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It looks like there may be a new law enforcement facility in the near future in Sioux City. The Woodbury County Board of Supervisors voted last night to advance discussions regarding the construction of a new center. The project would cost an estimated cost of $49.5 million.
Director of Woodbury County building services Kenny Schmitz told the board that a new detention center would cost twice as much as fixing the current jail. Fixing the current jail includes much-needed heating and air conditioning upgrades. But fast-tracking that project didn’t provide much cost savings.
“So we projected those costs to see if it would alleviate some of our problems. As it turned out, really it didn’t help much. The cost is 5.266 million dollars.”
Board chairman Keith Radig said he believes the board will vote next Tuesday to approve an architecture contract during the next supervisors meeting, a step that could lead to the construction of a 440-bed facility. Radig is a proponent of building a new jail. He says it's about having a safer place for the workers and having a safer city by having people who need to be in jail in jail instead of letting them out because of a lack of capacity. all who spoke during Tuesday night's meeting advocated for the construction of a new facility, including Woodbury County Sheriff Dave Drew.
A big bunch of small, two-seat airplanes is in eastern Iowa this week.
Clinton is hosting the ‘Confab in the Corn.’
It’s the 19th such fly-in for the Cessna group.
