Michigan Program Trains Prisoners to Trim Around Power Lines

Michigan Program Trains Prisoners to Trim Around Power Lines
Prisoner Scott Steffes works on climbing at the Parnall Correctional Facility's Vocational Village in Jackson, Mich., on Dec. 1, 2022. Paul Sancya/AP Photo
The Associated Press
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JACKSON, Mich.—When Scott Steffes leaves Michigan’s Parnall Correctional Facility this month he anticipates entering a new career that will take him upward of 25 feet above ground.

Steffes, 37, is one of more than a dozen prisoners learning how to climb trees and trim branches around power lines as part of DTE Energy’s $70 million plan to improve the utility’s electric infrastructure.