Sen Robert Cowles announces he won't seek re-election in the newly redrawn 2nd District
There won’t be a new state prison for young people in the New London area.
Lawmakers on the Legislature’s budget committee rejected the proposal from Governor Evers and the state corrections department. The youth facility would’ve gone on state-owned land along Highway 15 in the Town of Hortonia.
Republican Sen. Rob Cowles of Allouez says the site has wetlands on it, and it floods. He believes it would’ve been incredibly expensive to build there. He says there was also overwhelming opposition from people in the area.
The prison would’ve been for serious offenders.
The committee also shot down plans for a similar prison in Milwaukee.
Members did approve several county-run facilities for young people convicted of lesser crimes. Cowles says one of them will be in northeast Wisconsin, but there isn’t a proposed site yet.
