Latest news with #ProjectPrisonReset
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Inside KELOLAND: Prison, Brain awareness and KELOLAND+
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – From new developments in the saga of Project Prison Reset, to a new show we're bringing to KELOLAND+, to a mystery at McKennan Park, there is a lot happening in South Dakota. What to know about SF protests set for this weekend On this week's Inside KELOLAND, we're going to run the gamut on some of the big happenings. You can watch the full show in the player above. June is Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month — we'll hear from the state executive director of the Alzheimer's association about current developments. We'll sit down with Digital Reporter Maddie Paul about a brand new show we're bringing to our KELOLAND+ CTV app. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Next steps for men's prison delayed
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Lieutenant Governor Tony Venhuizen has sought and received a delay for when lawmakers at a special legislative session can learn about Project Prison Reset's recommendations. Venhuizen's letter says extra time is needed to come up with a proposal with enough detail. Project Prison Reset is looking at how and where to recommend construction of a new prison facility or facilities in the state. USD still weighing decisions with NCAA settlement Greg Jamison is on that task force, and he says they still aim to have a proposal completed in July. He says a delay will not only benefit them, but the entire legislature. 'We're knee deep in all the details, but the other legislators are not,' Jamison said. 'And so, the concept of asking them to approve something that we know inside and out, and they've only maybe had a couple of weeks to digest that seems like a challenge.' The group's next meeting is scheduled for July 8th, and a special legislative session was originally set for July 22nd. Governor Larry Rhoden says in a statement, 'I will accept the task force's request and will consult with legislative leadership on a rescheduled date for the special session. I'm eager to see what the task force can accomplish in their next meeting.' 'It makes a lot of sense for him to do that,' Jamison said. 'As a former legislator, he understands the complexities of this decision and the enormity of building this new prison.' Attorney General Marty Jackley, who is also on the task force, supports an extended timeline. 'I believe this project can get done for that $525 to $625 million, 1,500 to 1,700 beds. You know, whatever the legislature needs to get that done. I think it makes sense to give them that time,' Jackley said. As for how long the delay might be, Jamison isn't sure. In the meantime, the delay can allow lawmakers to voice their concerns, and it also leaves the task force adequate time to adjust their proposal. 'So if we're getting feedback from the legislative body and they want changes to it or they won't pass it, well then we need to make changes because we need to pass it,' Jamison said. 'We've got to do something.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Legislative decision on prison construction will come later than planned
South Dakota Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden speaks during a press conference Feb. 6, 2025, at the Capitol in Pierre with Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight) South Dakota lawmakers will not convene to make the call on a new prison site on July 22, according to Gov. Larry Rhoden's office. Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen wrote a letter to Rhoden this week asking that the special session the governor had hoped to call on that date be pushed back. Lawmakers would be asked to back plans for a new prison at that session. Venhuizen leads the Project Prison Reset group, called into being in February via a Rhoden executive order and charged with deciding if the state needs new prison facilities, how large and where those facilities should be. Members voted during a Springfield meeting in late April to build a replacement for the South Dakota State Penitentiary, which is located in Sioux Falls. Pierre played host to the group's most recent meeting last week, where the group narrowed down locations to Mitchell or Worthing and existing prison campuses in Springfield and Sioux Falls, and voted to cap the cost of such a prison at $600 million. Elected officials in Mitchell including the mayor and sheriff have since come out against locating the prison near their community. Prison task force rejects original Lincoln County site, tightens budget for new facility This week, Venhuizen wrote that the group had made 'excellent progress,' but that the two weeks between the next Project Prison Reset meeting and the intended special session aren't enough. 'Even if the task force is able to adopt a specific proposal on July 8, we do not feel that two weeks provides adequate time for a final proposal to be completed with adequate detail, and for state legislators to learn about that proposal prior to the special session,' Venhuizen wrote. Rhoden, through spokeswoman Josie Harms, said the governor will 'accept the task force's request' and 'consult with leadership on a rescheduled date.' 