Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility

A minimum-security men's reentry prison in Mount Pleasant; it also houses Iowa's Centralized Visiting Authority, which approves visiting lists statewide.

Overview

Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility (MPCF) is a state prison for men operated by the Iowa Department of Corrections. It is in Mount Pleasant, the seat of Henry County, in southeast Iowa. In 2016, the facility was reclassified as a minimum-security institution with a focus on preparing incarcerated individuals for reentry to the community.

The Iowa DOC assigns custody level based on factors that include sentence length, time remaining, and conduct, and a person’s custody level can change during incarceration. The custody class and housing held at a given prison affect visiting arrangements, so families confirm the arrangement that applies to the specific person before a first visit.

What Makes MPCF Different

MPCF is a minimum-security reentry facility rather than a reception center or maximum-security prison. Its programming is oriented toward preparing people for release: substance-abuse treatment, education and HiSET completion, vocational training, and community work.

The facility also houses Iowa’s statewide Centralized Visiting Authority — the office that approves visiting lists for the entire Iowa prison system. Because of this, visiting-list applications for any Iowa prison are mailed to MPCF’s address, not to the prison where the person is held (see Visiting below).

MPCF historically operated a women’s unit before the 2016 reclassification; Iowa has since consolidated all adult women at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women in Mitchellville. MPCF holds men today.

Visiting

The statewide Iowa DOC rules — the approved visitor list, the dress code, ID, and item limits — apply at MPCF. The facility’s own arrangements:

Getting There and Parking

MPCF is at 1200 E. Washington St. in Mount Pleasant, in Henry County in southeast Iowa. Visitors confirm current entry procedures, the visitor-processing location, and what may be brought onto the grounds with the facility before arriving, because electronic devices and personal items are generally not permitted inside.

Communication

Iowa uses Ameelio, a nonprofit communications provider, across its prisons. Ameelio handles voice (phone) calls, video calls, and electronic messaging for approved contacts, and the service is free to families. Video visits are scheduled through the Ameelio Connect app (a mobile app), which is also used to schedule in-person visits at MPCF. See the Phone & Video Calls guide for how to set up an account.

Mail

Iowa does not deliver friends-and-family mail to the prison. Since July 2022, the Iowa DOC has personal mail processed off-site by a private vendor, Pigeonly, in Las Vegas, Nevada, which opens and scans each item and delivers a copy to the facility; originals are not returned. Mail sent directly to the prison is returned to the sender.

Personal mail is addressed to the incarcerated individual at Pigeonly’s processing address, and the envelope must include the person’s offender ID number and the facility’s numeric ID code. See the Mail & Packages guide for the exact Pigeonly address and the facility ID code to use, and for what may and may not be sent.

Legal and privileged mail still goes directly to the facility, not to Pigeonly. Verify the current mailing rules before sending anything.

Learn More

For detailed information about visiting and communicating with someone at an Iowa prison:

• Visiting in Iowa — approval process, dress code, scheduling
• Mail & Packages — what you can send and what gets rejected
• Phone & Video Calls — accounts, call costs, video visits
• Sending Money — how to add funds to an account
• Medical & Mental Health — health care in Iowa prisons
• Transfers — what happens during transfers