COII Lisa Jahn Retires from MCF-Shakopee
By Lisa Jahn
I have worked for the DOC Since March of 1996. I began my career at MCF-Redwing as a CO. My time at Red Wing was short, about 9 months before transferring to MCF-Shakopee where I remained. As I reflect on these years, I think about all the wonderful people I have met over these years. When I was at Red Wing I worked with juvenile offenders. That is when I looked at this job as an adventure. No day would ever be the same. Working with the juveniles was a great experience. I made many friends and found it hard to leave the great staff at Red Wing. I still laugh when I think about Stan Barber, Lloyd, and Morrie. These three took time to talk to me about the importance of my job and told me funny stories about all their years in corrections. I laughed every day I worked there.
December of 1996, I transferred to Shakopee. Now I would be working with the women. At the academy, the instructors always said “this applies to the men's prisons. Shakopee and Red Wing are different." WOW were they right. There were many rules and exceptions for the female population vs. the male population. I think back to offenders wearing their own clothing, buying lots of Avon products, having courtyard blankets for them to sit on, taking offenders shopping at the local K Mart, taking offenders to off grounds jobs sites, we had offenders take furloughs which they would call in to tell me they were ok, and staff and offenders could go outside for a smoke. Well, many things have changed over the years. Eventually the female's prison would get more in line with the rules and policies of the male prisons. In 1996 there were about 125 offenders. As the years went by the population grew to over 600. We were overcrowded and had to house some of the population in County Jails and the federal prison in Waseca. When COVID hit that cleared our population down to around 400.
Over the years in Shakopee, I have worked a variety of positions. I began on a relief pool. We filled in the vacation slots. Working relief meant you worked any day and any shift. We knew our schedule about a month in advance no set days off. I did this for four and a half years. I then worked 2nd watch Monahan – the treatment unit. I was on squad for about six years. What a great group of people to work with. Then I moved to transportation in 2011 where I'm still at. I must say this has been the best position I have worked. A career highlight was working with central transport to pick up violators in other states. The best part of working in transportation has been Sgt. Yackly and my partners. I have so much respect for all of them. They are professional, hardworking, and great people. I know every day I have laughed while at work. One of the most important things in Corrections is to surround yourself with good people and laugh every day. This is a crazy job, people in the real world can't understand the things we deal with. You have to find a way to make sense of these unusual events you will encounter. I relied on great partners and laughter. Best wishes to all of you!
