Representing Clients NationwideCall Us Today(843) 620-1100

Federal Prisons in Minnesota

Get a Consultation

By Elizabeth Franklin-Best, Esq., and Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA

Federal prisons in Minnesota at a glance

The Federal Bureau of Prisons operates 4 institutions in Minnesota, none of them with a satellite camp, holding 3,093 people as of September 2026. All four belong to the Bureau’s North Central Region, which is run from Kansas City, Kansas.

InstitutionType and securityHoldsPopulationCamp or satelliteCityJudicial district
FCI SandstoneFederal Correctional Institution · LowMen1,207—SandstoneDistrict of Minnesota
FCI WasecaFederal Correctional Institution · LowWomen810—WasecaDistrict of Minnesota
FPC DuluthFederal Prison Camp · MinimumMen249—DuluthDistrict of Minnesota
FMC RochesterFederal Medical Center · AdministrativeMen827—RochesterDistrict of Minnesota
Total4 institutions3,093—
Federal Bureau of Prisons facility roster and population statistics, September 2026.

One of the four has an announced change of mission. On July 1, 2026 the Bureau said “Morgantown FPC and Duluth FPC will transition from minimum-security camps to FSL facilities.” The same release gives the reason for the whole set of changes: “decades of deferred maintenance and extreme staffing challenges.” No completion date has been published, and FPC Duluth is still recorded as a Federal Prison Camp at minimum security, with a population, in the roster snapshot behind this page.

How many federal prisons are in Minnesota?

Four on the Bureau of Prisons roster, the list this page counts. Two are low security, FCI Sandstone and FCI Waseca; one is a minimum-security camp, FPC Duluth; one is administrative, FMC Rochester. Not one has a camp or satellite low, so each stands on its own ground, and the state has neither a penitentiary nor a detention center. Our guide to security levels explains the ratings; the Bureau of Prisons directory has the national picture.

What is each federal prison in Minnesota like?

Each of the four, in the order the table lists them.

FCI Sandstone

Low security for men in Pine County, three miles from the town inside a single fence. It opened in 1939 with men transferred from the penitentiary at Leavenworth, and it is a Care Level 1 institution: a man whose medical classification rises to Level 2 is reviewed for transfer elsewhere. See FCI Sandstone.

FCI Waseca

Low security for women about 80 miles south of Minneapolis, on the campus of a former University of Minnesota school. It opened in 1995 as a prison for men and was converted between 2008 and 2009. In January 2023 it became the first federal prison the Inspector General inspected unannounced, on site from January 30 to February 4 and the subject of E&I Report 23-068 that May. See FCI Waseca.

FPC Duluth

A standalone minimum-security camp for men at Hermantown, beside Duluth International Airport on a decommissioned Air Force base. There is no perimeter fence and no cell: men live in dormitories on streets still named Ralston and Vandenberg. It is the camp the Bureau has said will become an FSL. See FPC Duluth.

FMC Rochester

An administrative-security prison and hospital for men east of downtown Rochester, one of seven Medical Referral Centers in the Bureau and the only one in Minnesota. It takes men at every security level, because a medical or psychiatric need rather than a security score puts someone there. Program Statement 6031.06 says at p. 12 that “Care Level 4 institutions are the Bureau’s MRC”, where people “may require extensive medical and nursing care”, some of them needing 24-hour nursing and help with feeding, toileting and dressing. See FMC Rochester.

Which federal prisons in Minnesota hold women?

One, FCI Waseca, the only federal prison for women in the state. The roster records it as low security holding women, with no camp, so Minnesota offers no second federal option. Shakopee, the state’s own women’s prison, is not a Bureau facility and never appears in the federal locator, so a family’s first question is which system imposed the sentence. One rule that reaches inside is statutory: at § 611 the First Step Act requires the Director of the Bureau to make the listed healthcare products “available to prisoners for free, in a quantity that is appropriate to the healthcare needs of each prisoner.” See our guide to women’s federal prisons.

Which Bureau of Prisons regional office oversees Minnesota?

The North Central Regional Office, at Kansas City, Kansas. All four Minnesota institutions belong to the Bureau’s North Central Region, where a BP-10 appeal goes once the Warden has answered. Program Statement 1330.18 warns at p. 7 that the deadlines “specify the date of the Appeal’s receipt in the regional office or the Central Office”, so mail time counts against a family. The step before is our guide to filing a BP-9.

Which RRM office handles halfway-house placement from Minnesota?

One office, and it is the only one whose bop.gov page prints this state. Minnesota is a single federal judicial district: 28 U.S.C. § 103 provides that “Minnesota constitutes one judicial district comprising six divisions.” The page for RRM Minneapolis prints Minnesota beside North Dakota and South Dakota, so nothing here is shared or left unassigned.

