MARENISCO TOWNSHIP, MI (AP)-- A judge has turned aside a legal challenge aimed at trying to keep a Gogebic County prison open.
State law requires the Corrections Department to consider the economic impact on a community when planning to close a prison. Marenisco Township claims the department didn't follow the law.
But Judge Stephen Borrello says the lawsuit doesn't offer any additional details. He says the department simply had to consider the economic impact of closing the Ojibway prison. The judge says there's nothing in the law that would force the department to change its decision.
The Snyder administration acknowledges that the economic impact will be significant. The prison has 203 employees, including some who live in Wisconsin. Ojibway is expected to close by Saturday.
