MITCHELL MAYOR JORDAN HANSON NIXES PROPOSED PRISON PROJECT

MITCHELL, S.D. (J.P. Skelly / KORN News) – Mayor Jordan Hanson’s statement regarding potentially locating a men’s state prison south of Mitchell:

“When the proposal for a prison near our community was first introduced, I supported exploring the opportunity. The promise of new jobs, economic growth, and potential prosperity for Mitchell caught my attention-as it did for many others.

Several weeks ago, I signed a letter in support of considering Mitchell as a possible location. But I made it clear then, and I will emphasize again now: my support was always conditional. I believed that before moving forward, the people of this community deserved to have their voices heard.

So, I went out and listened. I met with and heard from hundreds of residents and what I heard was unmistakable: the number of people who oppose this project far outweighs those who support it.

Looking back, I recognize I was too focused on the potential economic benefits, and not focused enough on the emotional, social, and long-term financial impact this project could have on the families who make Mitchell the town it is today.

Our community has been deeply divided in recent weeks-more than I’ve ever seen. And I’ve come to believe that unity is more important than growth at any cost.

As I’ve said before: leadership means being willing to admit when you’ve made a mistake, and having the courage to change course when the people you represent show you a better way forward.

I still believe in Mitchell’s future. I still believe in growth. But this is not the kind of growth we need.

This town doesn’t belong to me-it belongs to all of us. And while it’s my responsibility to lead, it’s also my responsibility to listen-and not lead us down a path the people do not want.

After careful consideration, I no longer believe a prison near Mitchell is in our long-term best interest.

So today, I am making my position clear: effective immediately, I do not and will not support this proposed prison project in the Mitchell Community.

 Let’s move forward together-with unity, purpose, and a shared vision for a stronger Mitchell.”

 

 INMATE TRAINING PROGRAM PUT ON HOLD WHILE PRISON CONSTRUCTION TALKS CONTINUE

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (John Hult / South Dakota Searchlight) – The South Dakota Department of Corrections will not offer a promised diesel mechanic training program in a space once occupied by a privately run metal shop that paid inmates market wages.

Last August, the DOC and Southeast Technical College got approval from the state Board of Technical Education to expand the college’s diesel program into the maximum security Jameson Annex in Sioux Falls.

Training inmates to fix diesel engines would “create opportunities within our community to meet the workforce needs of trades careers,” according to the school and the department’s application to the board.

The application anticipated an August 2025 opening.

Corrections spokesman Michael Winder told South Dakota Searchlight last week, however, that the school was unable to secure funding to purchase the equipment needed to operate the program inside the Sioux Falls prison.

Jennifer Lambley of Southeast Tech said ongoing debate about the potential construction of a new prison was partially to blame for the decision to freeze talks on the diesel program. The school had been in discussions with the nonprofit Vera Institute of Justice on potential funding.

“We believe it’s important to pause and more deeply consider how this initiative fits into South Dakota’s broader plans for addressing long-term prison infrastructure and programming needs,” Lambley said.

Winder and Lambley both said that the school and DOC still aim to expand programming for inmates eventually.

“We remain fully committed to providing high-quality, workforce-relevant education to individuals in custody,” Lambley said.

Job training factors into prison construction talks

The diesel engine program was set to fill the now-empty space occupied for more than 20 years by Metal Craft Industries, a company that says it was pushed out of the prison system by administrators. Corrections Secretary Kellie Wasko said the company left voluntarily to avoid adhering to newer, stricter security protocols.

The owner of another private business that had employed female inmates in Pierre, Badlands Quilting, also accused the state of pushing it out the door last year.

The shuttered metal shop’s status came up briefly during a meeting of the Project Prison Reset group last week in Pierre. Consultants with the firm Arrington Watkins said the shop was empty when they toured the Jameson Annex of the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls a few months ago.

The work group is focused on building options that might relieve inmate overcrowding, but its members have also focused on repeat offense rates, reentry programming, job training and post-incarceration placement.

Many task force members and members of the public who’ve appeared at the meetings have argued that the state needs to do more to improve the chances for inmates who return to their communities after serving a sentence if it ever hopes to address long-term growth in prison populations.

Last week, the group voted to cap spending on a new prison at $600 million. That’s less than the consultants suggested would be necessary to build one big enough to meet current needs and address future growth projections.

Sen. Jamie Smith, D-Sioux Falls, lamented that the cap could hamstring efforts to design a facility capable of training current inmates to become rehabilitated, contributing members of their communities.

Smith didn’t mention Metal Craft Industries last week, but the controversy surrounding its departure sparked a host of questions from lawmakers last year on the role of work programs within the DOC.

Inmates at Mike Durfee State Prison work for the Governors Home program, which builds houses, duplexes and day cares for people under certain incomes and communities that meet certain guidelines.

The state also operates a handful of shops under the banner of Pheasantland Industries, including an upholstery shop that outfits prison cells and a sign shop that prints license plates and road signs.

Metal Craft and Badlands Quilting paid inmates market wages. Some inmates paid off their restitution and child support with their Metal Craft paychecks, and employees of both private businesses paid room and board to the state. Most prison jobs, by contrast, pay about 50 cents an hour.

Some empty classrooms, but partnerships remain

During previous Project Prison Reset meetings, inmates and their family members said extended lockdowns across the system have served as an impediment to job training programs, kept shops from running full-time and otherwise hindered inmates’ opportunities to better themselves.

“There’s classrooms in here that sit empty half the time,” inmate Samuel Lint told the group through a cell phone in early April.

Programs that train inmates outside prison walls have had success, though.

Twelve minimum custody inmates graduated with welding certificates from Southeast Tech last fall, adding to the 57 who’d completed the training since 2022. The welding certificate program is funded with help from the state Department of Labor.

