Structure fire; Prison assaults; High weekend temps
A structure fire could be seen on the northeast side of Sioux Falls on the 2200 block of West 8th Street. We were able to capture the smoke through our downtown Sioux Falls live cam.
Structure fire burns apartment in north Sioux Falls
The Division of Criminal Investigation is looking into reports of several assaults on the South Dakota State Penitentiary's campus this week. This latest incident concerns Project Prison Reset task force members for a number of reasons.
Task force reacts to inmate assault reports
Temperatures will be rising into the weekend, well into the 80s in most locations. We do expect a few scattered hits of rain in central SD tomorrow morning.
Smoke arrives this weekend; Thunderstorms likely next week
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The Hill
04-08-2025
- The Hill
18 motorcycle crashes reported in single day at Sturgis Rally in South Dakota
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The South Dakota Highway Patrol has released a list of crashes and arrests that came during a single day at the 85th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, a 10-day rider celebration event. According to a press release from the Department of Public Safety, there were a total of 18 crashes between 6 a.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday, with one of them being deadly. Fatal crash: 9:34 a.m. Saturday. A 2019 Harley-Davidson motorcycle was traveling westbound in the passing lane of US 16A when the driver was unable to negotiate a curve and tipped onto their right side. The motorcycle slid into the eastbound lanes, colliding with three other motorcycles. The 58-year-old male driver of the 2019 Harley died from his injuries. The other three riders received serious, non-life-threatening injuries. Helmet use for all four riders is under investigation. Injury crashes: 9:26 a.m. Saturday. A 2019 Harley-Davidson motorcycle was turning north onto US 16 from the Happy Place Campground when the front brake locked up, causing the rider to 'lay the motorcycle down.' The driver and motorcycle fell onto the right side. The rider, who was not wearing a helmet, sustained minor injuries and was transported to Rapid City Monument Hospital. 10:49 a.m. Saturday. A 2013 Victory motorcycle heading westbound on SD Highway 44 had a flat tire, and as the driver was slowing down to pull over, he lost control and went into a ditch. The driver and passenger were 'separated' from the motorcycle. They were not wearing helmets and received serious, non-life-threatening injuries. 12:31 p.m. Saturday. A 2011 Harley-Davidson motorcycle was heading northbound on SD 87 when the driver failed to negotiate a left turn and ran off the road and up an embankment. The driver was separated from the motorcycle, which fell on top of the rider. The driver was not wearing a helmet and received serious, non-life-threatening injuries and was flown to a hospital. 1:01 p.m. Saturday. A 2009 Harley-Davidson motorcycle traveling south on SD 87 crossed into northbound traffic and crashed into a 2024 Harley-Davidson trike. Both riders were separated from their motorcycles. The driver of the 2024 Harley was not injured, but their passenger and the driver of the 2009 bike sustained minor injuries and were taken to Monument Health in Custer. All three were wearing helmets. 2:26 p.m. Saturday. A 2015 Harley-Davidson was westbound on I-90 when the driver hit the rumble strips as they were negotiating a curve, causing the Harley to enter the median. The rider was separated from the motorcycle and landed in the median. The rider was not wearing a helmet and sustained serious, non-life-threatening injuries. 4:55 p.m. Saturday. A 2023 Harley-Davidson was westbound on I-90 in the right lane when it tried to pass a 2024 Harley-Davidson in the left lane and 'made contact' with the other bike. The contact caused the driver of the 2023 Harley to lose control and go into a ditch, resulting in minor injuries. The other driver was not injured. Both were wearing helmets. 