Rawlins Relying on Experience in Prison Bid

Rawlins, WY – The city of Rawlins has been the long-time home of Wyoming's main prison facilities. And Rawlins officials are playing up that history in their bid to be named as the site for the state's new medium security prison. The Department of Corrections has narrowed the field of candidate towns for the facility to Rawlins, Riverton and Torrington. Rawlins Community Development Director Ron Kilgore says experience and prior investment set their application apart. He says they offer the only site with the entire infrastructure in place and paid for already. He says the Rawlins site was always intended to serve two prisons, so he says the only way to recover what's been invested already, is to utilize it. Unlike Riverton, Kilgore says there is virtually no opposition to the project in Rawlins. He says most residents realize the negatives that go along with a prison are already present.