MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS UPDATE | Federal Government Buys Appleton Prison for $495.6 Million After ICE Contract Announcement

The federal government has purchased the 1,600-bed Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton for $495.6 million, adding a major ownership development one day after CoreCivic announced a five-year contract to reopen the prison for federal immigration detention.

APPLETON, MN (August 6, 2026) The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has purchased the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton from private prison operator CoreCivic for $495.6 million, placing the long-closed western Minnesota prison under federal ownership as it prepares to reopen as an immigration detention center.

CoreCivic disclosed the completed sale Wednesday, August 5, one day after announcing that it had received a five-year management contract from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to activate and operate the facility.

The ownership sale is a significant new development following MinneapoliMedia’s earlier report about the federal management contract. Although the prison will now belong to the federal government, CoreCivic said it currently expects to continue operating it under the previously announced ICE agreement.

A $495.6 Million Federal Acquisition

The Prairie Correctional Facility is a 1,600-bed prison located at 445 South Munsterman Street in Appleton. It opened in the early 1990s and once served as a major regional employer before closing in 2010.

CoreCivic said the Appleton facility was sold to the federal government for $495.6 million. The company also sold its 1,033-bed Midwest Regional Reception Center in Leavenworth, Kansas, to the Department of Homeland Security for $238.4 million.

The two transactions were valued at a combined $734 million.

The acquisition means the federal government will own the Appleton property instead of leasing detention space from CoreCivic. The sale also substantially changes the financial and operational structure surrounding the facility’s reopening.

CoreCivic Expects to Remain the Operator

CoreCivic said it expects to continue managing Prairie Correctional Facility under its existing contract with ICE, although the company acknowledged that the contract’s terms could be modified because of the ownership change.

The management contract is scheduled to begin August 11, 2026, and continue through August 2031. CoreCivic previously estimated that the Appleton operation could produce approximately $75 million in annual revenue once the facility is fully activated.

The company also cautioned investors that continued management of the property is not guaranteed and that the federal government could alter the terms of the arrangement.

No public timeline has been released detailing when the prison will reach full occupancy or when detainees will begin arriving.

A Major Expansion of Federal Detention Capacity

Once fully operational, the Appleton facility would substantially expand federal immigration detention capacity in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest.

The reopening has generated concern among immigration advocates, civil-rights organizations and residents who oppose the expansion of federal detention operations. Supporters have pointed to the possibility of new jobs and economic activity in Appleton, where the prison was once one of the area’s largest employers.

The federal purchase, however, raises questions that go beyond local employment. Among them are how the facility will be staffed, what standards will govern detention conditions, how medical and legal services will be provided and what oversight mechanisms will apply under direct federal ownership.

Officials have not publicly disclosed how many employees will be hired or how quickly the prison will be prepared to house as many as 1,600 people.

Earlier Report Remains Part of a Developing Story

MinneapoliMedia previously reported that CoreCivic had secured a five-year federal contract to reopen Prairie Correctional Facility. That announcement accurately described the management agreement known at the time.

The subsequent August 5 sale adds a new and consequential fact: the federal government has now acquired the property itself.

MinneapoliMedia will continue monitoring the activation process, employment plans, detention conditions, local government response and any changes to CoreCivic’s management agreement with ICE.

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