NEWS

November 2, 2007
Gronstal predicts lawmakers will approve new prison

Iowa's prison system is expected to be a big topic at the Legislature next year.
Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal says lawmakers will likely vote to replace the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison and expand the prisons in Newton and Mitchellville.

The Council Bluffs Democrat, who was on Iowa Public Television's "Iowa Press" today, didn't say how the state would pay for the projects.

A study has put the cost of replacing the Fort Madison prison at $110 million. The prison is believed to be the oldest prison west of the Mississippi River, with parts dating to 1839.

Iowa is under increasing pressure to overhaul its aging and overcrowded prisons. Corrections officials warn that the overcrowding could lead to an inmate lawsuit that might prompt federal courts to begin oversight of the system.

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