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[WATCH] Ex-Warden Raises Red Flags About South Dakota’s New Prison Location and Costs
Doug Weber, former director of prison operations and chief warden for the South Dakota Department of Corrections (SDDOC), has voiced strong opposition to the Lincoln County prison plan. Weber sent a letter to members of the South Dakota legislature outlining his concerns.
Weber, who was appointed warden by Governor Bill Janklow in 1996, served in the SDDOC for 32 years before retiring in 2013. He was the second-longest-serving warden in the history of the penitentiary.
WATCH: Doug Weber reading this letter to the South Dakota State Legislatures below
Location Debate: Is Lincoln County the Right Spot for a New Prison?
In his letter, Weber acknowledged the need for new correctional facilities in South Dakota but criticized the Lincoln County site.

“This facility, as proposed, has excessive initial estimated building costs. It will be in the wrong location to effectively and efficiently deliver necessary prison services. The prison's proposed site will require added ongoing operating costs and unnecessary logistical challenges and risks due to its remote location,” Weber wrote.
Weber urged South Dakotans to ask the legislature to pause the project and consider better, more cost-effective locations for the new facilities.
The planned 1,500-bed facility will house both maximum- and minimum-security inmates, replacing the current men’s prison in Sioux Falls. The project is expected to cost at least $700 million. In November 2023, the Department of Corrections said that the project’s guaranteed maximum price is about $826 million.
“The cost of this proposed project is quickly approaching $1 billion,” Weber added. “Our state and its citizens cannot afford a wrong decision now that will impact everyone for generations. I ask all of you to contact your respective legislators in the House and Senate and ask them to pause and reflect—while we still have time.”
The full text of Weber’s letter is included below.
Community Backlash Over Transparency and Land Use
The proposed site is situated at the northwest corner of 477th Avenue and 278th Street in Lincoln County. The land is owned by the state through the Office of School and Public Lands and is currently leased for farming, with proceeds supporting the state’s education funding.
Opposition to the project arose almost immediately following the announcement. Local residents, landowners, and officials expressed frustration, claiming they were blindsided by the decision.
The proposed site is located in a currently rural part of the county, between Harrisburg and Canton, approximately 10 miles south of Sioux Falls, the state’s largest city.
Lincoln County is the fastest-growing County in South Dakota, and one of the fastest in the entire country. Opponents argue that taking over 300 acres of agricultural land for the project is a poor choice. They also cite concerns about the potential impact on local safety and property values.
Residents have further criticized the lack of transparency in the decision-making process.
The new prison is expected to open in 2029.
Doug Weber's letter to South Dakota State Legislators, released January 24, 2025:
Wrong Prison, Wrong Place, and We Still Have Time
My name is Douglas Weber, and I was the Chief Warden and Director of Adult Prison Operations for the State of South Dakota until I retired in June 2013 after 32 years of service within the DOC. My tenure as Warden, then Chief Warden began under Governor Janklow in 1996 and continued for 16 years under three different Governors. I held the dual role of Chief Warden as well as Director of Adult Prison Operations for 14 years until my retirement. I also served as the interim Secretary of Corrections for one year during Governor Rounds' administration.
I agree the state of South Dakota needs to build new prison facilities for adult men's and women's incarceration encompassing supporting services to meet future needs. I do not agree with the current proposed plan to build a 1,512-bed level 5 (maximum security) facility in rural Lincoln County as the future for men's prison services in our state. This facility as proposed has excessive initial estimated building costs, it will be in the wrong location to effectively and efficiently deliver necessary prison services, and the prison's proposed site will require added ongoing operating costs and unnecessary logistical challenges and risks due to its remote location. Replacing the main Sioux Falls facility (The Hill) is the wrong prison to vacate with this plan.
The University of South Dakota at Springfield campus was originally built in 1881 as the state's teachers' college but was repurposed as Mike Durfee State Prison in 1984. The buildings utilized as prison housing were built as college dormitories. Modifications were completed to the existing campus buildings to house medium level inmates, but they do not provide adequate or appropriate safety and security features. This was more than demonstrated during the summer of 2024 when prisoners engaged in a serious uprising within this facility. Prisoners could not be locked down or controlled, so only the perimeter could be defended or secured until the prisoners decided to end their disturbance. These buildings are extremely vulnerable to damage and/or destruction from natural weather disasters or deliberate inmate actions. The approximate population of 1,200 medium level inmates currently at the Springfield facility could not be absorbed or transferred to any other existing men's facilities in the event this location becomes unusable because of future disturbances and/or disasters.
Contrast the Springfield facility to the main Sioux Falls facility (The Hill) also originally constructed in 1881 as a prison from solid granite blocks, steel, and concrete. Beyond the construction of the Jameson Annex in 1993, the main Sioux Falls facility (The Hill) has maintained continuous upgrades and improvements to the physical plant, physical structure, HVAC systems (new boilers; air-conditioning added in 2021), and security systems to include but not limited to: electronic locks on all cell and main doors, high definition camera systems, control rooms in housing units, modern visiting room, modernized food preparation area, modern health services area, major reconstruction of the sally port (vehicle entrance) and numerous other upgrades and preventative maintenance projects. These upgrades have allowed the facility to maintain its effectiveness as a safe, secure, and modernized linear style prison. Construction of pod style prisons began in the late 1960's and although they are considered current standard, linear style multi-tiered prisons remain actively and safely in use today throughout the Federal and state prison systems.
It is my understanding that the state continues to own large parcels of land within Minnehaha and Yankton counties that could be used for various DOC building projects. These locations could address the needs that are currently being debated and allow for construction of a pod style prison to alleviate capacity issues.
This brings me to my suggestions for actions we (the citizens of South Dakota) should request of our Legislative body as it relates to the building needs of the DOC for adult services. First, ask them to hit the pause button this session and deny additional funding for the proposed men's prison facility in Lincoln County and halt any further actions and expenditures towards its construction this year. Second, request they form a comprehensive work group to complete a summer study that explores other options to address men's prison building needs. Third, the Legislators and the citizens of this state still need financial information from the DOC; a specific breakdown of the $825 million dollars requested ($546K/bed) for this construction project, forecasted budgets for this building project and its ongoing operations and impact budgets for existing DOC operations and capital needs, a breakdown of the capital costs to the state for upgrading all roadways/drainage systems within Lincoln County to support this prison building project along with future DOT expenses to maintain them, and the costs of creating approximately 14 miles of sewer pipelines to connect this proposed facility to the city of Lennox's sewage and water treatment plant.
The cost of this proposed project is quickly approaching $1 billion dollars and our state, and its citizens, cannot afford a wrong decision now that will impact everyone for generations. I ask all of you to contact your respective Legislators in the House and Senate and ask them to pause and to reflect right now... while we still have time.
Douglas L. Weber
Chief Warden and Director of Adult Prison Operations - Retired