5:13 p.m. Saturday. A Ford Escape was rear-ended by a motorcycle while stopped at a stoplight. The motorcycle rider, who was wearing a helmet, sustained serious, life-threatening injuries and was flown to Monument Health in Rapid City. The driver of the Ford Escape was not injured. 5:44 p.m. Saturday. A 2025 Harley-Davidson motorcycle traveling west on US 14A collided with the rear end of a 2012 Ford F150 that was stopped and waiting to make a left turn. The Harley driver, who was not wearing a helmet, received minor injuries and was taken to the hospital. The Ford driver was wearing a seatbelt and was not injured. 6:40 p.m. Saturday. A 2013 Harley-Davidson motorcycle traveling east on I-90 tried to exit, but realized the road was closed. The driver laid the bike on its side and slid under the gate before coming to a stop. The driver, who was not wearing a helmet, was transported to a hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injuries. 12:44 a.m. Sunday. A 2005 Harley-Davidson motorcycle heading south on SD 79 and a 2022 Harley-Davidson motorcycle traveling north were straddling the centerline and struck each other. The 2005 Harley came to rest in the southbound lane, while the other motorcycle ran off the road and ended up in a ditch. Both drivers were transported to the hospital. The driver of the 2005 Harley was wearing a helmet and sustained life-threatening injuries, while the other driver sustained serious, non-life-threatening injuries. Helmet use for the latter driver is under investigation. 12:50 a.m. Sunday. Sturgis Police tried to stop a 2021 Harley-Davidson motorcycle for alleged exhibition driving, but the motorcycle fled, leading to a police pursuit. Traveling at high speed, the motorcycle went off the road and into a ditch on US 14A. The driver, who was not wearing a helmet, sustained serious, life-threatening injuries and was taken to Monument Health via helicopter. All information released so far is only preliminary, according to the South Dakota Department of Public Safety. In addition to crashes, the South Dakota Highway Patrol reported that from 6 a.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday, there were a total of 21 DUI arrests, 31 misdemeanor drug arrests and 14 felony drug arrests. Highway Patrol also issued a total of 252 citations and 592 warnings from Saturday to Sunday.
USA Today
02-08-2025
- USA Today
Police search in Montana mountains for man accused of killing 4 in bar shooting
The search for the suspect continued in the mountains just west of Anaconda, where he is accused of fatally shooting four people, officials said. Law enforcement officials are searching for a 45-year-old man accused of walking into a Montana bar and opening fire, killing four people, on Aug. 1. The manhunt for Michael Brown continued in the mountains just west of Anaconda, where he is accused of fatally shooting four people in the Owl Bar, according to Lee Johnson, administrator of the state Division of Criminal Investigation. After the shooting at 10:30 a.m., Brown allegedly fled the scene in his white Ford F-150 truck. He remained at large as of 10 p.m. on Aug. 1, Johnson said in a nighttime update. Law enforcement later found Brown's truck, though didn't locate him, Johnson said. Officials are now focusing their search in a mountainous area near Stumptown Road. Officials said they believe Brown is armed and dangerous, though added they haven't received reports of him harming others. Residents in the rural area have been notified and told to stay inside their homes, Johnson said. He's described as 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighs about 170 pounds, and has blue eyes and brown hair. Earlier, the Granite County Sheriff's Office said a suspect's house in Anaconda had been cleared by SWAT as they warned people to avoid the area. Local, state and federal officials are involved in the ongoing search and investigation. 'This is a small tight knit community that has been harmed by the heinous actions of one individual who does not represent what this community or Montanans stand for,' Johnson said.