The office follows the district a person releases to, so a sentence served elsewhere comes back here if home is here. PS 7310.04 at p. 12 directs the Warden, where significant doubt exists about a referral, to consider “contacting the Chief USPO in the release district.” Timing is on our federal halfway houses page.

How do I find, write to, visit or send money to someone in a Minnesota federal prison?

The inmate locator is a national search, so a Minnesota address is not a filter. It takes a name or a register number, and a name search needs both. With four institutions in four towns, read the facility name on the screen.

Mail has to carry the exact address block the institution publishes, and all four here use a post-office box rather than the street address a map returns. See writing to someone inside.

Visiting follows each institution’s own supplement, not a state rule. Waseca is the only one with a Friday evening session, Rochester adds Mondays, and Sandstone and Duluth run weekends and holidays. See visitation.

Money goes in by lockbox, Western Union Quick Collect or MoneyGram. Program Statement 4500.13 states at p. 79 that such transfers “are posted to the inmate’s account within two hours of the transfer, if it was initiated between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. EST.” See sending money.

How many federal prisons does the Bureau of Prisons run in Minnesota?

Four institutions on the roster snapshot behind this page: two low-security prisons, one minimum-security camp and one medical center. None carries a satellite camp or satellite low, so the roster count and the number of separate sites are one figure, which is untrue of most states.

What is the largest federal prison in Minnesota by population?

FCI Sandstone, at 1,207 people as of September 2026. No Minnesota institution has a camp or satellite attached, so that figure is the whole site, and comparing institutions against sites changes the order nowhere here. FMC Rochester comes next, then FCI Waseca.

Does Minnesota have a high-security federal penitentiary?

No. There is no United States Penitentiary in Minnesota and no medium-security institution either. Two of the four are low security, one is a minimum-security camp, and FMC Rochester carries the administrative rating the Bureau gives its hospitals, which is why it holds men from every level.

Is any federal prison in Minnesota closing?

None is closing. One is changing: on July 1, 2026 the Bureau announced that FPC Duluth will move from a minimum-security camp to a Federal Satellite Low, and no completion date has been published. The roster still carries Duluth as a camp at minimum security.

Which reentry office handles halfway-house placement for someone releasing to Minnesota?

RRM Minneapolis, whose Bureau page prints Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Because Minnesota is one judicial district rather than several, no split sends two offices after the same district. The office that takes a case follows the district a person is going home to.

How do I look up someone held in a Minnesota federal prison?

Use the Bureau’s inmate locator, by name or register number; it covers the whole system, not one state. While someone is in custody the screen shows the facility and its type; once a release date is recorded it shows that instead.

How can a federal defense firm help families with someone in a Minnesota federal prison?

Three problems recur at Minnesota’s institutions, each on the prisons’ own record. Medical: FMC Rochester is a Bureau medical referral center, so care-level designations, delayed treatment and medical transfers are ordinary questions here and among the problems we work on inside. Programs: Sandstone and Waseca both run the Residential Drug Abuse Program, Rochester does not, and Duluth is not on the Bureau’s current list, so where someone is designated decides whether RDAP is reachable at all. Mission: FPC Duluth has an announced conversion with no date attached, leaving everyone there facing a possible move, and a move is where a First Step Act time credit record and an early release plan come apart.

Elizabeth Franklin-Best, P.C. is a federal criminal defense and post-conviction firm based in Columbia, South Carolina, practicing nationwide. Mentions of Minnesota places on this page do not imply an office or a lawyer there.

Call 843-620-1100 or contact us to arrange a paid one-hour consultation about a specific situation. Calls are answered 24 hours a day.

Sources and currency

Bureau of Prisons documents

Audits and inspections

Court records and statutes

News and other sources

Sources reviewed September 2026.

Reviewed for legal accuracy by Elizabeth Franklin-Best, Esq., Principal Attorney·September 2026

Contact Our Experienced Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer for Legal Help

Choosing the right federal defense team can make a difficult situation feel more manageable. At Elizabeth Franklin-Best P.C., we take the time to listen, answer questions, and provide the clarity people need to make informed choices about their future.

Schedule an Initial Consultation

This field is required.
This field is required.
This field is required.
This field is required.
This field is required.
The 8-digit BOP register number, if you have it.
This field is required.
Please include the full name of the person involved, the state and federal court (if known), the charge or stage of the case, and a brief description of the situation. If you are contacting us about a family member, tell us their name and where their case is located.
This field is required.
Scroll to Top