Recommendations for SD DOC could cost $2.1 billion

Yahoo

17-05-2025

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A consultant report released Thursday on the future of corrections in South Dakota includes recommendations with a total price tag that could reach $2.1 billion.
The report recommends building a 1,728-bed replacement for the current state penitentiary in Sioux Falls. Additionally, it advocates for building either two more prisons with 768 beds apiece or another single facility comparable in size to the penitentiary's replacement.
Waves crash over gates at Gavins Point on windy day
The report also recommends adding 300 beds to the Sioux Falls Minimum Center, which is set up for lower-risk inmates. Cumulatively, per the report, these costs 'are expected to be between $1.9 to $2.1 billion.'
The 81-page report cost the state $729,322. It critically assesses the state's correctional system, stating 'facilities are overcrowded, have low staff-to-inmate ratios, do not conform to modern correctional practices, and are growing faster than solutions can be put in place.' The report describe the current state penitentiary overlooking central Sioux Falls as a lost cause, writing that it has no hope of ever satisfying building codes, safety requirements or Americans with Disabilities Act standards. It also says the penitentiary comes well short of having enough room for recreation or education, stating that it 'is well below modern program space recommendations.'
Just as Project Prison Reset's task force unanimously voted in April, the consultant report says the current penitentiary should be replaced. The report specifies that the penitentiary's replacement should be built as quickly as possible in Sioux Falls or less than 30 minutes away.
Project Prison Reset's task force will next meet June 3 in Pierre, with a special session of the state legislature set to learn about the group's recommendations in July. Rhoden launched the task force in the wake of the legislative failure of House Bill 1025, which would have appropriated money to build a new men's prison in Lincoln County between Harrisburg and Canton with a guaranteed maximum price of $825 million.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.