Hamilton County officials have broken ground for a new jail in Webster City. County supervisor Wes Sweedler says the three-point-four-million-dollar Hamilton County jail will be able to house 28 inmates. With construction equipment audible in the background, Sweedler said there will be jail space, administrative offices for the sheriff’s department and a nice new facility for the county. Sweedler says it’ll be built on the northeast side of the courthouse in Webster City. He says the site’s looking a lot different already and crews are expected to be able to work through the winter. This will be Hamilton County’s first jail in forty years. After the old jail closed in the early 1960’s, prisoners had to be taken for booking to the city jail in Webster City and often were housed in jails in adjoining counties. Funding comes from a one-cent local-option sales tax approved by voters in March of last year.
