SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Woodbury County officials have been discussing plans for a new county jail and a bond issue to pay for it. County board chairman Keith Radig told the Sioux City Journal on Thursday that it makes more sense to build a jail that could cost between $35 million and $50 million than pay $12 million to $14 million for repairs on the current, 234-bed facility. It opened in 1987.

Radig says a new jail with 300 to 440 beds would provide extra space to accept federal detainees. The county could contract with federal immigration officials and receive around 80 inmates a day on average. The resulting hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue could possibly eliminate the need to pay back construction debt with property taxes.