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Mt. county loses bid to turn old Wal-Mart into jail

Officials say a new jail is desperately needed in Flathead County, where the currently jail is currently overburdened with 100 inmates

By C1 Staff

KALISPELL, Mont. — Flathead County’s plans to turn an old Walmart building into their new county jail were squashed when their bid for the building fell through.

A corporation managed to outbid them by $1 million more than the county’s original bid of $2.8 million, according to NBC News.

“It was a great location and kind of an out-of-the-box idea,” Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry said of the loss.

Officials say a new jail is desperately needed in Flathead County, where the currently jail is currently overburdened with 100 inmates. It was originally built to hold 63.

Law enforcement have had to turn away nonviolent offenders for lack of space in the jail.

“We’ll go back to the drawing board and try to do it still as cost effectively as we can for the taxpayers of this county,” Curry said.

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