Latest news with #SteveHarr
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Yahoo
Davison County Sheriff's Office investigating shooting at I-90 off ramp
Jul. 13—MITCHELL — The Davison County Sheriff's Office is investigating a shooting that occured Saturday night on an Interstate 90 off ramp about five miles west of Mitchell. According to Steve Harr, sheriff for Davison County, a passerby contacted law enforcement about the incident at about 9:30 p.m. When responders arrived on the scene, they found a vehicle parked on the Betts Road exit westbound off ramp and an individual with a gunshot wound. The individual, whose name is not being released at this time, was taken to Avera Queen of Peace Hospital in Mitchell where they later died. Harr said the Davison County Sheriff's Office is still looking into the incident and has made no conclusions as of Sunday afternoon, but the preliminary investigation suggests the death could be a result of suicide. "It's pretty early yet, and everything is still under investigation," Harr told the Mitchell Republic. The off ramp was closed during the investigation but reopened to traffic later in the evening. Harr said there was no danger to the public stemming from the incident and the investigation is still underway. In addition to the Davison County Sheriff's Office, other responding agencies included the Mitchell Regional Ambulance Service and the South Dakota Highway Patrol.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Spurred by fear of drug-induced deaths, Davison County purchases vital sign monitoring units for jail
Jun. 13—MITCHELL — If it comes to life and death for an inmate in the Davison County Jail, county leaders have approved a high-tech purchase to potentially save lives. The Davison County Commission voted earlier this week to purchase five units of a contactless vital sign monitoring system that will be located in different parts of the jail. The commissioners voted 4-0 in favor of the purchase, which will cost the county $2,700 a year. Davison County Sheriff Steve Harr recommended the purchase, with a specific urgency in installing the equipment due to a recent law change that he sees as having unintended consequences. Harr said that as of July 1, South Dakota state law will be changed and ingesting drugs will be a misdemeanor instead of a felony. Because of that, if law enforcement catches someone with a baggie of meth or fentanyl, he said, the individual will likely swallow it to avoid having it in their possession, which remains a felony offense. "It's an unintended consequence but people are going to die from it," Harr said. Harr told the commissioners of a recent instance on Interstate 90 where this scenario played out and deputies had to use three doses of Narcan to save the person's life. Narcan (and its generic name naloxone) is the overdose medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Harr said the county is trying to avoid deaths of individuals who are taken into custody, because the county is responsible for their care when they are in jail or being held. Harr said the spending on the monitoring system gives the county a better chance of saving that person's life and also could protect the county from having to deal with a lawsuit. The units have radar-based technology that can detect heart rates, breathing rates, movement and general presence without cameras or microphones. The units, which can fit in a person's hand, can detect abnormal vital signs and alert staff if there's an emergency. Commissioner Chris Nebelsick said he felt that nearly $5,000 in maintenance costs for the units was high but Harr countered with his belief that it could be a preventative measure. "What kind of check are you going to write if someone dies in jail?" Harr asked. "I think it's important to commit to the technology for our staff. It's $900 per unit per year to maintain them. We can't afford not to," Commissioner Mike Blaalid said. The cost of the units is $25,000, although Davison County expects to be able to get the hardware and installation costs covered by settlement funding from South Dakota's share of the national opioid settlement. More than $50 billion in settlement funds was distributed nationally to state and local governments after drugmakers settled lawsuits related to how addictive and deadly opioid painkillers were. Specific funds have been set aside for law enforcement use, Harr said. Davison County would be responsible for paying for the annual costs related to maintenance and monitoring for the units, which would be $900 per unit per year, or $4,500 for the five units. Davison County received the sales pitch from Darin Young, of Combined Public Communications. Young is now a sales person for the company but formerly served as warden at the South Dakota State Penitentiary and spent more than 30 years in corrections. Young said as a former jail administrator, there's plenty of practical uses for how it could be used. "It's designed for your high-risk inmates. Putting my sales hat on, I could sell you one for every cell but as a warden, you want to be watching your high risk inmates, your people with mental issues, your intoxicated individuals, drug overdoses and people with medical issues. ... This will help monitor that." Davison County jail staff makes rounds in the facility to check on cells every 15 to 30 minutes. Harr said he expects to put the monitoring devices in four locations in the jail's general population pods, plus one in the holding area, commonly known as "the drunk tank." "We get people in (the jail) that have health issues. It's something we want to be on top of," Harr said.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Davison County Sheriff reverses course, opposes state prison proposal for Mitchell
