Governor Larry Rhoden joined state and local leaders Friday for the ribbon-cutting of South Dakota’s new women’s prison in Rapid City.
The facility, located near Interstate 90, was built to help ease overcrowding in the state’s correctional system and will house medium- and minimum-security offenders.
Officials say the prison will place a strong emphasis on rehabilitation, featuring substance abuse treatment, counseling services, life-skills programs, and a business entrepreneurship initiative.
Corrections Secretary Nick Lamb says nearly 97 percent of female offenders enter prison with a substance use disorder assessment, making treatment a key focus of the new facility.
The project began in 2023 with a 60-million-dollar investment approved under former Governor Kristi Noem.
Eric Aldridge will serve as the prison’s first warden, and the first inmates are expected to arrive by the end of the summer.
