# B-East unit *Housing unit at the state prison in Stillwater, Minnesota, and the site of a seven-hour standoff on September 3, 2023.* The B-East unit is a housing unit of the state prison at [[Stillwater]], [[Minnesota]].[^1] On September 3, 2023, roughly 100 men held in the unit refused to return to their cells. The standoff lasted seven hours.[^1] A news report states that the men's demands centered on access to water, ice and showers amid extreme heat and discolored water. The Twin Cities reached 98°F that day, and the standoff came after two months of intermittent lockdowns.[^1] Five months later, in February 2024, the state's oversight office issued a report on infrastructure conditions under the heading *Crumbling Conditions*. This record sets the two documents side by side.[^2] ## Where - The standoff took place in the B-East unit of the prison at Stillwater.[^1] ## When - September 3, 2023: About 100 men in the B-East unit refused to return to their cells for seven hours, after two months of intermittent lockdowns.[^1] - February 2024: The state's oversight office issued its infrastructure report, *Crumbling Conditions*.[^2] ## How many - Roughly 100 men took part in the refusal to return to cells.[^1] - The *Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder* reported that only two Minnesota prisons are fully air-conditioned.[^1] ## In the at-issue record The at-issue record pairs the standoff with the February 2024 report. It names the report as the primary anchor and describes it as the state's oversight office confirming, five months later, the conditions the standoff was about.[^2] The at-issue summary is compiled from two news sources, the *Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder* and the *Washington Post*. It adds that two officers were secured in a control area and that nobody was hurt.[^1] This entry quotes no passage from the report itself. The record shows that the standoff occurred and that the report was issued. It does not establish how the standoff ended or what remedial action followed.[^1][^2] ## Notes [^1]: *Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder*, *Lockdown at Stillwater prison: inmates demand clean water, ways to stay cool in extreme heat* (September 3, 2023). Reports that roughly 100 inmates in the B-East unit refused to return to cells in a seven-hour standoff, with demands for water, ice and showers amid extreme heat and discolored water. Also reports the 98°F temperature, the two months of intermittent lockdowns, and that only two Minnesota prisons are fully air-conditioned. https://spokesman-recorder.com/2023/09/03/lockdown-at-stillwater-prison-inmates-demand-clean-water-ways-to-stay-cool-in-extreme-heat/ [^2]: Minnesota state oversight office (OBFC), *Infrastructure Report: Crumbling Conditions* (February 2024). The state oversight office's report on infrastructure conditions, identified in the at-issue record as the primary anchor for the standoff. https://mn.gov/obfc/assets/OBFC%20Infrastructure%20Report_Crumbling%20Conditions%20Feb%202024_tcm1157-610210.pdf