$650M deal reached that keeps South Dakota men's prison in Sioux Falls

Project Prison Reset Task Force caps months of work with recommendation that awaits approval of Legislature, Gov. Larry Rhoden

Legislators serving on the Project Prison Reset Task Force discuss their positions offline at the Military Heritage Alliance in Sioux Falls before reconvening from an afternoon lunch break. (Joe Sneve / The Dakota Scout)

Sioux Falls should be home to South Dakota’s next correctional facility.

That’s the long-anticipated recommendation of Gov. Larry Rhoden’s Project Prison Reset Task Force, which on Tuesday reached consensus on where the Department of Corrections should site a new state-run men’s prison, how much to spend on it, and how large it should be.

With a 22-0 vote, the panel of legislators, criminal justice professionals and law enforcement officials answered those three questions: Sioux Falls. $650 million. A 1,500-bed facility.

“It sends a message that by going through a transparent and open process, listening to people and looking at all the information, that we’ve been able to reach a good result — and some would say a better result,” said Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen in the waning moments of a seven-hour task force meeting in Sioux Falls.

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