Special Legislative Session Scheduled – September 23 at 9AM
The South Dakota Legislature has called a Special Session for Tuesday, September 23, 2025, at 9:00 AM in Pierre at the State Capitol.
Lawmakers will vote on funding and infrastructure legislation related to the proposed men’s prison, following the Prison Task Force’s recommendation to move forward with a site near Sioux Falls.
📎 Read the article from South Dakota Searchlight
While public testimony is not typically taken during a special session, the public is welcome to attend. We encourage NOPE members to show up, be present, and stay engaged.
We’ll share additional updates as more information becomes available.
Task Force Recommends Sioux Falls Prison Location – NOPE’s Official Response:
At its July 8, 2025 meeting, the South Dakota Prison Reset Task Force voted to move forward with recommending Sioux Falls as the site for the state’s new men’s correctional facility. The selected location will be one of two industrial sites—Sweetman or Benson—with a proposed 1,500-bed capacity and a spending cap of $650 million.
This recommendation emphasizes the importance of locating facilities near existing infrastructure, services, and family/community support systems, rather than placing them in unprepared rural areas.
Below is the full official statement from NOPE Lincoln County President Kyah Broders:
“We commend the Task Force for its decision today to move forward with an industrial location in Sioux Falls (the Sweetman and/or Benson locations) for the development of a new correctional facility, with a proposed 1,500-bed capacity and a $650 million spending cap. This decision reflects a fiscally responsible path forward. It prioritizes proximity to existing infrastructure, established services, and essential support systems for incarcerated individuals and their families. As an organization, NOPE Lincoln County supports passage of this motion as it moves forward in the legislature.
We are deeply grateful for the Task Force’s diligence, transparency, and commitment to engaging stakeholders throughout this process.
We also want to extend our sincere appreciation to the members of NOPE Lincoln County and the broader coalition of grassroots advocates whose consistent, strategic, and principled efforts helped shape the conversation and bring community concerns to the forefront. This outcome is a powerful reminder that sustained, collective advocacy can make a meaningful difference.
We remain committed to ensuring that decisions within the Department of Corrections continue to center fiscal responsibility, community needs, and humane, effective approaches to criminal justice and reform.“
– Kyah Broders, NOPE President
***RAFFLE CONTEST**
Tickets will be sold at the following four locations OR by a NOPE member! REMEMBER only 1000 tickets will be sold!
PLEASE BUY TICKETS AT THESE LOCAL BARS:
- Kim’s Korner Bar and Grill (Worthing, SD)
- Fresh Horses Saloon (Harrisburg, SD)
- The Wheel (Canton, SD)
- Bertz Sports Bar and Grill (Beresford, SD)
Important Dates and Events:
**Our regular NOPE meeting on Monday, May 27th has been canceled so that we can instead show strong public opposition at the Lincoln County Commission meeting at 6:30 PM that evening. Additional Lincoln County sites will be on the agenda (although not yet posted, attached here), and it is crucial we have a large turnout to voice our concerns. **
As the fastest growing county in the state of South Dakota, and the 9th fastest growing county in the country, Lincoln county should never have been considered as a potential home for 1,500 of our state’s worst offenders.
There are few locations like Lincoln county left in the country. Low crime, high growth, growing nearby schools, limited traffic, and a bustling economy. With a new prison all of that changes.
For a state who’s primary economic driver is agriculture, rezoning 320 acres of our most nutrient dense land away from ag production and into the department of corrections is irresponsible and goes against the county’s growth plans. Erecting a prison on some of the most highly sought after property in the state requires an extreme amount of logical gymnastics.
Mission of NOPE: Our purpose is to ensure that our community’s voice is heard when decisions
regarding DOC construction projects are made, prioritizing the interest of the taxpayers of South
Dakota, all incarcerated individuals, and their families.
Organizational Goal of NOPE: Through advocacy, education and collaborative efforts, we will
maintain our community as a place of transparency, accountability and shared decision-making,
while addressing the challenges at hand.
*The principles of NOPE serve as a guiding framework for addressing these critical issues and
advocating for transparent and community-centered decision-making.
Public Safety
This prison will make our community, the citizens, the school students, and businesses unsafe. From Harrisburg to Canton, Sioux Falls to Worthing, Tea to Lennox and everywhere in between, the negative impact of the proposed mens prison will be significant.
Economic Growth
Aside from not being in Lincoln county’s development roadmap, the prison will stifle our economy, not grow it. Taxes will increase. Homeowners’ property will decrease. Government expenses will skyrocket. The utility infrastructure will become more unstable.
Leadership
There are many reasons Lincoln county is leading the way for South Dakota. Hosting a penitentiary in the heart of South Dakota’s fastest growing community is not one of them.
Join the Fight
There are proper procedures to which every building project, small or large, must adhere. The prison should be required to go through all of the channels for planning and zoning that the citizens must go through on building projects.