Culver Signs Bill Providing Money for Prison Improvements

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Culver Signs Bill Providing Money for Prison Improvements

By Becky Ogann

FORT MADISON (AP) - Gov. Chet Culver traveled to Fort Madison to sign into a law a measure setting aside more than $200 million for renovations to Iowa's jammed and aging prisons.

The measure signed by Culver on Friday includes $130 million to replace the maximum-security Iowa State Penitentiary. It's the oldest prison west of the Mississippi River with sections dating to 1839.

Iowa's prisons now hold more than 8,600 inmates, about 16 percent above the design capacity.

Design of the Fort Madison prison is already under way. It will be about a half-mile from the old prison.

Officials haven't decided what to do with the old prison when the new facility is completed.

Friday, May 9 at 11:19 AM tax payer wrote ...

spend spend spend is all chet knows how to do! Anyone know how many of the prisoners are lifers? Iowa should have the death penalty and if you are in for life without the posibility of parole??? well then, ask God to forgive your sins before you are leathaly injected. This should drop the numbers back below capacity.

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Friday, May 9 at 11:30 AM D wrote ...

Bad roads & bridges, outdated prisons & jails, raise in teacher pay, raise in nurses pay, high gas prices & food prices, where is the money going to come from, how can we continue on the path we are on? We have new libraries, "Street Scape", new swimming pools, new sewer & water systems, GIS systems, city & county government employees get "cost of living raises". The Governor and others at state level get higher % pay increases. Where will the money come from?

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Friday, May 9 at 11:47 AM Anonymous wrote ...

will this include a high tech, energy efficiant state of the art, electric chair?

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Friday, May 9 at 12:31 PM Anonymous wrote ...

TAX SPEND TAX SPEND TAX SPEND TAX SPEND

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Friday, May 9 at 4:11 PM Thanks wrote ...

Thanks for taking care of our prisons to the inmates have it a little better than before. I appreciate that when I hear of a child molestor or murderer lifting weights and watching cable. I wish you people knew how sick this article and this liberal governor makes me.

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Friday, May 9 at 5:41 PM Silly Me wrote ...

I remember when prison was for punishment instead of "rehabilitation". Let's hope the $200M is enough to keep the "inmates" comfortable during their stay. We wouldn't want them head out on parole with a bad impression of the place.

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Monday, May 12 at 7:14 PM My Mom married an inmate wrote ...

The only renovations they need are the ones that take away their books and cable and rights to meet strangers and get married.

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Tuesday, May 13 at 7:07 AM Prison is a free resort wrote ...

Anymore prison is a free resort. Im really holding my tongue on this one. Why should their quality of life(punishment) be getting better when my quality of life is slowly getting worse? Im sick of Chet and his spending and taxing habbits. I have to learn to budget why cant these wasteful politicians have to do the same?

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Tuesday, May 13 at 3:13 PM Frustrated wrote ...

Iowa Prison employees deserve a secure environment to work in and we should thank them for doing a job that most of us would not do. Iowa prisons will be especially dangerous when the prison system goes non-smoking. Will we pay for these improvements with the cigarette tax, which will be non-existent because, while we can buy the cigarettes and pay the tax, we are not allowed to smoke them. Common sense, huh? Sounds like too much time on their hands

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