Rhoden on prison location: ‘Everything on the table’

PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden says the Legislature’s position is unmistakable.

“We’ve received the message that our current prison plan does not have the buy-in this legislative session,” Rhoden said Thursday.

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House Bill 1025 would have originally appropriated money to build a new men’s prison in Lincoln County. But the House gutted the bill before voting it down, and now, Rhoden has launched what he describes as “Project Prison Reset.” For this, a working group will examine a handful of questions.

“Number one, do we need a prison,” Rhoden said. “And I think the answer is a clear yes, and this group should agree. Number two, how big should the new prison be, and number three, where should that prison be built. We will hire a consultant to make sure that we’re all working from the same set of facts.”

Included among the group are members of the state House and Senate, as well as Yankton Police Chief Jason Foote, Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead and Minnehaha County State’s Attorney Daniel Haggar. Democratic Representative Erin Healy of Sioux Falls, who serves as minority leader in the House, is among the leaders who will gather every four weeks.

“I think it’s really important that we’re looking at how big does this prison need to be, where should it be, what is best for our inmates and what is best for the people who work there,” Healy said Thursday.

Healy, however, is not entirely happy with the pace of progress.

“It’s frustrating knowing that we need to be acting on this and that our inmates are going to continue to live in unsafe living conditions and in, quite frankly, inhumane living conditions,” Healy said. “But this is where we’re at, and I am very thankful that we are going to have a resolution by July 22nd, and hopefully, that’s something that the legislature can support.”

A special session of the Legislature is set to learn about the working group’s recommendations on that date in July; the group’s initial meeting is April 2 in Pierre. Up until Thursday, the administrations of now-former Gov. Kristi Noem and now Rhoden have publicly focused on putting a new men’s prison in rural Lincoln County. But when KELOLAND News asked the governor Thursday if that site between Harrisburg and Canton remains the administration’s preference, Rhoden said anything is possible.

“We’re leaving everything on the table right now,” Rhoden said.