PIERRE, S.D. (SDBA) — During a legislative budget hearing Thursday, South Dakota corrections officials defended plans for a new $825 million men’s prison, facing tough questions about location and costs.
“This is not a supermax facility,” Department of Corrections Secretary Kellie Wasko told the Joint Appropriations Committee. “We’re taking this population of bad players and putting them in a very good physical plant.”
The 1,584-bed facility planned for Lincoln County would replace the aging State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls. Captain Nick Rodriguez, a nine-year corrections veteran, described deteriorating conditions at the current prison, which was built in 1881.
“The current facility is overcrowded and aging, which places both staff and offenders at great risk,” Rodriguez said.
“With outdated security systems and design flaws, the facility has become increasingly difficult to manage.”
Major Jeannie Bertsch, who has worked at the penitentiary for 19 years, testified that limited space hinders rehabilitation efforts.
“We need to be able to offer our entire population rehabilitative resources, so they are less dangerous as they enter our communities,” she said.
Nonetheless, former Republican House Speaker Steve Haugaard from Sioux Falls questioned the project’s scope.
“What is the real goal for the building?” he asked, suggesting alternatives like expanding existing facilities or utilizing the former Citibank campus.
Harrisburg resident Collette Johnson Bliss opposes the rural location. The proposed prison is approximately four miles south of the city in rural Lincoln County.
“You’re putting a 1,500-bed facility in the middle of nowhere,” she said. “That’s like building a small little town with no electricity, no water, no sewer, no roads.”
Ryan Brunner from the governor’s office defended the site selection, saying an 18-month search found no willing sellers closer to Sioux Falls.
“Nobody’s out there saying, ‘Hey, we’d really like a prison in our location,’” he said.
Rep. Chris Derby of Rapid City supported the project, noting development continues near the new women’s facility under construction there.
“I personally have not received one negative call or one negative email on this project since it started,” he said.
Though costs have not been finalized, the Department of Transportation plans road improvements to serve the facility, which are not included in the cost of the prison. Utility agreements include a $10.5 million contract with Lennox for sewer services.
Soukup Construction, Inc. from Sioux Falls began site preparation this week. The project’s maximum construction price is guaranteed at $737 million, with additional costs bringing the total to $825 million.
“If you don’t put the brakes on this project now, you’re never gonna have comprehensive corrections planning,” Haugaard warned. “The building will become the corrections plan for South Dakota.”
The hearing was primarily to be about the department’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request. In that part of her testimony, Sec. Wasko said that one of the most significant staffing issues in the prison system is finding qualified medical staff.
“The majority of those vacancies are for LPNs, which have a 53 percent vacancy rate, and then for RNs, which have a 40 percent vacancy rate,” Wasko testified.
She said they have had to rely on traveling nurses, who charge considerably more than staff. Wasko also said they pay medical staff nearly three hours per two-week pay period in overtime.
“That amount of overtime does not cover all the open shifts, so we do have that contract with a company called Platinum Choice Staffing for Nurses,” Wasko said. “Last year, we paid them $3.1 million and are expected to pay them $4.6 million this fiscal year.”
The Joint Appropriations Committee will hold another hearing on February 7. The full legislature still needs to approve the final construction funding for the men’s prison. That will be considered in separate bills.
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