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Yahoo
Prison task force picks Sioux Falls, caps price at $650 million for 1,500 beds
South Dakota State Engineer Stacy Watters, left, and Vance McMillan of JE Dunn testify to the Project Prison Reset task force on July 8, 2025, in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight) SIOUX FALLS — South Dakota can't build the prison it needs at the price it wants without sacrificing quality and longevity. That was the message delivered Tuesday to the Project Prison Reset task force by the state's construction manager, the state engineer and the consultant hired earlier this year to evaluate the options for addressing prison overcrowding. The message didn't take. Citing the political realities of a skeptical Legislature, the task force voted unanimously to recommend that lawmakers support a men's prison at a price point of $650 million during a special session whose date has yet to be set. Prison task force rejects original Lincoln County site, tightens budget for new facility That's $50 million higher than the limit the group set last month. It's also $75 million less than the experts said the group's preferred project would cost hours before the vote. Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen, who leads the task force, said the figure is a compromise that moves the state toward a replacement for the 144-year-old penitentiary in Sioux Falls. 'There is no appetite, none, for going above $650 million,' Venhuizen said. House Speaker Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids, said securing a two-thirds majority in both chambers — required for spending bills — will mean convincing lawmakers that the job can be done without cost overruns and supplemental budget requests. 'We're going to need to know that we can actually do it for $650 million,' Hansen said. The group also endorsed two vacant plots of industrial land in northeastern Sioux Falls just off Interstate 229, near Gage Brothers, a precast concrete company. The choice of which was left to legislators. The task force voted to shoot down options in Mitchell or Worthing early on during its final meeting Tuesday, which took place at the Military Heritage Alliance in Sioux Falls. Other site options were ruled out during earlier meetings, and some communities, including Box Elder, removed themselves from consideration after submitting proposals. Unlike the residents of Mitchell and Worthing, Joe Bunker of Gage Brothers told the group his company had no qualms with having a prison as a neighbor. 'I just want you to know that we're not opposed to it,' Bunkers said. The buildings on the recommended prison campus should be designed to last 100 years, the task force decided, with 1,200 beds for higher security inmates and another 300 for lower-security inmates. That configuration was one of 14 options presented Tuesday morning from Arrington Watkins, the consulting firm hired to assess the prison system's space needs. The price estimate for the northeastern Sioux Falls prison complex is $725 million. That's $100 million less than a 1,500-bed men's prison proposed for Lincoln County, whose failure to earn the support of the Legislature back in February spurred the creation of the task force. The two sites in northeast Sioux Falls selected as potential prison locations. Mike Quinn of Arrington Watkins ran the task force through the options Tuesday morning. None came in below $600 million, the price cap the task force adopted previously. In addition to brushing off Mitchell and Worthing as site options, the group's final recommendations eliminated options that would have placed buildings in multiple locations. Those included a small prison just north of the penitentiary across a Big Sioux River diversion channel and an additional dormitory-style building in Springfield, current site of Mike Durfee State Prison. Those options were an outgrowth of questions from task force members about the need for a single high-security facility. Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead, a task force member, asked Quinn if any of the multi-building setups would be 'the best option for the taxpayer.' The answer was no. Each prison site, regardless of size, Quinn said, would need to have recreation areas, kitchens and mess halls and other support areas. 'When you build three facilities, you're building those buildings three times,' Quinn said, adding 'it's never more economical to split it up into smaller units.' Hansen was one of several task force members to ask about a 1,512-bed Nebraska prison priced at $313 million for inmates at a variety of security levels. South Dakota State Engineer Stacy Watters said the state of Nebraska has refused to release specifications for that facility, and denied a records request from South Dakota for more details, citing nondisclosure agreements with its contractors. What the state did learn, Watters said, was that the $313 million price only includes construction, not site preparation or design, and that it doesn't include the intake area or medical facilities that South Dakota's proposal does. Nebraska has already spent $130 million on buildings with those services over the past seven years, she said, and plans to use cheaper piping for its plumbing in the new prison project. The design and materials being used in Nebraska are unclear, but 'we had to assume that at that price, there was a reduced level of construction,' said Vance McMillan of JE Dunn, the state's construction manager at-risk. Hansen questioned why Nebraska would hold back on sharing its design features for a public project. Venhuizen suggested that Nebraska is building a 'sub-par' facility, and 'that's not something they're really looking to admit.' McMillan told the group it had done all the due diligence necessary to keep its estimates low, bidding out every piece of the project. A cheaper price would mean building a prison that would need replacing sooner. Comparisons to Nebraska or other states weren't 'apples to apples,' he said. Report: Tough-on-crime policies could push prison construction costs as high as $2.1 billion But House Majority Leader Scott Odenbach, R-Spearfish, said lower reported price points in other states have created enough doubt to put a new South Dakota prison in political jeopardy at the prices offered Tuesday. 