PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The agenda is out for the first meeting next week of the group that will recommend what direction South Dakota should head on a new men’s prison.
The Prison Project Reset task force, appointed last month by Gov. Larry Rhoden, is scheduled to gather on the morning of Wednesday, April 2, for an 8 a.m. tour of the current State Penitentiary and Jameson Annex in Sioux Falls that the new prison would largely replace.
After a lunch break, the group will tour the state government-owned site between Harrisburg and Canton in Lincoln County, where the state Department of Corrections had planned construction of the new prison.
The group will meet for a second day on Thursday, April 3, starting at 8 a.m., at the South Dakota Military Heritage Alliance building in Sioux Falls, located at 1600 W. Russell Street.
The members are scheduled on that second morning to receive an overview of South Dakota’s current DOC facilities and four presentations before breaking for lunch.
Starting at 12:30 p.m. on April 3, the group plans to take public testimony. The group’s chair, Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen, is in charge of deciding the duration of time each person can testify.
“My hope is that I don’t have to be too restrictive,” Venhuizen told KELOLAND News on Wednesday, March 26. “I will ask testifiers to try to stay at ten minutes or so, and not to repeat prior testimony. We should have a couple hours and I want to be sure everyone is heard.”
Venhuizen said written comments and materials can also be submitted for distribution to the committee. Emailed comments and materials can be sent here.
How we got here
In her December 2021 budget address to the Legislature, then-Gov. Kristi Noem referred to a study that showed South Dakota had some $600 million in Department of Corrections needs. She suggested that state lawmakers start setting aside funds to meet those needs. In response, during the 2022 legislative session, the state incarceration fund was established.
In February 2022, Gov. Noem announced the appointment of Kellie Wasko as state secretary of corrections. Wasko began on March 7 of that year, and DOC officials worked several years developing the plan for a new men’s prison.
In October 2023, Noem’s office announced the purchase of 300 acres of farm land in Lincoln County from the state Office of School and Public Lands.
But in 2024, the Legislature passed and Noem signed into law Senate Bill 201, dealing with pipelines. SB 201 was referred to a statewide vote and was rejected in all but one of South Dakota’s 66 counties.
Just as significantly, a dozen incumbent lawmakers who had voted yes on SB 201 during the legislative session lost in the June 2024 primary elections. That turnover brought in a new crop of legislators who hadn’t been part of the previous plan to set money aside for a new prison.
Then Noem resigned as governor in January, with Rhoden automatically moving up from lieutenant governor. Secretary Wasko meanwhile raised eyebrows among lawmakers when she revealed that ongoing operational costs for the new prison would be significantly higher.
All of that led to the House of Representatives deadlocking on House Bill 1025 that originally called for authorizing construction of the new men’s prison and transferring $763 million to the Department of Corrections to pay for it. An attempt to keep HB 1025 alive by amending it to only transfer $148 million into the incarceration fund also failed.
A local group calling itself Neighbors Opposing Prison Expansion aka NOPE Lincoln County meanwhile had sued state government, claiming due process wasn’t followed in choosing the proposed site. The South Dakota Supreme Court heard arguments in the case earlier this week.
How the Rhoden administration responded
Gov. Rhoden then issued his first executive order establishing the Prison Project Reset panel on February 27. The order called for the group to deliver its recommendations and propose legislation to the governor by July 15. Rhoden told news reporters that he plans to call a special legislative session on July 22 regarding the matter.
Rhoden appointed the following people to the prison task force:
Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen, Sioux Falls, as its chair.
Yankton Police Chief Jason Foote, who has been with the Yankton Police Department since August 1998.
Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead, who served in the Sioux Falls Police Department from 1973 to 1997, when he was sworn in as Minnehaha County sheriff.
Minnehaha County State’s Attorney Daniel Haggar, who took office in January 2021 and has served in various public roles as a lawyer since 2011.
Tiffany Wolfgang, CEO at Southeastern Behavioral Health Center in Sioux Falls since 2024 and previously director at South Dakota Division of Behavioral Health Services in Pierre.
Jane Wipf Pfeifle, a retired state Seventh Circuit judge based in Rapid City.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley, Pierre.
Rep. Jon Hansen, Dell Rapids, attorney.
Rep. Erin Healy, Sioux Falls, philanthropy officer.
Rep. Joy Hohn, Hartford, professional pilot/farmer/business owner.
Rep. Greg Jamison, Sioux Falls, commercial real estate broker associate.
Sen. Chris Karr, Sioux Falls, business valuation analyst/financial consultant.
Rep. Jack Kolbeck, Sioux Falls, key account manager, Beal Distributing.
Sen. Steve Kolbeck, Brandon, Xcel Energy principal manager for South Dakota.
Sen. Mark Lapka, Leola, farmer/rancher.
Rep. Karla Lems, Canton, family-owned agri-businesses owner and manager.
Sen. Jim Mehlhaff, Pierre, retired, former director of state Grain Warehouse Division.
Rep. Brian Mulder, Sioux Falls, managing director at Volunteers of America-Dakotas.
Rep. Scott Odenbach, Spearfish, attorney and real estate managing broker.
Sen. Ernie Otten, Tea, retired home builder.
Rep. Tim Reisch, Howard, retired South Dakota Dept. of Corrections secretary, retired South Dakota adjutant general, former Miner County sheriff.
Sen. Jamie Smith, Sioux Falls, real estate agent and former teacher.