Jun. 9—MITCHELL — As the consideration of a potential state prison in Mitchell intensifies, one Davison County leader has reversed course on his support. Davison County Sheriff Steve Harr issued a statement Monday saying he has decided not to support a possible $600 million prison plan that is being considered by the state's Project Prison Reset task force, becoming one of the most prominent Davison County leaders to oppose the plan. Harr said the change of heart came after the feedback he's gotten from residents in Davison County who are against the prison plan. "Since Davison County made the cut at the last meeting, it has become quite clear that there are a very large number of residents that are opposed to the prison coming to our county," Harr wrote in a statement. "I have heard very little from anyone that is in favor of it. That is why it was important to get a conversation going. It is unfortunate that it didn't happen earlier, but better now than after a decision has been made. In an interview with the Mitchell Republic on Monday afternoon, Harr said he made the decision by listening to the constituents of Davison County. "The majority of the public just doesn't seem to be in favor," Harr said. "They're pretty adamant that they don't want this." In his letter, Harr said he initially signed a letter of support for the prison because he hoped Mitchell's plan would advance and there would be conversations about the idea. "It was not done as a statement of "we need a prison in Mitchell." Well, as you know, this was successful, as the conversation all over town is on this topic," he wrote. Harr, who initially began working for Davison County as a corrections officer in 2000 and was a longtime deputy, has been sheriff since 2021. "I did not make this decision lightly, as there are people in this county that are supportive of bringing it here. However, the clear majority do not. My job as sheriff is to look out for the citizens of Davison County and I feel that is what is being done by coming to this decision," Harr wrote. "I would like to thank everyone that has reached out or made your concerns known in other ways. Without an open conversation, nothing gets accomplished. To the people that are in favor, I hope you understand how I came to this decision." Harr was one of 10 individuals or entities in a June 4 press release from the Mitchell Area Development Corporation and Chamber of Commerce listed as formally expressing support for Mitchell's inclusion as a prison site. In addition to MADC and the Chamber itself, the others included the Mitchell City Council, Davison County Commission, Mitchell Mayor Jordan Hanson, State Rep. Jeff Bathke, Mitchell Area Housing, Inc., Randall Community Water District, Central Electric Cooperative and Mitchell Technical College. "I can see the plusses and minuses that come with the prison. But when it comes to something of this magnitude, we need to listen to the public that lives here," Harr said in an interview. Asked about the third-party consultant report that described the Mitchell location as a sub-optimal location because of its site near a major interstate, a rail line and the James River, Harr downplayed the concern and said he's skeptical about how often true prison escapes occur. "I would like to know about the last escape from the South Dakota State Penitentiary. Movies kind of glamorize that. Inmates sometimes don't return when they're out on work release, but I can't remember the last escape from the prison." Following the June 3 meeting of the Project Prison Reset task force, Mitchell was named as one of the finalists for the prison location along with a site near Worthing and state land on the grounds of the Mike Durfee Prison in Springfield and at the penitentiary in Sioux Falls. The proposed Mitchell site is 160 acres located south of Interstate 90 near the city's sewer lagoons and landfill. The MADC said last week that the project would generate more than 440 full-time jobs with an annual payroll of more than $36 million. The task force is working on a short timeline. The state engineer and contractors are expected to present new prison designs that meet the new parameters before the state task force's July 8 meeting. Legislators will convene for a special session at the state Capitol on July 22 to consider approving a plan.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Davison County board, sheriff discuss long-term need for a new county jail
May 30—MITCHELL — While talk about a potential state prison outside of Mitchell has gotten more attention, Davison County leaders have said their own "worst in the state" corrections facility needs replacement soon. The topic was a discussion item on May 27 as the commissioners went through the county sheriff's 2026 budget. "It's not uncommon to see pieces of concrete coming off of walls," Davison County Sheriff Steve Harr said. "We're very well known in South Dakota amongst law enforcement and inmates that we have the worst jail in South Dakota. It's seen its day." The current facility is located at 1015 S. Miller Ave., one that the county has used for a jail for nearly 30 years. The county purchased the former Methodist hospital in the early 1990s and repurposed a portion of it move the jail from the Davison County Courthouse in 1996. Other elements of the building date back further and the county has had to regularly update the building's mechanical equipment in recent years to keep the building operational. The jail has a maximum capacity of 72 inmates but Harr said the realistic capacity is closer to 60 inmates at once. The current Davison County facility has one big positive that the county doesn't want to lose. It has the sheriff's office, jail and courtroom facilities all in one building, which makes transportation of inmates much easier and the overall administration of courts and corrections move smoothly. "It's going to be an expensive project when we get to it," Harr said. "Expensive probably isn't the right word for it." Harr said he's received a standing offer from Minnehaha County to tour their corrections facility, which was expanded in 2020 to add 320 inmate beds to bring the total to more than 700. Harr would like the commissioners to see the Lawrence County facility near Deadwood, which was completed earlier this year and took more than two years to complete. The commissioners discussed taking a potential field trip to the current Davison County Jail and to Sioux Falls around upcoming meetings to learn more about its needs. Harr said one potential plan to help fund the new facility would be to accept federal inmates. That's something the county can't currently do because it doesn't have the space. A site south of Mitchell is among the possible sites being discussed by a state panel that is looking at building a new state prison, with Mitchell offering the land last month. The commissioners, in a previous meeting, were supportive of that idea , although their own jail needs would almost certainly require a separate project. "I'm still pro getting a prison and putting a little lean-to (building) on it for the county," Commissioner Chris Nebelsick joked about the two potential projects. Commissioner John Claggett said he hopes the county project would be less than the Mitchell High School project, which is nearly $70 million and will be completed later this year. "It won't be," Commissioner Denny Kiner said of Claggett's price hopes being low. "The problem is we're doing a new school, we're spending $15 million on the lake and everyone is just spent right now," Nebelsick said. "And people are going to be asking about a jail but I'm out in the public telling everyone I see that we need a new jail. Anybody that knows me knows me, knows we need a jail and knows why." Harr said a potential collaboration with the city of Mitchell on a new public safety building should also be considered, he said, with a city-county partnership that has become increasingly more frequent in communities in South Dakota and around the Midwest. "It's probably a conversation to have with the city, as well, to have one modern facility rather than two rundown buildings," Harr said.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
