Lawmakers expressed frustration Tuesday in Pierre over the uncertain price tag for construction and operations of a proposed men’s prison in Lincoln County.
Members of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee also had pointed questions for Department of Corrections officials on alternative sites for the project, which has sparked a lawsuit from nearby neighbors and represents the most expensive taxpayer-funded capital project in state history.
“I’m just flabbergasted that we’ve not yet wrapped our arms around this as a total package,” said Rep. John Mills, R-Brookings.
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Lawmakers have already dedicated more than $569 million to the project across the past two legislative sessions, including $62 million in preparatory spending. The rest sits in an incarceration construction fund.
The guaranteed maximum price for construction is expected in early November, DOC Secretary Kellie Wasko and Finance Director Brittni Skipper testified on Tuesday. That fixed price wouldn’t change, Skipper said, even if inflation or other construction costs increase.
Some lawmakers, including Sen. Jim Bolin, R-Canton, struggled to understand how a company could make such a promise.
“If you’re talking about an $800 million project, maybe more, if you make a mistake on that, you can bankrupt your whole company,” Bolin said.
Skipper told Bolin the DOC has a construction manager at-risk, JE Dunn and Henry Carlson Construction, who will build three years of projected inflation into the promised price.
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“It’s in their contract to provide to us a guaranteed maximum price,” Skipper said, noting that the DOC has a similar arrangement for a new women’s prison under construction in Rapid City.
Rep. Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls, was one of several lawmakers to push Wasko and Skipper about the potential ongoing costs associated with the prison once it’s complete. Karr and other committee members asked about prison population growth and staffing projections.
“If we’re going to make this huge investment, are we going to be able to house everybody?” Karr said.
Wasko said she doesn’t trust inmate population projections any further than five years out.
She said too many things can change, including when lawmakers create new felony crimes or toughen penalties. They did that with 2023’s “truth in sentencing” bill, which now forces those convicted for violent offenses to serve most or all of their prison terms.
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“Our rate of incarceration is not slowing down. It’s actually speeding up,” Wasko said.
South Dakota Department of Corrections Finance Officer Brittni Skipper, left, and Corrections Secretary Kellie Wasko testify before the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee on July 30, 2024. (Courtesy SD.net)
Even so, she said, the 1,500-bed proposal would offer the agency breathing room, as it’s designed to be a maximum-security facility capable of managing overflow from other areas of the system. The prison would take on most of the inmates now housed at the penitentiary in Sioux Falls.
Rep. Tony Venhuizen, R-Sioux Falls, said he understands that projections can change, but also said it’s important for appropriators to have a better sense of what they’re committing to.
“This could be a pretty considerable ongoing cost, and I do think at some point during the next session, we’re going to need a ballpark of what that might be,” Venhuizen said.
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Skipper said the previous ballpark estimates anticipated 130 more employees and approximately $15 million in ongoing funding.
Sen. Red Dawn Foster, D-Pine Ridge, wanted to know if the DOC had consulted with the state’s Supreme Court, Unified Judicial System or Attorney General’s Office to drill down on what to expect in terms of offender population growth.
Wasko said the DOC hadn’t reached out to those agencies to talk about projections.
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Steve Haugaard, a Republican former lawmaker and one-time primary candidate for governor, seized upon that point during his testimony, which he offered via video feed later in the afternoon.
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Haugaard argued that lawmakers were spending too much money on prisons without clear goals for managing corrections and criminal justice as a whole. Haugaard argued that “the building is going to control the overall policy,” and said policy guidance ought to come first.
Upon hearing that the DOC hadn’t consulted with the courts or attorney general, he said, “I just wonder what are we doing?” Haugaard said.
“We don’t have a corrections policy that’s firmly in place,” Haugaard said. “And from what I can see from those stats from the past 40-plus years, we didn’t respond to the ever-increasing spike in incarceration rates.”
Wasko said, as she has in the past, that South Dakota stands out from many other states for harsh penalties. But she also said that as a member of the executive branch, her responsibility is to manage an offender population, not to influence its size.
“There’s a judicial branch, the legislative branch, and I’m the executive branch, and there’s reasons for that,” Wasko said. “I would not be responsible for anything on the front end of incarceration.”
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Wasko got backing on that point from Rep. Rep. Linda Duba, D-Sioux Falls, said the courts, prosecutors and lawmakers need to be proactive in criminal justice policy. She said the new facility is needed to make space for treatment and rehabilitation programs.
