New warden touts community, safety, and staff

BY CHUCK VANDENBERG
PCC EDITOR

FORT MADISON - After just three weeks in his new office, tucked away in the southwest corner of Fort Madison's maximum security prison, warden Randy Gibbs is just starting to get a feel for the four-year old facility and it's role in the community.

Gibbs, a Burlington native and 1986 graduate of Burlington High School, is all go at the prison. His office has yet to have the look of a warden who's been in place a while, with just the basics of a large desk and several chairs. No pictures of past homes, children or hobbies adorn the walls. Just a computer and three open windows that look out across the southern property.

The 50-year-old started his career at Anamosa, the state's other maximum security facility, as a corrections officer in May of 1991. From there, two years, later he moved to the North Central Correctional Facility in Rockwell City as a lieutenant and stayed there for four years before moving back to Mt. Pleasant for about 18 months as an instructor at the Corrections Training Academy.

He was then promoted to a Treatment Services Director at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility shortly after the state opened that facility and stayed there for eight years. Then he became security director at Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Coralville and served in that role for a decade.

Gibbs then became the assistant deputy director for institutional operations under Dan Craig in Des Moines, while still living in Mt. Pleasant. After that tenure he was named Warden at Clarinda Correctional Facility in April 2017. Prior to being named warden, Gibbs graduated from Bellevue University in Nebraska with a bachelors in Leadership.

Iowa State Penitentiary is no stranger to Gibbs. During former warden Nick Ludwick's tenure, Gibbs filled in on several occasions while Ludwick battled cancer. He also made frequent trips to the facility when he was the deputy director for operations.

But he said growing up in Burlington also gave him familiarity with the former ISP facility.

"Growing up 20 minutes from here in Burlington. I knew lots of people who worked here, my parents knew people that worked here, I had friends and friends' parents who worked here so I have a history with this facility in that respect as well," he said.

"It's ironic that I started in maximum custody in Anamosa and I'm hopefully finishing my career here in maximum custody."

Gibbs said most of his career has been in medium custody where the goal was treat offenders and put them back out into society with a skill set to be successful and not return to the system. He said ISP is clearly a different situation.

"Our mission here isn't necessarily to release large numbers of offenders back to the community. Our mission is to handle some of the most difficult cases and make sure we're doing so in a very respectful and professional manner.

He said the history and mission of Fort Madison's facility creates a unique opportunity for him to finish up his career. He said he plans on working at least five more years.

"The ISP is no doubt what I consider the flagship of the Iowa Department of Corrections. We've been here since 1839 and there's so much rich history here. I believe Jefferson City, Mo. says they're the oldest prison west of the Mississippi, but we say we are. We'll go with our words," he said with a laugh.

"For decades, in my view, the Iowa State Penitentiary has handled the most difficult incarcerated individuals this state has. This staff has done that in a very professional and skillful manner. To be a part of that history and that mission is very important to me. I plan on finishing my career here."

He said he's still evaluating the facility and said there have been some difficulties with the physical plant and he would like to investigate some changes there that he thinks would allow the facility to run more efficiently.

But he said it's the staff that is the keystone to the successful operations of the prison.

He said his leadership philosophy comes from former Anamosa warden John Thalacker, who was warden in that facility from 1988 to 1995.

"I've worked him three different times, and he told me years ago, 'Take care of your staff, your equipment and yourself'. I've tried to always follow that because I believe our staff is the driving force behind our culture," Gibbs said.

"They do all the work. I believe my job is to serve them, I really do, and provide them with the tools they need to get the job done. And then our culture is shaped through our staff and the leadership provided to them. I don't want to sound like a cliche', because I truly believe this and always have done this - if our staff feels valued and their needs are being taken care of, that's going to filter down to how we manage this entire facility. You can see conversely what can happen."

He said he also believes in transparency with the staff at the prison and not micromanaging the facility.

"I believe in transparency. We've already made some changes. There's no secrecy in my leadership... no backroom meetings. It's transparency so staff feels they are being trusted and they can trust the leadership here."

He said staffing is always an emotional issue around prison facilities, but he has little control over what those numbers look like.

"I would take a 1,000 more people if I could get them, but that's not realistic. Staffing analysis has been done within the last two to three years and the number of positions we have here is what we have. There's not much I can do there."

He said the old historical prison is something he has some control over as far as usage and touring, but he said he wants to get at tables with those in the community involved with that and see where he can help.

He also said having a strong working relationship and involvement with the community and county is another goal of his.

During his time in Clarinda the prison became a strong partner in the community and Gibbs said he hasn't had time to evaluate that relationship in Fort Madison yet, but he wants to build on that.

"That's very important. We're all neighbors and we're one of the largest employers and we need to have a seat at the table," he said. "We need to be respectful of our neighbors and be a part of the community and help it grow," he said.