(Pierre, SD) — South Dakota officials are continuing conversations about the proposed Lincoln County prison plan in Pierre. State DOC Secretary Kellie Wasko is arguing the men’s facility is a must-have because the system’s prisons are both unsafe and outdated. The current State Penitentiary is more than 140 years old. Officials plan to replace it with the site between Harrisburg and Canton. But not everyone approves of the proposal after what was heard from both sides in front of the South Dakota Legislative Committee this week, with those opposed citing the expensive cost and location near residents. The DOC reports, as of June, about 570 million dollars have been allocated for the one-thousand-500 bed project.
