Private prison operator CoreCivic confirmed yesterday what has long been rumored: It will reopen a shuttered western Minnesota prison as an immigration detention facility.

Why it matters: The Appleton prison drastically increases ICE's capacity to hold immigration suspects in the Midwest as the Trump administration seeks detention space to shore up its deportation plans.

• At full capacity, the 1,600-bed facility would become one of ICE's largest outside the South — and the largest in the Midwest outside of Michigan, according to the Deportation Data Project.

Driving the news: CoreCivic expects its five-year contract with ICE will generate approximately $75 million in annual revenue, the prison company's CEO Patrick Swindle said in a statement announcing the deal.

• The facility will open in phases, accepting its first detainees sometime "in the fourth quarter of 2026," with "full ramp" estimated by summer 2027.

What they're saying: "The geographic location of this facility, similar to our other recent contract awards, improves our ability to support our government partner throughout the United States," Swindle said.

The other side: "After the siege on our state by out-of-control federal agents who flagrantly ignored the law, it is an insult to our communities to open a for-profit concentration camp in our state," the activist group Indivisible Twin Cities wrote in a statement.

Flashback: During Operation Metro Surge, immigration agents brought at least 3,800 people into custody in Minnesota — creating an unprecedented swell of detainees at local facilities not designed for long-term custody, including the Whipple Federal Building.

• Overcrowding caused conditions inside to quickly deteriorate, advocates, attorneys and detainees reported.
• Most were ultimately transported to a sprawling Texas camp where living conditions have spurred lawsuits.

Context: The western Minnesota prison was once Appleton's largest employer. It employed 120 people when it closed in 2010 — and more than 400 at its height, per MPR News.

• State Sen. Torrey Westrom (R-Alexandria) called the conversion "welcome news" that will create jobs and "provide a significant economic boost" for the area he represents.
• "It is common sense — a secure facility closer to where people have lived provides a better arrangement and due process," he said in a statement.

What we're watching: Whether the Appleton facility sparks further protests from activists decrying conditions or opposing Trump administration immigration policies.

• Such protests have already sprung up at other detention facilities around the U.S.
• In Appleton, activists have been holding their own weekly protests to draw attention to construction work at the site, which began quietly several months ago.

Go deeper: Scoop: ICE detention numbers slip

"Restitution is very, very hard to recover. It's rare for a victim — whether we're talking about a person, a business, a state agency — to realistically recover what they have lost."

Stunning stat: Court records show that convicted fraudsters in those cases have paid back just $3 million of the nearly $32 million judges ordered them to return.

• A dozen state defendants hadn't paid back a cent as of May, KSTP found.

Between the lines: Unlike in federal fraud cases, Minnesota law doesn't allow the state to seize assets.

• Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office doesn't play a role in collecting the restitution, told the station he wants to see changes to make it easier to claw back the cash.

Read — and watch — the full story

🌶️ Minnesota public health officials are investigating a salmonella outbreak linked to jalapeños served at Chipotle and other quick-service Mexican restaurants. (Wall Street Journal)

• The vast majority of sickened diners who were interviewed by MDH ate at the chain between mid-June and July.
• Chipotle, which has already removed the produce in question from its supply chain, is cooperating with the investigation.

🏥 The Mayo Clinic topped U.S. News & World Report's latest ranking of best hospitals in Minnesota. (Full list)

⚽️ The U.S. Men's National Soccer Team will play a match against Canada at Allianz Field this October. (MPR News)

💰 Even with a double-digit increase to Minneapolis' property tax levy, the city might need to lay off 100 employees to address a budget gap, some top officials are warning. (Star Tribune)

🗳️ Mike Lindell said yesterday that he's stepping away from his day-to-day leadership role at MyPillow to focus on his GOP gubernatorial run. (Star Tribune)

• Lindell, whose candidacy got a big boost from his recent endorsement from President Trump, has faced residency questions and other pushback from top GOP leaders in the lead-up to Tuesday's primary.

Rates of high blood pressure during pregnancy have soared in Minnesota and across the country, according to new CDC data.

Why it matters: High blood pressure is associated with serious complications for mom and baby.

By the numbers: More than one in 10 Minnesota mothers who gave birth in 2024 had gestational hypertension — a category that includes preeclampsia.

• Minnesota's rate rose from 6.7% in 2016 to 13% — a 94% increase.

Between the lines: Rates rose within every age and BMI group studied, suggesting that older maternal age and higher BMI alone don't fully explain the increase.

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We at Axios Twin Cities are suckers for two things: soft serve and a good bracket-style tournament — and Cup and Cone wins at both.

Driving the news: The White Bear Lake institution was recently crowned "America's Best Ice Cream" by online polling site The64.

Kyle's thought bubble: Cup and Cone makes a mean don't-call-it-a-Blizzard-because-that's-trademarked frozen treat.

• Its staff also regularly handles long lines with aplomb — including the crowd of 40 high schoolers I personally chaperoned to their sugar fix after a speech tournament.

Zoom out: In an Instagram post, the champs magnanimously shouted out two other local "creameries" — St. Paul's Grand Ole and Minneapolis' Pumphouse — that were also in the running.