Latest news with #ProjectPrisonReset
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Shooting arrest; Prison site narrows; Rain chances
SIOUX FALLS S.D. (KELO)– Here are this morning's top stories with KELOLAND On the Go. Police have arrested a man who allegedly opened fire at a Sioux Falls gas station Tuesday morning. It sent one person to the hospital seriously hurt. UPDATE: 35-year-old arrested in early morning shooting Members of Gov. Larry Rhoden's Project Prison Reset task force have ruled out various sites for a new men's prison, including the Lincoln County site where work had already begun. Task force wants a cheaper plan for new men's prison Paul TenHaken recently posted that he plans to step away from politics after his time as mayor comes to an end. TenHaken talks time as mayor, future plans Plan on highs in the mid 70s today in Sioux Falls with clouds increasing this afternoon. We can't rule out an isolated late day shower or sprinkle, but more of the showers should stay West River. Rain chances ahead for KELOLAND; 70s likely for highs Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
SD prison task force narrows focus to specific sites
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The evolving story of where a replacement for the South Dakota State Penitentiary could go appears to have some clarity. Structure damage, split trees left behind after storm Project Prison Reset's task force voted Tuesday in support of building a 1,500-1,700-bed facility or facilities at a maximum cost of $600 million. And as far as where to build, the stated preferences are at existing state Department of Corrections facilities or proposed sites in the Mitchell or Worthing areas. A bill to appropriate money to build a new men's prison for a guaranteed maximum price of $825 million had already failed in Pierre in 2025, and the weight of that figure is still felt. 'Just a few months ago, we were asked as legislators to pass $825 million for this project, and we said 'no,' in essence,' Republican Rep. Greg Jamison of Sioux Falls said Tuesday at the task force's meeting in Pierre. Republican Rep. Scott Odenbach of the Spearfish area, alongside Jamison, sits on the task force. The group, launched by Gov. Larry Rhoden following the legislative failure, has already unanimously voted in support of replacing the state penitentiary. Now, they are looking at where… and how. Odenbach made the motion to support building for 1,500-1,700 beds at no more than $600 million. 'That $600 million number is maybe more likely to be palatable to a two-thirds majority of the legislature, and we have to consider that,' Odenbach said. 'So, that's why I've done it that way.' That proposal eventually earned unanimous support among the task force. Both the Worthing- and Mitchell-area sites are near an interstate and relatively close to Sioux Falls. 'I think it's good to provide some direction and criteria that meets what is affordable for South Dakota and for what the people of South Dakota expect from us,' Republican Sen. Chris Karr of Sioux Falls said. 'There's what's ideal, and then there's the reality of what we can afford. I think this is a good starting point. In this motion, it says that the office of the state engineer and their contractors shall develop options.' 'This allows us to at least get that information,' Republican Rep. Jon Hansen of the Dell Rapids area said. 'What's possible within the budget parameters that we're setting now, and then we can get that information and make our decision from there.' And options are all they are right now. No plans were finalized Tuesday night in Pierre, and there will be no shovels digging into dirt on Wednesday. And while a possible path forward has come into focus, the mood among the task force is not totally enthusiastic. 'I'm going to support this motion today because I do think we owe ourselves these answers,' Democratic Rep. Erin Healy of Sioux Falls said. 'I'm nervous about what we're going to find.' 'Yes, I'll support it,' Democratic Sen. Jamie Smith of Sioux Falls said. 'But it's hard to support spending that much money when there's other things I know that we could do that keep people out of prison.' The task force's next meeting is scheduled for July 8. Eventually, the plan is for a special session of the state legislature to learn about the group's recommendations. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Prison task force rejects original Lincoln County site, tightens budget for new facility
Mike Quinn and Mike Conder of Arrington Watkins consultants in Phoenix, speak to members of the Project Prison Reset work group on June 3, 2025 in Pierre, SD. