Latest news with #PrisonProjectReset
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
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Prison task force meeting set for Tuesday
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The South Dakota Prison Project Reset task force meets Tuesday in Pierre. The meeting agenda includes the site update from consultant Arrington Watkins as well as information on possible prison plans. KELOLAND News will be live streaming the meeting which is set to start at 10:30 a.m. This week, the consultant recommended the original Lincoln County site between Harrisburg and Canton as the best site of 13 for a new prison. Twelve sites had been submitted to the task force for consideration. Of those 12, the consultant said five were potential sites. All five of those potential sites were not as good as the original site. In May, the consultant released an analysis of the existing men's prison and said it needed to be replaced. A multi-phase project with the first as a total of 1,728 beds was recommended. The report said a second roughly 1,700 bed project could be needed in the future. The total project cost was estimated at $1.9 to $2 billion. KELOLAND's Dan Santella will be at Tuesday's meeting. Watch for meeting coverage on the KELOLAND website and KELOLAND News. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
WATCH: Prison Reset task force meeting
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Gov. Larry Rhoden's Prison Project Reset task force entered its second day of meetings on Thursday. Amid prison reset, Lennox uses its $10.5 million from state The task force heard presentations from the South Dakota Department of Corrections on prison facilities and programs Thursday morning at the South Dakota Military Alliance in Sioux Falls. KELOLAND News will livestream the afternoon session, which is scheduled to start at 12:30 p.m. with public comment. You can watch in the player attached above. On Thursday morning, Ryan Brunner with Rhoden's office, told the task force the state hired a new consultant Arrington Watkins for a new study on the DOC facilities. Brunner said the contract with Arrington Watkins is to not exceed $729,000 with a base contract price of $663,000. 'It will be similar to how we hired DLR a few years ago, but we hired Arrington Watkins to take a fresh look at this,' Brunner said. 'They just got their notice to proceed yesterday afternoon.' KELOLAND News will have team coverage of Thursday's meeting online and in upcoming newscasts on Thursday. On Wednesday, the task force toured the proposed site in Lincoln County and the men's prison in Sioux Falls. The proposed project and proposed site has received strong resistance from opponents. The legislature did not pass funding for the proposed project. 'One thing I think is a given, no matter where you try to put this, you're going to have resistance from folks,' task force member Republican Sen. Ernie Otten said in Wednesday's KELOLAND News story. 'Nobody wants a prison next door to them.' Otten lives around 10 miles from the Lincoln County site. The task force was created in February by Rhoden after the Legislature did not pass funding for a new men's prison in Lincoln County. The prison had a guaranteed maximum price of $825 million that expired on March 31. Rhoden said during his task force new conference that 'all the cards are on the table' as to what a new plan could be. Rhoden selected lawmakers and other leaders for the task force. His plan for a task force also included finding a consultant to act as an advisor. Project Prison Reset next meeting in April 29 in Springfield which is the site of of the DOC's Mike Durfee prison. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
Milstead recalls jail expansion amid prison restart
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — From inmate medical needs to staffing, the Minnehaha County Sheriff's Office has plenty to monitor as they work to improve operations at the Minnehaha County Jail. Members of the sheriff's office discussed what's going well and areas that need improvement during the Minnehaha County Commissioners meeting Tuesday. During Mike Milstead's time as Minnehaha County Sheriff, the current Jail was built and renovated, which gives Milstead unique insight for the Prison Project Reset task force launched by Governor Rhoden. Court Docs: Police shooting suspect stole guns 'It will be interesting to see, having gone through two major projects moving from an old, poorly designed facility into modern, efficient design and heavily utilizing technology, to see how that matches up at all with what we start working on with the prison reset group,' Milstead said. Another topic discussed by the sheriff's office was the high demand on the jail's medical staff. 'The medical need at the jail is historically high. That continues. With the population that comes in into the jail, there's not a whole lot of preventative care that goes on prior to coming to jail. While I say preventative care, there's really not a lot of care at all that goes on on the streets prior to coming to jail,' Minnehaha County Chief Deputy Sheriff Jeff Gromer said. While discussing the needs for people inside the jail, the sheriff's office also talked about what they're doing to keep people out of custody. 'Between our 24/7 program and our Pretrial Services Program today, we're monitoring more people outside of custody than we have in the county jail,' Milstead said. Minnehaha County Jail sees rise in violence 'We've done a really good job of developing and implementing programs that help us keep people out on the streets, so people that we can safely monitor and work through the system on the streets are not coming to jail,' Gromer said. 'They can continue to work, support their family, support the community, pay their taxes,' Milstead said. Milstead also says the number of inmates in jail is similar to what it was a year ago. In addition, the sheriff's office hired 43 new employees for the jail in 2024 with 38 of them still employed with them now. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Prison task force plans to take public testimony
