WEBBER TOWNSHIP, MI (AP)-- A new law opens the gate to high-security prisoners at a privately owned prison in Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula.
The law signed Tuesday by Governor Rick Snyder would reopen the prison in Lake County, 75 miles north of Grand Rapids, and could create hundreds of jobs.
The law allows prisoners of any security level at the former Michigan Youth Correctional Facility, near Baldwin in Webber Township. It had been limited to housing prisoners with a security level of four or below. A security level of six is the most restrictive.
Republican Representative Jon Bumstead says the change could bring more than 300 jobs to the area. He says Vermont and Washington have expressed interest in sending prisoners to Michigan.