Past cohorts have had an average graduation rate of more than 80% and a similar job placement rate, an announcement on the fall graduation said. The money from the Labor Department covered the cost of books and equipment for inmate students.

Dawn Dovre, spokesperson for the department, told South Dakota Searchlight in an email that part of the funding is from the U.S. Department of Labor.

“As always, if there are changes to these programs or budgets nationally, adjustments to service delivery will be made,” Dovre said.

The Department of Corrections also offers Career and Technical Education courses in precision machining for male offenders at Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield through Lake Area Technical College.

That program didn’t field a cohort in the spring, according to Tiffany Sanderson, Lake Area’s president, but not for a lack of funding.

The former instructor left last fall, and Sanderson said it’s been hard to fill that position.

Offenders at the Rapid City Minimum Center can enroll in a plumbing course at Western Dakota Technical College. That school’s spokesperson told South Dakota Searchlight that five inmates graduated from the course this spring.

 

SOUTH DAKOTA DOESN’T REQUIRE CONTINUING ED FOR LAWYERS

PIERRE, S.D. (Bart Pfankuch / South Dakota News Watch) – Attorney Seamus Culhane said he was “baffled” to learn that South Dakota is one of only four states in the nation that does not have a continuing education requirement for working lawyers.

Unlike numerous other professions in South Dakota, there is no requirement for attorneys to receive ongoing training in order to maintain their licenses. There’s also no way to know if working lawyers are staying up to date or improving their knowledge of the law.

“There’s things that are important in the law today that weren’t even issues three years ago,” said Culhane, a partner at Turbak Law Office in Watertown. “Almost every week the law changes in South Dakota … so you could have people practicing law with subpar knowledge.”

Members of the State Bar of South Dakota, the professional membership group for lawyers, will soon have the opportunity to weigh in on whether to implement mandatory Continuing Legal Education (CLE) in the state.

In 2023, the bar created a committee to study whether the state should join the 47 other states that require ongoing training. In February 2024, the bar sent a survey to its roughly 2,600 members, about 2,000 of whom are actively practicing in the state.

More than 1,100 members responded, with 47% opposed to mandatory CLE, and 53% in favor or neutral on the topic, according to a summary of the committee’s work.

The committee report notes that, “The lack of mandatory continuing education requirements for South Dakota attorneys may affect public perception of our Bar (association).”

In February, the committee voted to recommend adoption of mandatory CLE requirements and proposed that attorneys be required to receive 20 hours of training every two years starting in 2027. The training could be taken online, and the bar association would offer free seminars in order to keep participant costs low. Attorneys would be responsible for tracking compliance with the training requirements.

On June 20, at the annual bar convention in Rapid City, members of the association will vote on the committee’s recommendations. Any plan to implement mandatory CLE would still require approval from the South Dakota Supreme Court, which regulates the legal profession.

According to South Dakota laws and regulations, numerous other professions require ongoing education in order to maintain a license or certification in the field.

Medical and counseling providers certified with the Department of Social Services must complete 40 hours of training every two years. Training hours are required every year or two years to maintain licensure in real estate, electrical, insurance, accounting, engineering, education, plumbing and even for cosmetology instructors.

On its website, the state bar association has a page devoted to promoting opportunities for continuing education. However, under a heading of “Upcoming CLE events,” the site lists “No Results.” The website does have a link to a YouTube channel with roughly a dozen videotaped discussions on the law and legal issues.

The training page includes a link to “sexual harassment prevention training for attorneys,” though Culhane said that session was geared more to proper workplace behavior than toward any deeper understanding of the law.

Implementing mandatory training appears to be a touchy topic among lawyers. Several South Dakota attorneys approached by News Watch for comment on the proposal – including committee co-chairs Heather Lammers Bogard and Sarah Sharp Theophilus and two judges – did not want to comment publicly.

In Maryland, where CLE is voluntary, the Supreme Court assembled a committee in  2022 to study the issue. The following year, the committee recommended attorneys be required to undergo 12 CLE hours annually in order to remain in good standing within the bar association.

But in December, the Maryland Supreme Court delayed taking any action on the proposal, and in April, the high court postponed consideration of the proposal indefinitely without explanation.

Culhane, the attorney in Watertown, said some lawyers in South Dakota have likely fallen behind in their knowledge due to changes in laws, new technologies and new ways of obtaining or filing information.

Theoretically, Culhane said, someone who started practicing law 40 years ago could still be doing so without obtaining any updated legal education.

“There’s certainly opportunities to do it (CLE) on a voluntary basis, and good lawyers are doing that actively,” he said. “But I worry that there’s a segment, including some older lawyers, who aren’t doing that.”

Neil Fulton, who is dean of the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law in Vermillion, said he supports mandatory CLE training. Fulton pointed out that he spoke with News Watch as a licensed attorney in South Dakota and not as a representative of USD or the Board of Regents. Fulton served on the bar’s CLE committee.

“I just don’t think you can practice without continuing to grow, be updated and know about legal developments,” he said.

Fulton said he believes any opposition to mandatory CLE would be related to the potential costs of money and time, the logistical challenges posed to solo operators and whether the training is valuable and professionally presented.

“Are there some people who just don’t want to do it? I’m sure there are,” Fulton said. “But I think the lawyers I interact with want to be competent. They want to stay current. It’s just really a question of how people weigh out the imposition of this obligation on them with the other obligations they have of work, family and all that.”

In the end, however, Fulton said requiring some level of continuing education will help lawyers in South Dakota, their clients and the profession as a whole.

“I mean, you don’t graduate law school knowing everything you need to know to sustain you in a career over decades,” he said.