Existing prison locations might be only politically palatable sites for a new facility
Signs stand at the entryway to a Sept. 26, 2024, public forum hosted by Neighbors Opposed to Prison Expansion, which was working to upend South Dakota's plans for a new men's prison in Lincoln County. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)
South Dakotans are being held prisoner by their indecision about where they want to build their next prison.
After all the debates and accusations, it's hard to know what to think about the project. It's difficult not to be cynical watching lawmakers get all hopped up about spending $600 million. We're supposed to think that's a bargain because the original plan called for spending $850 million. So even at more than half a billion dollars, there are concerns about the new place being built on the cheap.
Much of this consternation originates in the way the prison project was initially handled during the Kristi Noem administration. Neighbors of the Lincoln County project weren't made aware that state land in their county was under consideration until plans were announced for the new prison. When they found out about it, their concerns didn't matter to Noem, who was known for a my-way-or-the-highway approach to getting what she wanted. That initial secrecy in the governor's office led to so much protest from neighbors, and so much rancor in the Legislature, that the original site is now deemed too politically toxic to host the prison.
Prison group stuck between local opposition and limited space
As a taxpayer, and as a lifelong believer that government should be conducted in a transparent manner, it has been heartening to watch Gov. Larry Rhoden's Project Prison Reset work group conduct public meetings as they have struggled to figure out the best, most politically palatable solution to South Dakota's prison problem. It certainly hasn't been pretty, but it has been a lesson in transparent government.
The work group has conducted a series of hearings about the project site. When they finally make a decision, they should hold some more hearings, this time to figure out how South Dakota managed to invest more than $50 million in the original prison site without having the official OK from the Legislature. Because officials jumped the gun, taxpayers are left with $50 million in plans and infrastructure improvements that may never be used for a prison and possibly never be used at all.
The work group has yet to decide what the best location is for the new prison. Many sites have been considered, but the three still standing are locations in Mitchell and Worthing or sites where the Department of Corrections already has prisons or land in Sioux Falls and Springfield.
While the Worthing site may be, well, worthy, it's also in Lincoln County. The opposition of Lincoln County residents has already killed one viable prison site. It may be in the best interests of the work group to consider that the toxicity at the original site extends to the entire county.
Like the original Lincoln County site, most other sites in the state, no matter how viable, run the risk of upsetting the project's neighbors as well as those folks who just like to be upset about something.
There is already a not-in-my-back-yard movement in Mitchell, reminiscent of what happened in Lincoln County.
'They didn't tell us about it until after the fact,' Mitchell resident Barbara Stadler told South Dakota Searchlight at a recent community forum, in reference to Mitchell city leaders' initial pitch to the Project Prison Reset task force.
The work group runs the risk of inspiring that kind of response with any new prison site they consider. That leaves the group with the choice to build new prison facilities on sites already run by the Department of Corrections. It's hard for neighbors to make a NIMBY complaint about a new prison project when the prison is literally already in their backyard.
As consultants have explained, building on or near current prison facilities is not the best choice. It may, however, be the most palatable choice for South Dakotans and the choice most likely to earn the endorsement of the Legislature.
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