At the abandoned Central Missouri Correctional Center, the state converted part of the facility’s ranch into a reserve in the lower lands of the Missouri River valley.
At the top, however, the mix of prison buildings – from barricades to cafeterias – sits empty. Some graffiti has appeared on the walls, but the base is mostly intact.
At the Crossroads Correctional Center, Railsback praised Governor Mike Parson’s plan to convert part of the facility into a training center for guards.
But even that plan has been slow in execution.
Parson asked for more than $650,000 last year to start training fields, but the plan has yet to work out, said Missouri Department of Corrections spokeswoman Karen Pojmann.
Even once the facility is up and running, Railsback says there are other potential uses for the large venue.
“It has a lot of unused buildings,” Railsback told members of the Home Improvement Commission and public institutions.
Among the potential uses being considered are as an area county jail or as a location for filming prison scenes.
Railsback said: “We need to do something. “You wouldn’t change a prison into a motel.”
