Sep. 6—STANLEY — Dave Zien said he heard from a lot of naysayers when he was part of the first efforts to bring a prison to Chippewa County.
"When we started it, I was told it was exercise in futility," said Zien, who served as state senator. "I was told it would go in the southern part of the state."
So, Zien is thrilled to see the Stanley Correctional Institution celebrating its 20th year in operation. SCI is a medium-security institution for adult males with a current occupancy of 1,559 inmates, along with 365 employees, according to the Department of Corrections. Currently, there are 104 job openings.
Construction started in 1998 and was a joint venture of Oklahoma-based Dominion Venture Group and the city of Stanley. In November of 2001, the state purchased the prison from Dominion for $82 million, and the first 20 inmates arrived on Sept. 4, 2002.
It would reach capacity over the next year.
SCI is on 100 acres just south of Stanley and Highway 29. There are 45 acres within the perimeter of the facility, and the outside perimeter measures 1.1 miles.
"The number of people who work there, with the fringe benefits they receive, has been tremendous," Zien said. "It's been a wonderful addition to the whole Chippewa Valley region."
Zien still serves on a prison advisory board. He recalls one of the first meetings after the prison was pitched to the community.
"We had over 100 people there, and hardly anyone was against it," Zien recalled.
Not only did the prison bring jobs to the region, it meant inmates who were sent to prisons in Tennessee and Oklahoma because there weren't enough prison beds in the state returned to Wisconsin. At the time Stanley Correctional Institution opened in 2002, the state had 3,476 inmates housed in prisons outside of Wisconsin.
That was important in getting inmates the services they needed, he added.
"Inmates and their families are real people," Zien said. "The Department of Corrections doesn't toot their horn enough. They've done just an absolute outstanding job there. There are so many positives about the Stanley prison."
David Jankoski was Stanley mayor at the time the prison opened 20 years ago.
"Politics played a big part of that whole thing," Jankoski recalled. "We applied as much encouragement as we could to get it in public hands."
Jankoski noted new businesses opened near the prison, like a gas station/restaurant, and he knows many people in Stanley and the surrounding communities who got jobs there.
"The prison has proven to be a good thing. It's prove those wrong who were fearful it would have a negative effect on Stanley," Jankoski said. "Any fears people had of community security never came to fruition."
State Sen. Kathy Bernier, R-Chippewa Falls, was Chippewa County Clerk at the time the prison opened its doors.
"I jokingly, tongue-in-cheek, say I was one of the first people to be in the prison," Bernier said. "What makes me proud of the Stanley prison and being in our region, is the folks who work there do a great job. It was kind of a rough go at the beginning, but once it got up-and-running, it's done a good job. They are one of the best-run prisons in the state."
Bernier said she also has attended numerous GED and high school graduation ceremonies in the prison. She praised the prison for having those programs in place to assist the inmates so they can be prepared to transition back into society upon release.
Bernier also praised a program the prison started where the inmates care for dogs. She talked about hearing from an inmate who said he didn't care about anyone but himself until having the dog to care for changed his attitude toward others.
"It was a very moving testimony from someone who had been there a long time," she said. "The inmates were nicer to each other, and to the staff."
Charlie Walker, Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation executive director, echoed comments about the importance of the prison to eastern Chippewa County.
"Stanley Correctional has a huge economic impact," Walker said. "It's part of our diversification."
Walker said something that also cannot be measured is the volunteer work that inmates perform in the community.
Construction woes
Since it was built, critics said the buildings were constructed for Oklahoma weather, not tough Wisconsin winters.
Floors in the shower areas began cracking only a few years after the facility opened and were replaced. The state purchased a new computer system that controls all the locks in 2009 at a cost of $1.2 million. The state also has upgraded lighting and cameras to improve security.
In May 2006, the state's Building Commission approved $4.99 million to address code problems. The heating and ventilation systems needed upgrades, and the prison also needed to meet requirements of the American Disabilities Act, meaning more wheelchair-accessible showers, ramps and seating.
Former State Rep. Larry Balow told the Leader-Telegram in 2008 there was "shoddy work" in constructing the prison, and he expected the repair costs would continue.
"Where in the heck were the building inspectors?" Balow said at the time. "And where was the building commission when they decided to buy the prison? As it turned out, the state got a poor deal, and we'll be paying for it for a long, long time."
Zien points to the fact the prison was finished but sat empty for more than two years before the state finally reached the agreement to purchase the prison. Zien said it wasn't properly heated those first couple of years, leading to mold issues.
Over the past year, the Leader-Telegram has received emails from family members who say the prison is still too cold in winter months.
John Beard, Department of Corrections spokesman, said many of the complaints he has read on social media have exaggerated the issues.
"Stanley has not been without heat for any period of days, to my knowledge," Beard said earlier this year. "The only instance of the heat being out at the institution was Jan. 11, when two boilers failed overnight Monday into Tuesday. Thanks to emergency repairs throughout Tuesday, the heat was back on that evening. During repairs that day, temperatures in the housing units stayed mostly stable, but dropped into the low 60's in a few spots. Related, there were some burst coils that had to be repaired over the ensuing days. More recently, there was an exhaust fan on one housing unit that had to be repaired."
Beard said that since 2019, all perimeter cameras have been replaced, LED lighting has been upgraded, and roof replacement plans are underway. The next big project at the prison are plans for a health services building. Beard said the funding request will go before the State Building Commission in December. If the funding is approved, construction on that new center would begin in late spring or early summer.
Steven Avery, and a prison 'escape'
Perhaps the most famous inmate to be incarcerated in the Stanley Correctional Institution is Steven Avery. He was released from prison in 2003 after serving 18 years for a sexual assault; he was cleared of the charges and was immediately released. He beamed as he talked to local media the morning he was released, surrounded by his family who showed up to take him home.
However, Avery would later be convicted of murdering photographer Teresa Halbach in the Green Bay area, and he's the subject of the Netflix hit series "Making a Murderer."
In another notorious moment, two inmates literally walked out the front door in January 2010. A person had mailed fraudulent documents to the prison that looked authentic. Prison staff processed the paperwork, and the inmates were released. The men left the area, and there were no issues of them committing crimes in the Chippewa Valley after they were released. Both inmates were quickly apprehended
One of the inmates was Jimmy Baldwin, who was convicted of five felonies for a 1994 gang-related homicide in Milwaukee. Baldwin had more than 70 years remaining on his prison sentence when he was released. He took a bus to Milwaukee, where he was later caught.
The other inmate who was released was Eddie Evans, who had his extended supervision changed from 13 years to one year. However, the fake documents also were sent to Louisiana, which had an order for Evans to be sent there to serve an eight-year prison sentence when his term in Wisconsin ended.
An audit in February 2010 caught the scheme as more fake documents were sent to the prison to release a third inmate identified as Henry Spencer.
The DOC changed how it handled documents to make sure that type of forgery wouldn't happen again.
Jankoski, the former mayor, said that while those two were able to walk out the front door, he was never made aware of a prison escape in his tenure.
