TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas was "hoodwinked" into hiring a private company to build a new prison based on a promise that the new lockup would require significantly less staff and the savings could be used to pay for the project, Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly said Friday.

Kelly's comment during an Associated Press interview comes as her corrections secretary questions whether the staff savings will materialize because of what he sees as a less-than-ideal prison design. The new prison is under construction in Lansing, in the Kansas City area, and due to open early next year.

Former Republican Gov....