Welcome to Weekly Connections! Here is your summary of key updates from the justice industry for the week of Oct. 27.

Let's get into it with project updates:

• Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm recently updated state officials that the $1.25 billion Governor Kay Ivey Correctional Complex project is 75% complete and should be fully completed next year.
• New Jersey officials recently broke ground on a new $310 million, 420-bed women's prison in Burlington County to replace the former Edna Mahan Correctional Facility.
• Design plans for the $60 million Grant County Jail expansion project in Indiana were recently introduced, with completion targeted for April 2028.
• Supervisors in Adams County, Miss., recently reviewed preliminary design plans for a new 119-bed, 42,000-square-foot jail, with cost estimates ranging from $35 million to $40 million.

Moving on to legislation and funding:

• Officials with the Louisiana Criminal Justice Priority Commission increased the construction budget to $3.5 million to convert the Concordia Correctional Facility into an 80-bed facility for 17-year-olds.
• Commissioners in Bryan County, Ga., recently voted to spend $120,000 on a jail survey to determine the needs for a new county jail.
• The Beltrami County Board in Minnesota recently voted to demolish its existing jail in downtown Bemidji for about $6 million once the new replacement jail is complete.
• The Giles County Commission in Tennessee voted to approve $8.5 million in funding for renovations to the Giles County Courthouse.

Next in People news:

• South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden announced that Nick Lamb will serve as the new secretary of the state Department of Corrections.
• Montana Department of Corrections Director Brian Gootkin has been nominated by the Office of the President to serve as U.S. Marshal for the District of Montana.
• Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently named Kelly Rowe the new chair of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards and appointed four other members to the commission.

Moving on to construction reports:

• The Alabama Department of Corrections has issued an RFQ for CMAR firms to design and build a new 4,000-bed men's prison in Escambia County, budgeted at over $500 million, with submittals due Nov. 26.
• Wake County in North Carolina is seeking a CMAR for phase three of the Wake County Detention Center project, a $130 million effort, with proposals due Nov. 19.
• The Walworth County Commissioners in South Dakota are seeking proposals from CMAR firms for the construction of a new 48-bed adult detention center, with proposals due Nov. 3.

And finishing with events this week:

• The International Corrections and Prisons Association's annual conference opened Sunday and continues through Oct. 31 in Istanbul, Turkey.
• Chicago Beyond's 2025 National Justice Convening will be held from Oct. 29-30.
• The National Conference on Correctional Health Care will be held Nov. 1-5 in Baltimore.
• The Correctional Leaders Association will hold its 2025 Deputy Directors and Probation and Parole Conference in Oceanside, Calif., from Nov. 3-6.
• For more details or to access the links mentioned, check out our podcast show notes at correctionalnews.com/podcast.