South Dakota
State officials peppered with questions on price tag for new men’s prison • South Dakota Searchlight
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.
Wealth of controversies, outbreaks of violence spark questions on prison oversight
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.
“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.
“Our rate of incarceration is not slowing down. It’s actually speeding up,” Wasko said.
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.
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.
Opposition won’t cause state to change prison location, official says
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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MISSION, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – In rural South Dakota, miles often separate expectant mothers from healthcare.
“A lot of women out here are left without any maternity care options,” said Rachel Kocak.
In Mission, moms mark their due dates and calculate miles to the nearest delivery location. Rachel Kocak, expecting her third child, said one option just closed.
“We used to have a birthing unit, I think up until a couple of months ago, and they lost their OB. So, Winner is no longer delivering babies,” Rachel said.
Some mothers remember when they could reach the hospital within a five-minute drive.
“IHS, for tribal members, they don’t deliver babies out here or provide prenatal care,” Rachel explained.
Families hope to reach the hospital before the baby arrives.
“So women either have to drive to Valentine, which is about 30 to 35 minutes from Mission, they can go to Wanblee, which is on the Pine Ridge Reservation, or they have to go to Pierre, Rapid City, or Sioux Falls,” Rachel said.
And if the roads are bad.
“I think there are a lot of babies who are unintentionally born at home. So it’s a tough place, I think, for mothers,” Rachel said.
The March of Dimes breaks down government data, showing a large portion of rural South Dakota as a maternity care desert, requiring travel of 38 or more minutes to reach an appointment or delivery room. The infant mortality rate is higher among native American babies born, compared to other races.
Health Department maps show counties in medium blue have 56 infant deaths per 100,000 births. Dark blue counties have three times as many. Grants aim to increase the number of healthcare workers, and funding supports a doula workforce program.
Kocak would like to see doulas and midwives available.
“Great opportunity for anyone who wants to become a home-birth midwife out here. The birth rate is still, I’m not sure what it is, but it’s high. There’s still a growing young population, and just not enough people to help deliver the babies,” Rachel said.
If care were closer, the outcomes could be brighter.
“You know, having the support network can make a huge change in the lives of these young, you know, these babies and young mothers who are building new families,” Rachel said.
The South Dakota Department of Health released a statement to Dakota News Now, which can be read in full below.
The South Dakota Maternal and Infant Health Task Force was created in 2025 to bring partners together to help improve the health and wellbeing of mothers and infants across the state. Their 5-year strategic plan was recently released, which has three priority areas: postpartum care to improve maternal health; safe sleep education and prevention strategies to protect infant health; and systems of care work that improves access, coordination, and quality of care statewide. One of the strategic plan activities that is supported by Rural Health Transformation is the creation of Regional Maternal and Infant Health Hubs, which will create a hub-and-spoke network connecting hospitals, clinics, tribal health services, and community organizations. These hubs will improve care coordination, strengthen referral pathways, and expand access to services for families in rural and tribal communities.
Copyright 2026 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
While the race to secure the nomination for governor has dominated the headlines ahead of the June 2 primary, Republican voters will also choose a candidate for one of South Dakota’s two U.S. Senate seats.
Incumbent U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, who is seeking a third, six-year term, holds a comfortable lead over his GOP primary challenger, Justin McNeal, a Navy veteran and business owner from Rapid City, according to the latest poll from News Watch and the Chiesman Center for Democracy.
Here is a recap of the two candidates along with their thoughts heading into the June 2 election. The winner of the Republican primary will meet Democrat Julian Beaudion and Independent Brian Bengs in the Nov. 3 general election.
Hometown: Fort PierreAge: 71Occupation: Insurance broker; businessman; former governor (2003-2011); U.S. senator since 2015In their own words:
Rounds provided the following statement to News Watch:
“Working in the U.S. Senate, I’ve stayed focused on results that matter for our kids and grandkids. That means keeping the government off your back and out of your business and wallet. That means keeping our communities safe and creating a business climate that encourages job growth to keep our kids in South Dakota. And that means safety through a commitment to our men and women in uniform.
This past summer, we worked with President Trump to pass the Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cuts legislation. Without Congressional action, the average South Dakota family would have seen a $2,500 tax hike this year. Our legislation not only prevented the largest tax increase in American history, but it also provided additional tax relief for hard-working South Dakota families. That includes no tax on tips, no tax on overtime and no tax on Social Security for nearly 9 out of 10 seniors.
We’ve accomplished some great things, but our work is not done. I am running for reelection to continue bringing results back home to South Dakota.”
Hometown: Rapid City (born in Illinois and raised in Texas)Age: 42Occupation: Business owner (Dakota BioChar); Navy veteran (2001-2007)In their own words:
“I’m feeling the people in South Dakota are ready for a change. The challenge we are running into is that not enough people know who we are, but as soon as they know who we are, it’s an easy decision for them,” McNeal told News Watch in a phone interview. “I don’t have millions and millions of dollars. I’ve been largely self-funding this race up to this point.”
McNeal, who is a licensed pilot, said he has flown his small plane to events throughout the state in an attempt to get his name out.
“I talk to people about the issues that matter and I tell them the biggest thing you can do to help me is tell 10 people about me and to go vote June 2. We need about 50,000 votes to win the primary,” he said.
McNeal is not critical of Rounds and conceded “he is very popular” but said Rounds has not done enough to tackle the country’s growing fiscal deficit.
“I don’t think Mike is doing a bad job. I’m just concerned with the federal debt and the people that got us into that mess are not going to be the ones to get us out of it,” McNeal said.
“This is going to cripple the country. It just seems like politicians are focused on what they can bring to their home district or home state. And the problem with that is every member of Congress is doing the same thing, so everyone is taking and taking without making sure we can pay for it.”
South Dakota News Watch is an independent nonprofit. Read, donate and subscribe for free at sdnewswatch.org. Contact politics and statehouse reporter Alexander Rifaat: 605-736-4396/alexander.rifaat@sdnewswatch.org.
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