'I'm eager to see what the task force can accomplish in their next meeting,' Rhoden wrote. The cost of the Rhoden administration's preferred solution to correctional overcrowding – a 1,500-bed, $825 million facility south of Harrisburg in Lincoln County – was among the primary concerns for the lawmakers who rejected the idea in February. A consultant hired on behalf of the task force to reevaluate the state's needs concluded that the state needs more beds than that, 1,700, immediately, to ease current crowding. A 1,700-bed prison wouldn't solve the state's problems long-term, however, according to the consultants. By the mid-2030s, the state would need yet another 1,500-bed prison. The task force ultimately rejected those conclusions, betting that $600 million would be enough to bulk up the system and replace the oldest parts of the Sioux Falls penitentiary complex. Lawmakers had put back more than $600 million for prison construction before the 2025 legislative session, and the fund had swelled larger than that with interest by winter. Ongoing construction bills at the site of a new women's prison in Rapid City – an $87 million project that earned legislative approval – have since come out of that fund, DOC spokesman Michael Winder told Searchlight on Thursday. The state's also paid some of the bills associated with site prep at the now-rejected Lincoln County site out of that fund. Lawmakers had approved the spending of up to $60 million in prison design and site prep for a men's prison in 2024, and the state spent or obligated $52 million of that money for the Lincoln County plan before it came to a halt. Subtracting the money spent since the last legislative session's end and adding the $23 million earned in interest this year that will be deposited in August, Winder said, the fund's available balance will sit at approximately $538 million by the end of summer.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Venhuizen asks Rhoden to delay prison special session date
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – A decision on what will replace the South Dakota State Penitentiary may not happen in July during a special session as Gov. Larry Rhoden requested earlier this year. 'Jane Doe' shares her name, story of sexual trauma Lt. Governor Tony Venhuizen and the chair of Project Prison Reset task force sent a letter to Rhoden asking him to consider delaying the target date of July 22 for a legislative special session on the task force's recommendations. 'Even if the task force is able to adopt a specific proposal on July 8, we do not feel that two weeks provides adequate time for a final proposal to be completed with adequate detail, and for state legislators to learn about that proposal prior to the special session,' Venhuizen wrote. You can view the full letter attached below. 6-9-25-Project-Prison-Reset-Task-Force-Ltr-to-GovDownload At a June meeting, the task force asked for specific building recommendations for possible State Pen replacements. The task force wants options to build 1,500 to 1,700 beds at a maximum cost of $600 million located at existing Department of Corrections facilities or at proposed locations in Worthing or Mitchell. The state has previously spent more than $50 million in land purchase and design costs for a new men's prison in rural Lincoln County at a site that has now been officially rejected by the task force. The current State Penitentiary is more than 140 years old and predates South Dakota statehood. The task force has unanimously supported a motion finding the State Penitentiary should be replaced. 'The task force understands the urgency in making a final decision, so we do not make thisrequest lightly, and we would hope that a special session would be held as soon as isreasonably possible,' Venhuizen wrote. This is a developing story. Stay with KELOLAND News for more reaction and updates online and on-air. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mitchell, Worthing mayors opposed to nearby prison sites
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Project Prison Reset's task force members have endorsed construction at existing Department of Corrections sites or proposed sites in the Mitchell or Worthing areas. However, the mayors of those two towns are not in favor of the locations near their communities. Motorcycle event an alternative to street racing 'Personally, I do not support,' Worthing Mayor Crystal Jacobson said Wednesday. 'It will be financially impacting on our town in a way that I don't know if we can recover from it.' 'I don't support it just because the people don't appear to support it around our town,' Mitchell Mayor Jordan Hanson said Wednesday. 'So, I hate to be the guy that does the opposite of what the people elected me to do … I don't know better than the people I'm elected to represent, so that's what I'm doing.' Hanson says his thinking has evolved. 'When I first heard about it, I was really excited about it, the promise of jobs and economic expansion and just the betterment it could bring to our community was my initial reaction, and that's why I was like, this sounds great,' Hanson said. Now, he has a clear message for anyone considering the sites. 'If they want or the task force or the state wants it to come to Mitchell, they better really step up their game and start getting people information in our community if they really want to get people on board,' Hanson said. Jacobson is focused on the financial considerations. 'We do not have enough structure for additional housing if inmates' families or workers want to move down there,' Jacobson said. 'We just built a new sewer system that'll accommodate 130 houses, and after that we would have to go the next step up in the sewer. We don't have the money for it. We're on a very small budget.' The task force's next meeting is scheduled for July 8. Eventually, a special session of the state legislature is planned where lawmakers can learn about the group's recommendations. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
