Why Canon City, Colorado Loves Prisons

On his trek across the United States on Route 50, Wayne Senville, editor of the Planning Commissioner's Journal, stops in Canon City and Fremont County (pop. 47,985), Colorado, and hears about how Canon City has prospered by hosting 14 prison facilities:

Prisons bring "big economic benefits... With thousands of inmates come thousands of prison staff (the Colorado Dept. of Corrections employs 1,756 in the County; the Federal Corrections Complexes employ 990 -- the prisons are by far and away the largest employers in Fremont County). Prison staff live and shop in the Canon City area, boosting the economy. There's minimal security risk to area residents, and no one could recall any recent breakouts."

Read all about Wayne Senville's journey across Route 50 on his blog, at: http://www.rte50.com/ .