Union officials say 2 correctional officers at Iowa State Penitentiary were “violently attacked” Monday by an inmate during a routine procedure. The correctional officers across the state are being asked to work in dangerous and understaffed conditions, officials said.
The Iowa Department of Corrections on Tuesday confirmed it is responding to cases of the highly contagious viral disease Mpox at a state prison.
The penalty stems from a lawsuit that 13 prison inmates, then housed at the Anamosa State Penitentiary, filed in 2018. The inmates alleged the state was violating their constitutional rights by denying them access to magazines or other materials with nudity or sexually explicit content.
Access to books and other publications is “crucial” for giving incarcerated people a chance at future success, library advocates say. But rules and policies that are in place to keep prisons secure can restrict the materials available to prisoners, either by controlling which content is allowed, or how books must enter facilities.
How does someone who is serving a life sentence pay restitution when most jobs available for prisoners in Iowa pay less than $1 an hour? The short answer is they usually don’t, at least not in full.
Kris Karberg, warden of the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility, resigned earlier this month, just six months after starting the job.
Bruce Vander Sanden, director of the 6th Judicial District community correctional services, retired this week after a 35-year career. He hopes the department will continue his vision of focusing on the positive outcomes, instead of recidivism rates.
Iowa has named Michelle Waddle, deputy warden from the Anamosa State Penitentiary, to become warden of the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women in Mitchellville.
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The Iowa House passed a more than 1,500-page bill that would cut the number of cabinet-level state agencies and eliminate hundreds of vacant positions. The bill now goes to Gov. Kim Reynolds for her signature.
Iowa now is considering selling more than 4,000 acres of farmland surrounding Iowa prisons and other residential treatment facilities for an estimated $32.7 million. About one-third of the land a consultant recommended Iowa sell is near the Anamosa prison, and likely includes a farm on the National Register of Historic Places.
Under Senate Study Bill 1123, Department of Correctional Services directors would report to Corrections Director Beth Skinner. not regional boards. Skinner told lawmakers earlier this month the changes would save the state millions of dollars, but her office has not made public a consultant report they say provides information about the cost savings.
Kathleen Kooiker, of Osceola, who served on the Board of Parole from 2018 to 2021, said she was wrongfully discharged from the paid position when she complained to the governor about former chair Helen Miller’s decision to let alternate board members make parole decisions.
The Anamosa State Penitentiary, currently a medium/maximum security facility, will be changed to a strictly medium security facility, according to a Friday news release from the Iowa Department of Corrections.
Gonterman was pronounced dead due to natural causes at 11:38 p.m. on Sunday, Oct 16.
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