Proposed New South Dakota Men's Prison

A Lincoln County judge dismissed a lawsuit over the Department of Corrections’ plans to build a men’s prison near Harrisburg.

Opponents of a new men’s prison in development are again voicing their concerns over the project’s cost and location.

Officials say another $80 million is in the state reserves due to a budget surplus following the end of the last fiscal year on July 1.

State lawmakers are moving forward on placing additional dollars toward two new prison construction projects.

The Neighbors Opposed to Prison Expansion, or NOPE, challenged the state’s ability to surpass county zoning ordinances.

Legislative leaders are echoing calls by Gov. Kristi Noem to continue paying down two prison projects in the state. Officials are hoping to avoid issuing bonds they say would cost the state the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Lincoln County commissioners are signaling support for a local landowner group in their lawsuit against the state for a proposed new men’s prison. The prison will replace the state penitentiary in nearby Sioux Falls, which the state said is no longer usable.

Neighbors Opposed to Prison Expansion met with elected officials in Canton Thursday night. The group wants answers about how a new planned men’s prison came to be in their community. Representatives from the Department of Corrections did not attend the meeting.

Lincoln county commissioners decided against discussing the Department of Corrections’ response letter on a proposed new men’s state prison.

Residents say they felt caught off guard over the state's announcement on plans to build a new penitentiary in the area.