'It happens here,' Call to Freedom director says of human trafficking
May 13—MITCHELL — Five clients of Call to Freedom from Mitchell. Countless more across South Dakota. And for Davison County Sheriff Steve Harr, a case that still sticks in his mind, where justice never came. This stark reality was shared Tuesday afternoon at the Mitchell Lions Club meeting, where members heard from Call to Freedom, a Sioux Falls-based nonprofit that has worked with survivors of human trafficking across the state since 2016. "Human trafficking is a reality in South Dakota," said Rachel Schartz, director of impact and program relations with Call to Freedom. "It happens in every community in South Dakota. And until we educate ourselves and become aware, take our heads out of the sand, we'll never be able to solve this issue." Since its founding, Call to Freedom says it has served more than 1,500 clients — many of whom are from smaller, rural communities like Mitchell. The organization has worked in 61 of the state's 66 counties, providing support to individuals statewide. In 2023, Call to Freedom provided assistance to a record 527 individuals. The event was organized by District 20 Sen. Paul Miskimins, a former Lions Club president, who invited Schartz after hearing her speak at the South Dakota Lions convention earlier this year. He hoped the presentation would raise awareness about human trafficking in the state and the resources available for those impacted. "I brought her here to share about human trafficking and what they're doing to help those who have been impacted," Miskimins said. "When you're in the legislature, you have an opportunity to do good — to help others and to try to build a better future for people in South Dakota." Among those listening to Schartz's presentation were Sheriff Steve Harr and Chief Deputy Tim Reitzel, both of whom have worked closely with Call to Freedom, referring individuals in need of support. Schartz confirmed that at least five clients of Call to Freedom have come from Mitchell. Harr added that while some cases might not have been officially labeled as trafficking, several over the years, including one particularly memorable case, likely fit under that umbrella. "Unfortunately, none of those cases ever moved far enough along in the legal process to find justice," Harr said. Schartz explained that getting trafficking cases to court is a persistent challenge. Victims often don't recognize themselves as victims, especially when manipulation or coercion is involved, sometimes by close family members or trusted acquaintances. Fear of retaliation and a distrust of the system also prevent many from speaking out. "The reality is that human trafficking doesn't always look like what you might expect. It can be someone you know, a family member, or even a trusted friend," Schartz said. "That's why it's so hard to get these cases to a place where we can prosecute them." A new state law, set to take effect on July 1, is seen as a potential game-changer in addressing these challenges. Previously, individuals convicted of trafficking could have their entire sentence suspended, allowing traffickers to avoid serving time. The new law aligns South Dakota's sentencing guidelines with federal law, eliminating the option for suspended sentences in trafficking convictions. This is a critical step in ensuring that those convicted face the full consequences of their actions. "I'm glad the new legislation will be in place should we ever need it," Harr said. Schartz believes the law will serve as a valuable tool in combating trafficking in the future, sending a stronger message that South Dakota will not tolerate trafficking. Since its founding in 2016, Call to Freedom has helped survivors rebuild their lives. Its new facility in Sioux Falls, which opened in late April, is designed to better meet the needs of survivors. The facility features expanded services, including therapy rooms, emergency supplies, a clothing boutique, and more space for training and volunteer activities. Schartz emphasized that many people still believe human trafficking only occurs in large cities or involves international smuggling, but that's not the case. Victims can be trafficked locally, and many are manipulated or coerced into exploitative situations by those closest to them. "Too often, young people are exchanging inappropriate material with someone they believe to be a peer, when in reality, it's an adult manipulating the situation," Schartz said. "This is one of the many ways traffickers exploit vulnerabilities and take advantage of our youth." Schartz also discussed how trafficking can be difficult to identify. Survivors may not always show visible signs of abuse, and the trauma can affect every aspect of their lives, from their mental health to their physical well-being. She advised the Lions Club members to trust their instincts when encountering situations that feel wrong. "If you suspect someone might be involved in trafficking, trust your gut," she said. "It's not always easy to spot, but if something feels off, don't ignore it." The discussion also touched on prevention efforts, with Call to Freedom working to educate communities about trafficking and provide resources for individuals who may be at risk. The organization collaborates closely with law enforcement, medical professionals, and social services to intervene quickly when trafficking situations are identified. "We need more than just awareness," Schartz said. "We need action, education, and resources to support these survivors." Miskimins, reflecting on the day's discussion, reminded the group of the importance of continuing to shine a light on difficult issues like human trafficking. "Cherish your victories," Miskimins said. "Because you can't win all the time and sometimes it's a tragedy and it hurts. But when you make a difference, those are the ones you've got to hold on to."
