Kellie Wasko

The South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls, as seen on Jan. 9, 2023. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Budget committee endorses $400 million for new prisons
BY: - February 22, 2023

Lawmakers on the Joint Appropriations Committee unanimously approved funding Wednesday for two new prisons in South Dakota. The first is a new women’s prison for Rapid City, a 300-bed facility that would become the second female prison in the state.  The Department of Corrections spent $20 million on land for the prison on the eastern […]

A sign for the Solem Public Safety Center in Pierre. The center is the home of the South Dakota Department of Corrections administrative offices, as well as the South Dakota Women's Prison. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Corrections secretary: Millions for prisons will ease overcrowding, boost security
BY: - January 30, 2023

PIERRE – In 2022, some inmates at the overcrowded women’s prison in Pierre were bunked in the gym, which closed the gym for every inmate living there.  The gym is open again, lawmakers learned Monday, but now a classroom is closed because it’s filled with overflow inmates. Department of Corrections Secretary Kellie Wasko offered several […]

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