During another line of questioning, Karr asked about recent heavy rains and the possibility of flooding. He wanted to know if the proposed prison site is in a flood plain.
Haugaard also keyed in on flooding potential, as did Kyah Broders, one of the Lincoln County residents suing the DOC over its site selection process.
The area did see several road closures during the heavy rains, she said Tuesday.
“Adding sewage ponds and tons of concrete will only compound this issue in the future,” she said.
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Skipper said the site is not in a flood plain. She showed the committee a photo of the land shortly after the historic June rainfall that wreaked havoc on communities in southeast South Dakota.
“You can see from those photos that there was minimal water damage to the site, without any soil being moved or anything being done,” Skipper said.
The site of a proposed new men’s prison in Lincoln County, showing water after a major flood. (Courtesy South Dakota Department of Corrections)
In response to an email about the rainfall, DOC spokesman Michael Winder sent the photos shown to the lawmakers and wrote that the project’s civil engineer “will prepare the design for watershed from the property that would include any stormwater runoff.”
Bolin asked what might happen if Broders and her fellow prison site opponents succeed in forcing the state to apply for a county zoning permit and the county refuses to grant one.
“We do not have a valid or developed plan B if that ruling does not come through for us,” Wasko said.
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Bolin, who is not returning to Pierre for the next legislative session, closed out the prison site update portion of Tuesday’s meeting by returning to the influence harsh penalties have on prison populations.
Bills meant to get tough on crime and “lock them up and throw away the key” have appeared in nearly all of his 16 years in Pierre, Bolin said.
For future lawmakers, he said, “If you really believe that, you’ve also got to be prepared to pay the bill.”
Cybersecurity is set to get a decidedly South Dakotan bent in 2025.
Three Republican South Dakota politicians are in line to take on more prominent roles to influence cyber policy next year: Gov. Kristi Noem is president-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Homeland Security Department, Sen. Mike Rounds is poised to seize the gavel of a key cybersecurity subcommittee and John Thune will become Senate majority leader.
As president of Dakota State University, a school that has put a big focus on cybersecurity and tech, José-Marie Griffiths has worked with all three of them closely on cyber issues — testifying before their committees, consulting them on legislation, being appointed to national commissions by them and more.
She has a sense, then, of how the trio will approach their newly elevated roles. In an interview with CyberScoop, she said she expects China to get more attention from the South Dakota politicians, as well as agriculture, a more proactive approach to cybersecurity and a recognition of the need for cyber talent in the center of the country.
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Thune and Rounds have sponsored cyber legislation in the Senate in the past, and as majority leader, Thune will be able to play a major role in what bills make it to the floor.
“Senator Thune is a little bit quieter and calmer than most,” Griffith said. “He doesn’t give an awful lot away. I think he will initially be focused on all of the Senate.”
But, she said, “I can imagine that with Governor Noem, if she’s confirmed, and with [Thune’s] position and with Senator Rounds and his role in cybersecurity, I would find it unusual if they didn’t see something emerge, some of those bills come up to the forefront.”
Thune’s past tenure as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee gave him jurisdiction over and oversight of privacy and tech bills, making it a legislative focus of his. He was part of the long-stalled push to pass a data privacy measure, and sponsored a bill on artificial intelligence standards.
“His Commerce [Committee] side was very much involved when we had the 5G issues that we were talking about,” Griffiths said. Thune this year discussed how that topic is a national security challenge amid competition with China.
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Thune has also sponsored or co-sponsored cybersecurity-specific bills, including ones to boost the cyber defense of drones, create a cyber public awareness campaign, develop voluntary cyber guidelines, bolster the cyber workforce and aid small businesses on cybersecurity.
As the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Rounds has emphasized threats from China, Russia and new technologies, and has spoken about the need to improve both cyber offense and defense. He was the first senator to serve as chairman of that subcommittee.
He touted language he got into the annual defense policy bill last year, such as a provision authorizing the Defense Department to conduct cyber operations against Mexican drug cartels. Rounds also fought to keep the National Defense University’s College of Information and Cyberspace open. Separate from his subcommittee role, Rounds has sponsored or co-sponsored legislation on the cyber workforce and agricultural cybersecurity.