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) PIERRE – After years of political upheaval, court battles and legislative tugs-of-war, the plan to build a new men's prison in Lincoln County south of Harrisburg is dead. Members of the Project Prison Reset work group spent more than eight hours at the Capitol on Tuesday running through possible site locations, building designs, budget needs and public comments before voting unanimously to scratch the original site from its list of replacement options for the aging state penitentiary in Sioux Falls. Also gone? The former Citibank site in Sioux Falls, a patch of land outside of Huron, a former cheese plant in Grant County – and more than $50 million in cash, spent to prepare the Lincoln County site for a prison that now won't be built. The members set a $600 million cap on a penitentiary replacement, budgeting for between 1,500 and 1,700 beds – about the same capacity as the original Lincoln County site, but $125 million under that version's guaranteed maximum price. The legislature spent three years dumping money into an incarceration construction fund in the run up to February, the month lawmakers balked at the Lincoln County project's location and price tag. The project needed but couldn't secure two-thirds majority support. The failure spurred the creation of the prison reset group by Gov. Larry Rhoden, who'd pushed for the Lincoln County prison. Now, the task force has asked the state's contractor, JE Dunn, to study a site in Mitchell, another near Worthing, and state-owned land on the grounds of the Mike Durfee Prison in Springfield and at the penitentiary in Sioux Falls. House Speaker and task force member Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids, said the new parameters are a 'departure' from the original plan, but a 'necessary step' to find consensus. 'The Legislature has already said we don't need that big of a prison, we don't want to spend that much money all in one big shot,' Hansen said. In a report presented to the group Tuesday, consultants with Phoenix-based Arrington Watkins Architects projected that the state's total prison population will grow by 31.7% by 2036 — from 3,926 in 2025 to 5,172 in 2036. That's largely driven by the state's truth in sentencing law, which requires people convicted of violent offenses to serve between 85% and 100% of their sentences, depending on the category of their crime. Even without considering projected growth in prison population, the consultants said, every correctional facility in South Dakota is beyond its capacity now. The state needs more than 1,500 beds to deal with current capacity issues at Durfee and the penitentiary are needed immediately. 'You need to build beds now,' said Mike Quinn, managing principal at Arrington Watkins. Report: Tough-on-crime policies could push prison construction costs as high as $2.1 billion The parameters set Tuesday significantly restrict the project's scope, said Vance McMillan, senior vice president of JE Dunn. That includes additions to existing facilities or building cheaper, steel-celled options that'll last 50 years. The original campus-style prison was meant to stand for 100 years. 'A hundred years is out the door with the new budget challenge, in my opinion,' McMillan said. That 'not really' a responsible use of taxpayer funds, Senate Majority Leader Jim Mehlhaff, R-Pierre, told South Dakota Searchlight. But it's politically necessary. The $600 million cap is more 'palatable,' he said, since it's roughly the amount of money the state has on hand to fund the project already. 'We have nearly 800 inmates living in a medieval setting,' Mehlhaff said, referencing the penitentiary in Sioux Falls, which opened in 1881 and predates statehood. 'We have to do something to correct that as soon as possible.' The state engineer and contractors are expected to present designs that meet the new parameters by the task force's July 8 meeting. Legislators will convene for a special session at the state Capitol on July 22. JE Dunn will present options, but McMillan said they might not be able to pull together many details in five weeks. Open process and publicity draw wide range of offers for state prison site Members of the task force, especially the lawmakers, want to build on or expand upon existing prison sites. Increasing capacity on land the state already uses for prisons avoids the public's general distaste for a new location, said Rep. Karla Lems, R-Canton. Lems was an outspoken opponent of the original Lincoln County site. 'You take some of the heartburn away,' she said. 'Then you just deal with the money.' JE Dunn representatives said the state could expand capacity at Springfield with new dorms or barracks facilities for around $55 million. A barracks would fit another 420 minimum security beds in an open space filled with bunkbeds. Members also considered building a compact facility on unused acres at the state penitentiary and adding a second floor to the Jameson Annex in Sioux Falls. Options to build on existing DOC land is limited and more costly, because it would limit a construction workforce to non-felons, take more time to get in and out of the site, and impact operational hours, said Sen. Ernie Otten, R-Tea. JE Dunn representatives estimated it'd cost more than $130 million to build 192 beds on top of the facility. 