The state has purchased 815 acres in Charleston for $2.95 million to build a new prison to help alleviate overcrowding that requires housing inmates in county jails, Arkansas officials announced Thursday. 

The state spends roughly $30 million a year to house about 3,000 inmates in county facilities, according to a press release. More prison beds also likely will be needed in the future due to the Protect Arkansas Act. Backed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the 2023 law overhauls the state’s parole system and eliminates the possibility of parole for the most serious offenders.

“The Department of Corrections’ mission is to provide safety and hope for Arkansans, but we won’t accomplish that effectively without adequate bed capacity,” Secretary of Corrections Lindsay Wallace said in a statement. 

“Working with Governor Sanders, our Department has opened more than 1,100 prison beds to alleviate our state’s longstanding bed shortage and we plan to open hundreds more soon. With this new facility, we will add even more beds and deliver on our promises to the people of Arkansas.”

Department of Corrections officials did not have an estimated timeline or a full cost estimate for the prison Thursday. The project is expected to create thousands of construction jobs, and once the prison is built, it’s estimated it will employ nearly 800 people at an annual average salary of $46,600, according to the release.

Located about a half hour east of the Oklahoma border, the secluded Franklin County site offers needed infrastructure for what’s expected to be a 3,000-bed facility, including cell phone reception, water lines, electricity and a nearby fire department, and it’s also close to thousands of workers who could staff the facility, officials said. 

Unofficial news about the purchase broke Wednesday when KDYN Radio announced in a social media post that Sanders would discuss the prison project on air Thursday afternoon. The news garnered hundreds of comments, many of which expressed displeasure about building a prison in the region and concerns about a lack of community input. 

Asked about these issues during Thursday’s broadcast, Sanders said local officials were not involved in the site selection process, which was “a state-funded, state decision,” but said some were notified ahead of the formal announcement. Sanders said her administration has been very open about building a new prison in the state and is committed to working with local stakeholders throughout the rest of the process.

Additionally, Sanders said the project is a major economic investment in the area and will help improve public safety in the state. 

“These people that we will be locking up in this prison can either be in this prison and in this facility where they are guarded or they can be in your community, and right now that’s our alternative,” Sanders said. 

“Right now we don’t have the space and we don’t have the ability to arrest and lock them up. So instead of letting people free, we can put them in this facility and make sure that our state and our communities are infinitely safer.”

The governor said she’d like to break ground as soon as possible, but noted it will likely be a couple of years before the facility is fully operational. The Board of Corrections must vote to approve the prison site before construction can begin, according to the governor’s office. 

It’s been two decades since the state last built a new prison. The first phase of the Ouachita River Correctional Unit opened in Malvern in 2004 when Sanders’ father, Mike Huckabee, was governor.  

Nearly 20 years later, former Gov. Asa Hutchinson proposed expanding the Corrections Department’s North Central Unit in Calico Rock by almost 500 beds using surplus funds. State lawmakers approved $75 million for the expansion in December 2022, but the project was put on hold when Sanders took office in January 2023.

Arkansas prison board OKs managerial contract to develop new facility

Last November, the governor and attorney general began butting heads with the Board of Corrections over plans to expand the state’s prison capacity and who has ultimate authority over Arkansas’ correctional system. The dispute resulted in lawsuits and the firing of former Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri, who was then hired as a senior advisor to the governor. Officials said Thursday they anticipate relying on his expertise while building the new prison.

While discussions about a new prison continued, the Department of Corrections in August turned its attention to immediate expansions when officials announced more than 100 inmates were being moved into a vacant work release facility at the Tucker Unit in Jefferson County. Officials also announced nearly 325 additional beds were planned in three other state correctional facilities in Batesville, Texarkana and Newport. 

In September, Arkansas prison officials approved the acquisition of two facilities in Mississippi and Phillips counties for additional expansion opportunities. 

The Board of Corrections earlier this month voted to approve a contract with Vanir Construction Management to help oversee development of the new prison. 

The board’s next meeting is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Tucker Unit. The agenda includes a discussion about new bed space and an update on the county jail backup.

Today’s Locked On Ole Miss Podcast discusses how Lane Kiffin has his work cut out for him in this game between the Ole Miss Rebels and Arkansas Razorbacks. John Nabors from Locked On Razorbacks joins the show to talk about the matchup and why this game is always the craziest on the schedule.

This matchup is absolutely massive for the Rebels because of what it means in the College Football Playoff race. Ole Miss has the Kentucky albatross around its neck which makes this game really important for Lane Kiffin, Jaxson Dart and a defense that includes linebacker Chris Paul Jr. returning to Fayetteville. This game means more than it has recently with Ole Miss looking to win its fifth matchup in the last seven meetings but its first in Fayetteville since 2008.

In our final segment of the day, we give our final predictions on the Ole Miss vs. Arkansas game and look at players who are poised to stand out on Saturday. Who wins and how ridiculous will it be?

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The No. 19 Ole Miss Rebels and Arkansas Razorbacks are set to do battle in Fayetteville on Saturday, and the first injury report for the game has been released by the Southeastern Conference.

The SEC revealed the injury report on Wednesday night, and there are some key Rebels listed in its contents. You can view the full listing for both teams here.

The biggest news for the Rebels lies in the “questionable” and “probable” categories. RB Matt Jones, WR Tre Harris, SAF Andy Jaffe and OL Nate Kalepo are all listed as questionable to participate in Saturday’s game while six Rebels are in the probable category.

Among those listed as probable are offensive linemen Jayden Williams, Micah Pettus and Jeremy James, defensive tackle Walter Nolen, and tight ends Dae’Quan Wright and Caden Prieskorn. The only two Ole Miss players guaranteed to miss this weekend’s game as of Wednesday night are CB Cedrick Beavers and RB Logan Diggs.

Starting with Harris, he suffered injuries in back-to-back games earlier in October, and he did not see the field last week against Oklahoma. Matt Jones has also been out since the South Carolina game, missing action against LSU and Oklahoma.

Pettus was a late scratch prior to last week’s game for the Rebels, and Williams and James have been battling injuries along the offensive line since earlier this season. Nolen was also injured against Oklahoma and did not return to action.

Arkansas’ listing is much shorter than Ole Miss’ on Wednesday night as DB Jaylon Braxton, RB Ja’Quinden Jackson and K Kyle Ramsey are all listed as out. RB Rodney Hill is the other player on the list, and he is probable.

The prospect of not having Tre Harris back in the offense as the Rebels play in a road environment is not ideal, but it is a promising sign that Matt Jones could return to the backfield and that Nolen and the three offensive linemen appear to be able to play this week.

Kickoff between Ole Miss and Arkansas is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on Saturday, and the game will be televised on ESPN.