Wasko’s stance on prison site frustrates NOPE president

LINCOLN COUNTY, S.D. (KELO) — South Dakota Secretary of Corrections Kellie Wasko says no other locations are under consideration for a new men’s prison.

477th Avenue and 278th Street in Lincoln County between Harrisburg and Canton today looks a lot like many other rural areas of the state, but by early 2029 the plan is for work to be done on a new men’s prison at this site.

“We’re not looking at other land,” Wasko said to lawmakers on Tuesday . “We’re not planning at looking at other land. We’ve purchased this land.”

Lincoln County landowners have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Corrections for picking this site, a detail to which Wasko alluded.

“I have to be very careful because we are still in litigation,” she said.

Wasko says other locations were considered but the prison design team warned her that this might add six to nine months to the schedule.

“At what point do we reconsider and really think things through, because six to nine months is nothing when you consider a project of this magnitude,” said Kyah Broders, who owns land near the proposed site.

Broders is president of NOPE, a group whose name stands for “neighbors opposing prison expansion.” She says she’s frustrated by Wasko’s statement that no other land is under consideration. Broders says a new prison has to be much closer to existing infrastructure, and she also has concerns about the price of the new facility. According to the state , more than $560 million are already dedicated to the effort.

“NOPE is saying no to a prison here,” Broders said. “By all means, we know that a new prison is needed. It’s needed for the safety and the well-being of those incarcerated.”

According to legislators, the new men’s prison could cost $700 million or more to build.

KELOLAND’s Bob Mercer contributed to this report.

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