'Modifying Jameson is a no-go,' Otten said. Business and local government leaders from Mitchell enthusiastically pitched their site to the task force. The city brought letters and resolutions of support and said a prison would drive economic growth. The site got a tepid recommendation from consultants because it's about an hour's drive from Sioux Falls. It's also located next to several possible escape routes:he interstate, the James River and a railroad. The Mitchell City Council unanimously approved a resolution supporting the prison being built in Davison County. But division is already surfacing in the community. Mitchell residents voiced concerns at its Monday city council meeting. According to reporting from the Mitchell Republic, some residents are concerned about the prison's location, parolees released in the city, property taxes and a lack of a citywide vote on the matter. Sen. Joy Hohn, R-Hartford, said she listened to the city council meeting and said residents are 'just becoming aware of the proposal.' City officials plan to hold community forums to increase awareness, educate residents about the impacts, and listen to concerns from community members. The DOC plans to survey its staff to determine if they're willing to commute to Mitchell or Worthing. The Worthing site in Lincoln County received a slightly more positive response from consultants, but the only speaker during public testimony who spoke to the location raised concerns about drainage and flooding at the site. Several members said they'd vote for the budget restrictions and new plan, but added they might not be able to support a decision next month. Rep. Tim Reisch, R-Howard, is a former Department of Corrections secretary. He aired 'serious operational concerns' about the current administration's handling of the prison in recent months and years due to recent suicides, overdoses, attacks on correctional officers and gang activity. Reisch recalled walking through the minimum custody unit during a penitentiary tour and observing that of 230 inmates in the unit, 'only nine of them had jobs, and the rest of them were sitting around watching Oprah Winfrey every day.' 'These are inmates that are getting ready to go out and rejoin society,' Reisch said, 'and we are failing them.' Venhuizen told reporters after the meeting he believes it would be easier to manage such issues in a more modern facility. Sioux Falls Democrats Sen. Jamie Smith and Erin Healy both expressed hesitancy. The budget could limit space needed for rehabilitation and education efforts, they both said. Healy emphasized that her 'number one goal' is to build a safe prison with proper rehabilitation space. 'We absolutely need to ensure that our responsibility for taking care of people is of our greatest concern,' Healy said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Task force wants a cheaper plan for new men's prison
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Members of Gov. Larry Rhoden's Project Prison Reset task force have ruled out various sites for a new men's prison, including the Lincoln County site where work had already begun. The group instead now wants proposals for 1,500 to 1,700 men's beds, capped at $600 million for everything, including furnishings and possibly land, at or near the current state Department of Corrections sites in Sioux Falls and Springfield, as well as at possible new locations in Mitchell and Worthing. Prison consultant does Q and A on Tuesday The task force made those decisions in a meeting Tuesday that started at 10:30 a.m. and adjourned at 6:59 p.m. The proposals from the Office of State Engineer and the Lincoln County site's contractor, JE Dunn Construction, are to be delivered in time for the task force's next meeting on July 8, when its members are supposed to decide on a final recommendation. Gov. Rhoden has been planning to call a special legislative session on July 22 for state lawmakers to consider the recommendation. Whether that can still happen no longer is clear. Several times on Tuesday, Republican Rep. Greg Jamison asked whether the governor's timeline can be met, and the task force's chair, Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen, put off answering him. A JE Dunn official guaranteed that new proposals would be delivered for July 8 but he acknowledged they might lack detail. 'It's a tall order, no doubt,' Vance McMillen said. Republican Sen. Steve Kolbeck asked whether the new proposals could include things such as steel cells fabricated by Trussbilt in Huron. 'You're going to solve the problem now, but you're kicking the can,' McMillen answered, saying that legislators would have a repeat of the current overcrowding problems in 40 years. The $600 million ceiling is less than the $825 guaranteed maximum price that JE Dunn Construction and Henry Carlson Construction had given in a joint proposal for the Lincoln County site. Their offer was the only one received. The project was designed to last 100 years, but it was derailed during the 2025 legislative session when the House of Representatives refused to authorize spending for it. Former Gov. Kristi Noem's administration had planned for several years to build a replacement for the outdated and overcrowded State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls, and the Legislature established an incarceration replacement account to fund it. A 320-acre plot of farm ground in Lincoln County appraised at $7,910,000 was purchased from the state Office of School and Public Lands. A group of local landowners opposed to the plan quickly formed and tried various ways to block it. In January, Noem resigned as governor to become the new federal Homeland Security secretary and Lt. Gov. Rhoden automatically became governor. Days after that, the House refused to authorize the funding. Rather than try again, Rhoden issued the executive order establishing the task force. JE Dunn's McMillen said on Tuesday that a 100-year approach was now out the door, given the task force's decision to see what can be done on a $600 million budget. He said the proposals would instead be designed for 50 years. Mitchell remains in the running despite its location 70 miles west of Sioux Falls. Mitchell Area Development Corporation and Chamber CEO Mike Lauritsen spoke, as did Davison County Commission member John Claggett and Mitchell Area Housing president Terry Sabers. 