Bonneville County Sheriff unveils new jail expansion

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — The Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office celebrated two newly completed expansion projects to the jail with a dual ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday morning.

The jail opened the new Special Housing Unit, Medical Unit, Staff Dining, and Wellness Center.

Dozens packed the halls of the Bonneville County Jail to hear Sheriff Sam Hulse, Captain Ed Vitacolonna, and the Idaho Falls commissioners talk about the expansion.

Commissioner Roger Christensen has been working on this project from the beginning and will be retiring next week.

He said he was glad to know this project was completed before he retired. 

"You know, this is like bookends to a career, because when we first came in, you know, we had a real problem with the jail space and the ACLU suing. We were able to get a bond passed for that. This is the third phase of that. And each one gets better. This provides state of the art for treatment and everything. So we had part of the jail, the start of the jail when I came in and now this and cap bookend on this and that. That's pretty rewarding," said Christensen.