'I'm sitting here as majority leader trying to figure out how I can sell this to a two-thirds majority of the Legislature not knowing all the answers,' Odenbach said. The state has $566 million set aside in an incarceration construction fund, a balance built by infusions of COVID-19 relief money and earning interest. About $50 million of that is earmarked for a women's prison in Rapid City, which is currently under construction. The fund will grow by $23 million of interest in August, Corrections Department spokesman Michael Winder said Tuesday. That the state has the money set aside makes the project more palatable, but Rep. Greg Jamison, R-Sioux Falls, said worries about ongoing operational costs and concerns that the state might not be getting the best deal have left some lawmakers unwilling to trust the experts. 'Other states are doing it for less. There's a shadow of doubt, and we need to rebuild that trust,' Jamison said, to get legislative approval. Jamison suggested that the group vote for 1,500 beds, cap the price at $600 million, and recommend looking for a new construction manager at-risk, as JE Dunn and Henry Carlson's single proposal was the only one the state fielded back in 2023. McMillan, as well as some task force members, bristled at the idea of dispensing with JE Dunn and starting from scratch. McMillan told the task force that every month wasted carries the potential for greater costs. He urged them to make a decision, and insisted that the team that's worked on prisons for the state for the past two years could meet whatever design specifications that lawmakers want. 'We would be happy to build you a steel structure that would last you 50 years. That's a decision that you guys have to make,' McMillan said. McMillan said it would be 'a tall order' to build a 100-year facility for $650 million. Judge Jane Wipf Pfeifle, a task force member, said switching gears on a construction manager would ultimately cost taxpayers. She also questioned the wisdom of setting an 'arbitrary' cap on costs that could hamstring a new prison's ability to meet the state's needs. Two consultants' reports since 2022 have pointed to inmate population growth that will outpace the state's ability to house prisoners without major policy shifts or new construction. The experts, she said, have shown their work to explain their prices and how their designs can address the problem. Prison task force is offered sites east of Box Elder, near unbuilt hog operation in Sioux Falls 'They're not saying 'Gosh, I read in the newspaper that it's cheaper in Arkansas or Nebraska,'' Wipf Pfeifle said. Sen. Jamie Smith, D-Sioux Falls, was among the task force members to worry aloud about what the state would lose — including space for things like rehabilitation programming — by placing a cap of $650 million on the project. Smith said he had little choice but to support the lower-cost compromise figure, but that 'there are going to be corners that will have to be cut in order to get to that number, based on everything that you've seen today.' Sen. Jim Mehlhaff, R-Pierre, expressed similar concerns. Based on a question from Mehlhaff, Corrections Secretary Kellie Wasko told the group that after closing up the penitentiary, she could likely fill 1,500 beds with the state's current prison population. 'We might build a facility that is overcrowded the day we move in,' Mehlhaff said, adding that spending $600 million of saved-up money without solving the problem would be 'a poor stewardship of taxpayer money.' Even so, Mehlhaff said, he recognizes that his fellow lawmakers need to be willing to move forward. Mehlhaff moved that the task force recommend the Legislature to direct the Department of Corrections to 'come up with a plan' to build 1,500 beds 'in the most efficient way possible,' with 300 beds for lower-security inmates. Attorney General and task force member Marty Jackley suggested a $650 million price cap as an amendment. Prison work group peppered with public testimony in first Sioux Falls meeting That addition was 'not necessarily friendly,' the Mehlhaff said, 'but if we could move the ball forward, I could accept that.' Before the final vote, both Venhuizen and Hansen, a 2026 gubernatorial candidate, lauded the result as a win. Venhuizen said the task force had produced a workable compromise. Hansen said the group was able to find a location that, unlike the original Lincoln County proposal, is palatable to neighbors. When asked if the lower price might force the Legislature to build a facility meant to last less than 100 years, Venhuizen said 'I would rather build it smaller' than cheaper. Compromises will need to be made, he said, but those decisions will need to come from the Legislature. Hansen said he also wants to see a durable facility. He couldn't speculate on what kinds of compromises might be necessary, but said there's no question that a higher price tag is off the table. 'We'll have to see what these guys bring to the Legislature,' Hansen said of the design team. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
