Inside the Sioux Falls State Penitentiary. Photo from the S.D. Dept. of Corrections.
SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO.com) — State and local law enforcement officials are riding high on lower crime stats for 2025. Violent crimes and property crimes were down sharply from 2024, while fraud and cyber cases were up. But, frustration lurks in the midst of the celebration. Mayor Paul TenHaken and Police Chief Jon Thum are disappointed the legislature rejected a plan this week to pay for programming for penitentiary inmates and employees. The programming has a solid track record of reducing recidivism.
The Mayor pointed to last summer’s lengthy discussions over building a new men’s penitentiary in Sioux Falls, which included the need for programming to reduce repeat offenses from parolees. The expense of handling those cases falls to the city and Minnehaha County. Numerous other cities protested the idea of hosting the prison, but Mayor TenHaken led city officials in saying it was the right thing to do. At the News Conference, the Mayor asked, “What about all the programming? Well, yesterday (Monday’s vote by the legislature) was a litmus test, and it failed.”
Attorney General Marty Jackley also demonstrated his disappointment on a related matter. Several months ago he held a joint news conference with TenHaken and Rapid City Mayor Jason Salamun to pressure the state to begin spending some of the 99-million dollars in opioid settlement money secured by his office. So far that hasn’t happened, but the Attorney General said he’s hopeful action will be taken before the end of the legislative session next week.
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