Turner County Courthouse’s structural problems started over a year ago

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The Turner County courthouse is over 120 years old and its structural problems began surfacing over a year ago.

We take a look back at how the county came to its decision to rebuild rather than renovate.

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In December of 2023, the Turner County Courthouse had to be partially evacuated after trusses on the east side of the building sunk almost 20 inches.

“We’re just a little bit away from 120 years; there’s bound to be some upkeep and maintenance,” said Mick Miller of Viborg, chair of the Turner County Commission. “I mean, I kind of walk more bent over now than I did 50 years ago.”

The Turner County Commission held a special meeting with engineers to talk about the integrity and safety.

“Do I personally think it’s going to fall into a heap right now? Absolutely not,” Miller said. “But when you’re talking about safety of the general public doing business here and the employees here, that’s number one concern.”

“Some of the employees were more concerned than others about the potential collapse of the building. There are supports, there are beams, but there’s definitely very serious structural issues in that building,” First Circuit Court Administrator Kim Allison said.

So they moved offices to other locations in town and court hearings were moved to McCook County.

Meanwhile, the problems persisted.

Last summer, during heavy rain storms, the courthouse began leaking terribly through windows and the roof.

“You could see that when we were inside with the trash bucket, collecting the water so that we know that there’s some ongoing leaks so that roof system is past its serviceable life,” ISG Facility Maintenance Strategist Thad Dahling said.

Then in July of 2024, black mold became another issue.

That was the last straw.

So the county voted to demolish the courthouse and build a brand new $19 million structure in the same location.

“It’ll have some prominent features, the new one to kind of pay homage to this one, it’s tough to lose it, but it served us well for a lot of years,” Turner County Commission chair Jared Hybertson said.

The county says it could take a year and a half to build the new courthouse.

They don’t have any drawings of what it’ll look like yet, but as soon as they do, we’ll show them to you.