SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) — As the state prepares to replace the 140-year-old South Dakota State Penitentiary with a modern facility on the east side of Sioux Falls, those who have spent time inside say critical rehabilitation and reentry efforts cannot wait three years for a new building to open.
State officials broke ground earlier this year on the more than $600 million, 1,500-bed men’s prison on East Benson Road, with completion targeted for 2029. While leaders emphasize that modern infrastructure will expand vocational training and counseling, former and current inmates argue that the real barriers to reform lie within the institution’s day-to-day culture and resource allocation.
For Jason Krumback, who was released from the Sioux Falls penitentiary in May and is now paroled in Nebraska, “rehabilitation” does not describe the time he served behind bars in South Dakota…