Armstrong helps break ground on new Heart River Correctional Center; facility scheduled to open in 2027

MANDAN, N.D. – Gov. Kelly Armstrong and Lt. Gov. Michelle Strinden today joined staff and residents from the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DOCR) to break ground on the Heart River Correctional Center (HRCC), the state’s new women’s correctional facility, highlighting its focus on rehabilitation and safety.

The 191,500-square-foot facility in Mandan will provide 304 beds – 178 more than the Dakota Women’s Correctional Rehab Center in New England, a remodeled school that has served as the state’s correctional facility for women since 2003. The HRCC is slated for completion in fall 2027.

“This day is historic for North Dakota because for the first time in our state’s 135-year history, we’re breaking ground on a correctional facility designed specifically for women,” Armstrong said. “This long-overdue project will ensure DOCR staff and the women in their custody have safe, modern and comparable facilities where residents can serve their sentences and build toward their eventual reentry into their communities.”

DOCR Director Colby Braun and HRCC Warden Connie Hackman Rivinius highlighted the vision behind HRCC and its role in transforming lives. In addition to having more space for volunteers, programs, treatment, vocational and career development, the facility will focus on reinforcing family connections to improve outcomes for children of incarcerated parents.

“From the very first day someone enters this facility, the focus will be on reentry – on preparing them for the day they will return to their families and communities,” Braun said. “We are not simply building a prison; we are creating a place of opportunity, responsibility and hope.”

“We will continue to expand on what HRCC currently does, assist women in becoming the best versions of themselves through programming, role modeling, relationships, and accountability,” Hackman Rivinius said. “The goal is to create a safe and healthy, relationship-based environment that is trauma and gender-responsive, with a high level of care and skill-building programming.”

Armstrong thanked state legislators for approving $131.2 million in funding in 2023 for design and construction of the HRCC, along with intent language for additional funding, which Armstrong has proposed at $35.6 million in his 2025-27 budget recommendation, for a total project budget of $166.8 million. The DOCR worked with JLG Architects in collaboration with JB Marie and DLR Group to design the facility.