RUGBY (AP) - The regional jail here is creating space to house female prisoners, which will cut down on expenses and increase revenue at the same time.

The North Central Correctional and Rehabilitation Center has to transport female prisoners to the jail in Devils Lake about once a week because it does not have the facilities to house them, Administrator Elaine Little said.

The jail is planning to remodel a large cell in its booking area, creating a dormitory-style area that can house up to eight women. Little said the work can be done by jail staff, and the facility already has some of the necessary materials, including beds. She estimated the project cost at $2,000.

"Just being able to house women here and not having to pay Devils Lake, we'll recoup it in a month," she said.

The remodeling work is to begin this week. "We're hoping that within one to two months we'll … be ready to go," Little said.

The $7.6 million jail, which has room for 80 inmates and 40 beds for drug treatment, opened in September 2006. It ran into financial problems a year ago when it did not get enough prisoners to make ends meet, and stopped repaying loans to a federal rural development fund and some banks.

Little said the jail continues to work with lenders on its finances but that the situation has improved as the number of inmates has increased. This month, the inmate population was in the 80s, she said.