More than half of South Dakotans oppose building a new men’s state prison in rural Lincoln County, according to a poll co-sponsored by South Dakota News Watch, another blow to a project that failed to secure final funding during the 2025 legislative session.
The statewide survey, also sponsored by the Chiesman Center for Democracy at the University of South Dakota, showed that 52% of voters are against using the Lincoln County site, while 34% are for it and 14% are not sure.
The South Dakota Department of Corrections began site preparation earlier this year on state-owned farmland between Canton and Harrisburg for the estimated $825 million project. But resistance from state legislators and nearby property owners led Gov. Larry Rhoden to declare a “reset” on the issue in late February…