The Columbia Missourian reported over the weekend that several state agencies are pushing to open the doors of the old Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City to tourists.One hundred years before Alcatraz opened, the Missouri State Penitentiary was in operation. When it closed on Sept. 15, 2004, it was the oldest operating prison west of the Mississippi River.For 170 years, residents wondered what was behind "The Walls." And when they had their first opportunity to go inside, more than 20,
