Published: May 10, 2008 12:15 am            

Culver signs bill funding new prison in Fort Madison

FORT MADISON — Gov. Chet Culver traveled to one of the nation’s oldest prisons Friday to sign into a law a measure setting aside more than $200 million for renovations to Iowa’s jammed and aging prisons.

The measure includes $130 million to replace the maximum-security Iowa State Penitentiary, the oldest prison west of the Mississippi River with sections dating to 1839.

“This is a very big accomplishment, it’s been in the works for a long time,” Culver said. “We’re talking about a quarter of a billion dollar investment that will benefit every person in this state.”

The measure lets the state issue bonds to pay for the new prison, which will be built on state land about a half-mile from the old prison on the outskirts of Fort Madison.

Corrections Department spokesman Fred Scaletta said the new prison is scheduled to open in 2014.

Before approving the plan, legislators debated where the new maximum security prison should be built and how it should be financed. Culver said his pledge to keep the prison in Fort Madison dates to his campaign for governor.

“I thought it was a no-brainer to build the prison here,” said Culver. “It has become an important part of the fabric of southeast Iowa.”

Iowa’s prison system now holds 8,635, 16 percent above the design capacity of 7,413, according to state officials. The Iowa State Penitentiary has 576 inmates, above its design capacity of 549.

Design of the new facility is under way, and prison officials said the use of modern corrections designs should reduce the operating cost of the new prison.

“We’re going to try to make it a model for the country,” Warden John Alt said.

Corrections Department head John Baldwin said officials wanted to keep the prison in Fort Madison because the community has the infrastructure to support it, and there’s a trained and experienced workforce in place.

“We are deeply pleased the institution is going to remain in Fort Madison,” Baldwin said.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.