Given his background, Rounds tends to approach cyber as a national security and defense issue, Griffiths said.
Spokespeople for Rounds and Thune did not respond to requests for comment about their cybersecurity-focused priorities in the coming years.
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Noem’s record on cybersecurity includes rejecting DHS grants, hyping the industry in her state and signing cyber legislation into law. Griffiths said Noem got up to speed on cyber during her time in Congress as a member of the House Armed Services Committee.
One problem Griffiths has talked about is the tendency for cyber professionals to flock to the coasts — Silicon Valley in the private sector, and Washington, D.C. to work for the government. Noem’s aware of that too, Griffiths said.
“She recognizes that we need to see more capabilities, or leverage more capabilities, in the center of the country,” Griffiths said. “I think that’s going to be interesting.”
South Dakota’s House representative, Republican Dusty Johnson, also sits on the United States House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.
“All four of them are very interested in the role of China,” Griffiths said.
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With agriculture being South Dakota’s top industry, cybersecurity in that area could also get more emphasis from the state’s elevated trio. “Agriculture is probably the one critical infrastructure that came rather late to the game of cybersecurity,” she said.
And they could emphasize “a more proactive approach to cybersecurity,” Griffiths said, rather than reacting to the big headlines about the most recent cyberattacks.
PIERRE — The Christmas season has officially started in South Dakota’s capital city.
Gov. Kristi Noem and First Gentleman Bryon Noem, along with Pierre Mayor Steve Harding, hosted the annual state Capitol tree lighting ceremony in Pierre Tuesday night, marking the kickoff of the holiday display that has become a must-see attraction in the state.
This year, over 90 trees adorn the hallways of the building, displaying the ornaments of different service organizations and groups across the state that were chosen to decorate them.
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“This is always a special event and the kickoff to the holiday season in South Dakota,” Noem said, noting that the lighting ceremony has become one of her favorite events to attend as governor.
This year, the theme is “Through a Child’s Eye.” The featured tree – a 28-foot Colorado blue spruce – was donated by Deb Lutz and her family from Mobridge. Lutz’s daughter, Carrie, planted the tree’s seed 30 years ago with her dad, Darwin. Carrie’s dad, a regular attendee to Christmas at the Capitol every year, dreamed of donating the tree for the annual affair. Darwin passed away in 2021, but this year, that wish finally came true.
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The tree was decorated by this year’s prime sponsor, the YMCA Youth Development organization – in coordination with the Oahe YMCA in Pierre. The decorations, which include candies, desserts and miscellaneous Christmas trinkets, are extremely large in size as a way to capture the way that kids see Christmas time.
Noem encouraged others to think of the holiday season this year in the way that a child does.
“I think you’ll find it’s even more memorable and enjoyable when we look at it like they do,” Noem said.
In addition to the tree and decorations displayed on three floors of the Capitol, various events and celebrations will occur throughout the duration of the display. They can be followed on Christmas at the Capitol’s Facebook page. Children are also encouraged to leave letters for Santa in the mailbox, located on the first floor near the first ladies and gentleman display.
Christmas at the Capitol is open to viewing by the public every day until Dec. 26, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sights and scenes from the 2024 Christmas at the Capitol in Pierre. (Austin Goss/The Dakota Scout)
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LAIE, Hawaii (AP) — Brooklyn Meyer had 19 points and eight rebounds, Paige Meyer added 16 points, six rebounds and four assists and South Dakota State beat No. 21 Oregon 75-70 on Tuesday in the Hawaii North Shore Showcase.
Haleigh Timmer made a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left to give South Dakota State a 72-66 lead. The Jackrabbits turned it over on their next possession and Amina Muhammad made a fast-break layup to get Oregon within 72-70.
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Timmer made 1 of 2 free throws with 24.7 seconds left for a 73-70 lead. After a timeout, Peyton Scott was short on a 3-point attempt and Madison Mathiowetz added two free throws at the other end for a two-possession lead.
The game featured nine ties and nine lead changes.
Timmer finished with 15 points for South Dakota State (4-2). Madysen Vlastuin made all three of her 3-point attempts and scored 11 points.
Deja Kelly scored 19 points and Muhammad had 10 points and eight rebounds for Oregon (6-2), which was coming of a 74-58 loss to Georgia Tech.
South Dakota State plays on Sunday at Ball State. Oregon hosts Washington State on Wednesday.
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