Inside the fence at Rockwell City prison

Warden James McKinney

ROCKWELL CITY — The warden at the state prison in Rockwell City stood in the hallway of the health services wing talking about the grim effects of methamphetamine on dental care for inmates.

He said the prison must deal with something called “meth mouth,” the rotting of teeth and gums from the past use of the illicit drug by offenders who are sent there from the fallout of their addictions.

What often happens is users, dealing with dry mouth, drink Mountain Dew, much of which sits on the lower part of the mouth, in effect replacing saliva, and corroding the teeth.

It is not a pleasant sight, said James McKinney, the veteran warden of the North Central Correctional Facility, a minimum security facility with approximately 475 inmates, give or take a few depending on the day’s count.

The facility, with its Spanish-style architecture in the middle of the plains, takes on the look of a college campus. Most of the inmates there are on the way back into society with an average remaining sentence of about 10 months. Many inmates already are in work programs with some coming on a regular basis to, for example, the Graphic Edge in Carroll.

“Most of the guys are trying to get out of prison so they’re trying to do the right thing,” McKinney said.

The prison has vast gardens that allow the inmates to use homegrown products in their meals. More than 30,000 pounds of vegetables are harvested annually.

The facility also is known for its leader-dog program in which inmates work with canines, teaching them to assist the disabled.

Inmates involved in the program spend all day with the dogs and grow quite attached, McKinney said. Having to give up the dogs when they have completed training shows inmates what it feels like to lose something you love — perhaps providing them with some insight into what the victims of their crimes experienced, McKinney said.

Inmates in the program understand the deal when they get involved with the dogs “but it still hurts to have to give something back,” McKinney said.

Bob Johnson of Glidden is the deputy warden at the state prison in Rockwell City. He helped lead a tour at the facility this week.

That all factors into the carrot-and-sticks approach to maintaining safety and discipline in the facility. The rehabilitative side the prison equation takes on more meaning here as inmates are closer to release.
“You have to give people four compliments for every negative,” McKinney said.

The prison doesn’t house some of the hardest convicts, as the imposing Gothic-style facilities at Fort Madison and Anamosa do, but there are still disciplinary issues.

In fact, in recent days, McKinney said, two inmates had to be placed in lockdown because they were fighting about the presidential campaign between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.

No word from McKinney on who won the fight.

The recidivism rate in the state’s prison system is 34 percent, meaning McKinney and his team will see some people return. But there are successes.

“I’ve seen a lot of guys change their lives in here, and it’s not hokey,” McKinney said.