Stillwater Prison started publishing its own newspaper in 1887. All of it written, edited —  even funded — by incarcerated people. It’s called The Prison Mirror. It was one of the country’s first prison papers. Today it’s one of the last. We’re taking you inside prison to hear writers past and present talk about what it’s like to cover the news behind bars. But first, you need the origin story.

This story was written, reported, and produced by Michelle Bruch. Erika Janik is the managing editor of MinneCulture. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI is provided by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.