No Shakopee Prison Fence This Year; Bonding Bill Voted Down

The latest proposal to erect a perimeter fence around the Shakopee prison failed Friday afternoon as the Minnesota House rejected an $800 million bonding bill by a five-vote margin.

Gov. Mark Dayton had included the $5.2 million fence in the bonding package, the second time he had supported building a fence around the prison.

Repeated efforts to fence the prison, which holds more than 600 female inmates, have been unsuccessful for the last decade.

Before the bill was voted down a little after 2:30 p.m., mayor Brad Tabke sent an email to constituents asking them to call and email their legislators about the fence.

"For the first time in a long time, we have a real chance to get the fence built around the Shakopee prison," he wrote in an email. "It is critical to the safety of our community."

Sen. Eric Pratt has been working on legislation to fund the fence outside the bonding bill, and Tabke said he hoped it would pass during the 2014 session.