shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in Minneapolis on Jan. 14.
Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth said that if elected governor in November, she will tackle Minnesota’s fraud crisis by banning transfers of public dollars to foreign countries, recouping more public dollars lost to fraud and firing all current agency heads and deputy commissioners.
Nick Benson, Minnesota’s foremost independent tracker of ICE flights, marked the 5,000th immigrant detainee shipped out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport since November.
COMMENTARY
Nazra Ahmed shares her experience as a Somali home care worker during Operation Metro Surge: the flashbacks to the Somali civil war, the stress of caring for her special needs son, and the suffering of her fellow union members.
Elections whiz Max Hailperin unpacks a legal dispute between Oak Grove and Anoka County over who gets to decide what type of voter roster — electronic or paper — precincts must use.
Sue Abderholden, former executive director of NAMI Minnesota, details the efforts Minnesota has taken in recent years to address post-partum mental health — and argues that there’s still lots of work to be done.
That’s all from me. Have a great weekend!
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