In-person visitation has been suspended at the Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility, according to a news release from the Iowa Department of Corrections. The agency says video visitations will continue as scheduled, but did not provide a reason for the change. As of Friday morning, more than one thousand inmates were housed at the minimum-security facility.
Officials note that a separate unit on the 152-acre campus, which houses about 160 low-risk inmates who work during the day, will continue to allow in-person visits. The Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility first opened 50 years ago and was reclassified as a minimum-security prison about a decade ago, with a focus on preparing inmates for parole.
The suspension comes just days after the facility’s warden was promoted to a leadership role within the Iowa Department of Corrections, raising questions about the timing of the decision and leadership transition at the prison.
We have reached out to the Iowa Department of Corrections for more information on the suspension of in-person visitation, as well as the process for selecting a new warden at the Mount Pleasant facility, but have not yet received a response.