Top law enforcement and legal officials across South Dakota are voicing strong support for a proposed $650 million prison facility in Sioux Falls, citing urgent needs to replace outdated infrastructure, reduce overcrowding, and improve safety and rehabilitation.
Attorney General Marty Jackley emphasized the plan’s focus on modernizing corrections rather than expanding incarceration. “This is about replacing an outdated facility and creating safer environments for staff and inmates,” he said.
Support also came from the South Dakota Sheriffs’ Association, Police Chiefs’ Association, and State’s Attorneys Association. Yankton Police Chief Jason Foote, who helped lead the Project Prison Reset task force, noted that the current penitentiary’s aging design complicates security and operations. The sheriffs’ group highlighted the strain on county jails, with only 23 of 66 counties having their own facilities and many forced to house state-sentenced inmates.
The state’s attorneys praised the new prison’s emphasis on rehabilitation, including expanded mental health care, substance abuse treatment, and vocational training aimed at reducing recidivism.
Gov. Larry Rhoden’s plan features three T-shaped housing units with improved sightlines, a fourth dormitory-style building, and 27,000 more square feet of vocational space than the previously proposed Lincoln County site. The new facility would house 1,488 inmates—far more than the current prison’s official capacity of 429, which has been stretched to 750.
The legislature will reconvene in Pierre on Sept. 23 for a special session to decide on funding. The Sioux Falls proposal follows the rejection of an $825 million plan for Lincoln County. Meanwhile, Corrections Secretary Kellie Wasko has announced her resignation, effective late October, adding uncertainty to the project’s future.
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