PIERRE, SD (KELO.com) — The Legislature’s Appropriations Committee got its first look at the Department of Corrections budget Thursday morning. Most of the focus was on the proposed new men’s penitentiary on land near Harrisburg. Neighboring residents strongly oppose the location. Ryan Brunner of the Governor’s office defended the selection, and said the search was complicated by sellers who didn’t want to sell land if it was for the prison site.
The site was selected in 2023. Brunner says waiting through last winter to finalize the selection could have added up to 40-million dollars to the facility’s cost. The committee was also updated on construction of a new women’s prison in Rapid City. That facility is set to open in 2026.
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