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The agenda is out for the first meeting next week of the group that will recommend what direction South Dakota should head on a new men's prison. The Prison Project Reset task force, appointed last month by Gov. Larry Rhoden, is scheduled to gather on the morning of Wednesday, April 2, for an 8 a.m. tour of the current State Penitentiary and Jameson Annex in Sioux Falls that the new prison would largely replace. State Supreme Court hears NOPE case Tuesday After a lunch break, the group will tour the state government-owned site between Harrisburg and Canton in Lincoln County, where the state Department of Corrections had planned construction of the new prison. The group will meet for a second day on Thursday, April 3, starting at 8 a.m., at the South Dakota Military Heritage Alliance building in Sioux Falls, located at 1600 W. Russell Street. The members are scheduled on that second morning to receive an overview of South Dakota's current DOC facilities and four presentations before breaking for lunch. Starting at 12:30 p.m. on April 3, the group plans to take public testimony. The group's chair, Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen, is in charge of deciding the duration of time each person can testify. 'My hope is that I don't have to be too restrictive,' Venhuizen told KELOLAND News on Wednesday, March 26. 'I will ask testifiers to try to stay at ten minutes or so, and not to repeat prior testimony. We should have a couple hours and I want to be sure everyone is heard.' Venhuizen said written comments and materials can also be submitted for distribution to the committee. Emailed comments and materials can be sent here. How we got here In her December 2021 budget address to the Legislature, then-Gov. Kristi Noem referred to a study that showed South Dakota had some $600 million in Department of Corrections needs. She suggested that state lawmakers start setting aside funds to meet those needs. In response, during the 2022 legislative session, the state incarceration fund was established. In February 2022, Gov. Noem announced the appointment of Kellie Wasko as state secretary of corrections. Wasko began on March 7 of that year, and DOC officials worked several years developing the plan for a new men's prison. In October 2023, Noem's office announced the purchase of 300 acres of farm land in Lincoln County from the state Office of School and Public Lands. But in 2024, the Legislature passed and Noem signed into law Senate Bill 201, dealing with pipelines. SB 201 was referred to a statewide vote and was rejected in all but one of South Dakota's 66 counties. Just as significantly, a dozen incumbent lawmakers who had voted yes on SB 201 during the legislative session lost in the June 2024 primary elections. That turnover brought in a new crop of legislators who hadn't been part of the previous plan to set money aside for a new prison. Then Noem resigned as governor in January, with Rhoden automatically moving up from lieutenant governor. Secretary Wasko meanwhile raised eyebrows among lawmakers when she revealed that ongoing operational costs for the new prison would be significantly higher. All of that led to the House of Representatives deadlocking on House Bill 1025 that originally called for authorizing construction of the new men's prison and transferring $763 million to the Department of Corrections to pay for it. An attempt to keep HB 1025 alive by amending it to only transfer $148 million into the incarceration fund also failed. A local group calling itself Neighbors Opposing Prison Expansion aka NOPE Lincoln County meanwhile had sued state government, claiming due process wasn't followed in choosing the proposed site. The South Dakota Supreme Court heard arguments in the case earlier this week. How the Rhoden administration responded Gov. Rhoden then issued his first executive order establishing the Prison Project Reset panel on February 27. The order called for the group to deliver its recommendations and propose legislation to the governor by July 15. Rhoden told news reporters that he plans to call a special legislative session on July 22 regarding the matter. Rhoden appointed the following people to the prison task force: Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen, Sioux Falls, as its chair. Yankton Police Chief , who has been with the Yankton Police Department since August 1998. Minnehaha County Sheriff , who served in the Sioux Falls Police Department from 1973 to 1997, when he was sworn in as Minnehaha County sheriff. Minnehaha County State's Attorney , who took office in January 2021 and has served in various public roles as a lawyer since 2011. Tiffany Wolfgang, CEO at Southeastern Behavioral Health Center in Sioux Falls since 2024 and previously director at South Dakota Division of Behavioral Health Services in Pierre. Jane Wipf Pfeifle, a retired state Seventh Circuit judge based in Rapid City. South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley, Pierre. Rep. Jon Hansen, Dell Rapids, attorney. Rep. Erin Healy, Sioux Falls, philanthropy officer. Rep. Joy Hohn, Hartford, professional pilot/farmer/business owner. Rep. Greg Jamison, Sioux Falls, commercial real estate broker associate. Sen. Chris Karr, Sioux Falls, business valuation analyst/financial consultant. Rep. Jack Kolbeck, Sioux Falls, key account manager, Beal Distributing. Sen. Steve Kolbeck, Brandon, Xcel Energy principal manager for South Dakota. Sen. Mark Lapka, Leola, farmer/rancher. Rep. Karla Lems, Canton, family-owned agri-businesses owner and manager. Sen. Jim Mehlhaff, Pierre, retired, former director of state Grain Warehouse Division. Rep. Brian Mulder, Sioux Falls, managing director at Volunteers of America-Dakotas. Rep. Scott Odenbach, Spearfish, attorney and real estate managing broker. Sen. Ernie Otten, Tea, retired home builder. Rep. Tim Reisch, Howard, retired South Dakota Dept. of Corrections secretary, retired South Dakota adjutant general, former Miner County sheriff. Sen. Jamie Smith, Sioux Falls, real estate agent and former teacher. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Prison site lawsuit set for SD Supreme Court
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The South Dakota Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in March in a case involving the proposed site for a new men's prison in Lincoln County. The case is an appeal of a case dismissed in October by the Lincoln County 2nd Circuit Court Judge Jennifer D. Mammenga. Empty offices, vacant apartments part of outlook report A group called NOPE opposes a proposed prison site between Harrisburg and Canton and filed a lawsuit against the South Dakota Department of Corrections, the state of South Dakota and DOC Secretary Kellie Wasko. The lawsuit claimed the state should have followed Lincoln County zoning ordinances when it chose the site for the planned new men's prison between Harrisburg and Canton. In her October ruling, Mammenga wrote in her opinion that the state (defendants) are immune from suit under the doctrine of sovereign immunity. The hearing before the state's Supreme Court is set for 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 25. The planned hearing is just one development in on the proposed new men's prison. On Thursday, Gov. Larry Rhoden announced he had formed a task force called Prison Project Reset after a proposed 1,500 new men's prison failed in the Legislature. Rhoden said the task force will determine the size, location and need for a new prison. Although, the need may be a moot point, as he said the consensus is that a new prison is needed. The task force should agree with that as well, Rhoden said. The task force is scheduled to complete its work before a July 22 special session. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
