Full house

by David Molpus, Minnesota Public Radio

Next month, Gov. Tim Pawlenty is to decide whether to support the State Corrections Department in its call for new funds to expand Minnesota's prisons. Corrections officials say the state's prisons are at 99 percent capacity, and won't be able to handle a rising inmate population. Deputy Corrections Commissioner Dennis Benson told All Things Considered host David Molpus, "our backs are against the wall, with only 85 vacant beds in the entire statewide system." Molpus recently visited the Stillwater state prison with Benson to see how officials are dealing with the crowded conditions.