Deal to Send North Dakota Prisoners to Colorado

North Dakota’s prison director says negotiations are underway to send inmates to an out-of-state private lockup to relieve overcrowding.

Leann Bertsch says it’s likely an agreement will be reached soon to send some inmates to a private lockup in Colorado.

North Dakota’s prison system topped 1,800 inmates last week.

Bertsch says that’s a record level for inmate numbers and 500 more than ideal.

She says it’s mostly due to an increased population spurred by oil development.