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New law authorizes sale of closed Upper Peninsula prison

Posted at 1:05 PM, Jan 05, 2021
and last updated 2021-01-05 13:05:28-05

MARENISCO TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed a bill for the possible reuse of a state prison that closed in the Upper Peninsula in 2018.

The new law authorizes the state to sell the Ojibway prison to a private owner or other units of government.

The 125-acre property is in Gogebic County’s Marenisco Township.

Sen. Ed McBroom says the prison's closure was a great loss for the local economy.

More than 200 people worked at Ojibway.

Former Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration closed the prison, citing a smaller overall prison population and other factors.