'We have a unified leadership group in Mitchell who would like to see the prison come to Mitchell,' Lauritsen told the task force. 'We would like to do a formal presentation at your next meeting.' Current DOC employees will be surveyed to see whether they are willing to drive from the Sioux Falls area to Mitchell or Worthing. House Republican leader Scott Odenbach made the motion to seek the $600 million proposals and indicated that getting acceptance from the Legislature is key. 'Part of this bows to the political,' he said. 'We know that whatever we do, we have to get to two-thirds.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Third-party review ranks Mitchell site fourth for possible state prison, recommends initial Lincoln Co. site
Jun. 2—PIERRE — A Mitchell site ranked fourth out of six options in a third-party "refresh" look at the potential sites for a new state men's prison in South Dakota. A study from Arizona-based Arrington Watkins Architects looked at six options for a South Dakota men's correctional facility and based on a site analysis ranked the existing Lincoln County site owned by the South Dakota Department of Corrections as the top option for the Project Prison Reset panel to consider during its next meeting on Tuesday, June 3 in Pierre. The Mitchell site was described as "remote but promising" but scored 2,040 points out of a maximum 2,975 points when the sites were being sized up on a point scale from 1-to-5 and then multiplied by an importance factor out of 100 points. The Lincoln County plan scored 2,355 points, followed by a Huron plan at 2,220, a Worthing site plan at 2,045 points was third and the former Citibank site in northern Sioux Falls and Mitchell both scored at 2,040 points to tie for fourth. The most important elements for the new prison included location (within 30 miles of Sioux Falls), proximity (not located close to a major interstate, railroads and waterways), size (a minimum site of 126 to 160 acres for a full site) and available site utilities. The Lincoln County site scored a 5 in location, proximity and site size. Mitchell scored 3s in location and proximity and a 5 for size but did not score higher than a 4 in any other category. Among the positives in the Mitchell site analysis included the 160-acre land size, the generally flat land and the ability to develop a maximum of 1,728 beds. However, the nearby city lagoons for wastewater would still require a lift station, adding costs to the project, infrastructure improvements would have to be made to the site and the plan noted the site could have escape issues. "The location is 70 miles from Sioux Falls, which results in added costs for inmate transportation and support services," the study said. "It is also located just over one mile from Interstate 90, and within a mile of a railroad and the James River, which provides potential escape routes for inmates." Proposals from Aberdeen and Grant County were eliminated due to their remote distances from Sioux Falls, while five other sites closer to Sioux Falls were eliminated due to buildability issues with the land and the proposed sites. The remaining six sites were then considered for a conceptual plan and a "test fit," Arrington Watkins said. "The goal of the concept plans is to take the resulting buildable area left on each site after site analysis and represent a prison size and bed count that could utilize each site," the study said. "They are not a proposal for what should or should not be built on each site." The Lincoln County site is located about 10 miles south of Sioux Falls between Harrisburg and Canton on a 160-acre site that the state of South Dakota owns. Earlier this year, it was projected to cost $825 million to build the 1,500-bed facility. Nearby landowners to the proposed site have voiced opposition to the plan and to how the state was moving ahead with a largely secretive process to approve the prison. In February, a bill in the South Dakota Legislature to fund the remainder of the prison project failed, leading to Gov. Larry Rhoden to appoint the Project Prison Reset task force to reassess the plan. That brought on the consideration of potential new sites around the state. The state has already spent more than $60 million on the previous design and prep work for the initial Lincoln County plan. In Monday's latest look at the prison options, Arrington Watkins said the existing Lincoln County site is "10 miles from Sioux Falls, is not in proximity to major interstates, railroads, or major waterways, has the size for a full build of 1,728 beds ... is ranked high for site access, and only scored poorly for site utilities and potential additional cost during development." "The property is already owned by the DOC and is adjacent to another 160-acre parcel owned by the DOC that can be used for future expansion or support functions," the report said. "This is a strong candidate for phase one development now. ... Lincoln County was followed on the ranking system by the Huron site, which also scored well, but is very remote and directly adjacent to a major highway. Our recommendation for site selection for phase 1 development of the men's capacity plan is the Lincoln County site."
