(Radio Iowa) – A bill that’s cleared an Iowa House subcommittee would set up a “prison infrastructure fund” and launch a study of the nine state-run prisons. Representative Brian Lohse, a Republican from Bondurant, cited the latest data showing Iowa prisons are holding 24% more inmates than they were designed to house — and he said the bill would spark a conversation about how the state should respond. “If we’re going to build a new one or if there’s ways we can make improvements in the current ones to deal with any overcrowding through technology,” Lohse said. “All of those things are conversations that we need to have on the table.”

There are over 8600 inmates in the general prison population today. A thousand others are either held in isolation, in segregated areas or in medical units. The prison infrastructure fund outlined in the bill would be filled with the yearly installments that have been paying off state-issued bonds for construction of the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison, after those bonds are paid off in 2027.

(Photo via ACLU of Iowa)

Construction of a new maximum security prison began in 2010 and inmates moved into the Fort Madison facility in 2015. “Do we need another prison to deal with the overcapacity issue? Certainly there are other infrastructure needs that prisons may need as far as improvements, such as Anamosa.”

The Anamosa State Penitentiary was built in 1899. Two Anamosa staff members were killed in 2021 by two inmates who were attempting to escape through the prison’s infirmary.