SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Locations in the Box Elder area and northeastern Sioux Falls have come forward as two more options for a new men’s prison site.
The Box Elder site is nearly 105 acres of land along Highway 1416, about two miles from Interstate 90. The new Sioux Falls site lies between north Bahnson Avenue and I-229 and measures 137 acres.
“I’m excited that people are still coming forward and really taking this seriously, that we do need a new prison in the state of South Dakota,” said Project Prison Reset task force member Democrat Sen. Jamie Smith. “I think both of the sites warrant us looking at them. I think both have things about them that I like.”
A special session was originally scheduled for July 22, but an extension request approved by Gov. Larry Rhoden has delayed that. The next task force meeting is scheduled for July 8, when the committee originally planned to finalize their proposal for the legislature.
“I assume we’re going to have people not only come back and talk about sites like Mitchell and Worthing, the two that are still somewhat on the table, but also now we’ll have people from Sioux Falls and Box Elder letting us know what their thoughts are,” said task force member and Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead.
As for the two sites added this week, task force members are looking forward to discussing their options.
“The Sweetman site for certain is really close to Sioux Falls,” Smith said. “It is an industrial area, matches a lot of the criteria that we were looking for, so that one intrigues me a lot. Box Elder though, too, There’s a population out there, a big workforce.”
“I don’t know as much about the Box Elder site,” task force chair Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen said. “It’s certainly in a population center. It’s along a highway. We would be looking at the workforce challenge. There are plenty of people in the Rapid City area, but our current workforce for the penitentiary is, of course, in Sioux Falls.”
Although the process is nearing its end, Venhuizen says that doesn’t mean more options aren’t out there.
“If there’s a good site that comes forward, it would be silly not to consider it,” Venhuizen said. “I mean, we’re getting pretty close to the end of this process. So, I would say if somebody has a site, now would be a really good time to tell us about it.”
