South Dakota Department of Correction's $7.9M prison land purchase is officially complete

Lincoln County transaction moves men's correctional facility forward

The site selected for the new South Dakota State Penitentiary in Lincoln County. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

The ink is officially dry on the Department of Corrections' purchase of farmland in southeast South Dakota where it plans to build a new men’s prison.

Real estate sales and transfer records filed late last month in the Lincoln County Register of Deeds office show the $7.9 million purchase for 320 acres of ground near Worthing is complete. The milestone is the final step in the deal DOC struck in October to obtain the cropland where the 1,500-inmate correctional facility is slated to be built.

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“We have completed the purchase of the land and all of the soil testing, boring and environmental assessments have also been completed,” Corrections Secretary Kellie Wasko told The Dakota Scout. “We know that the state penitentiary in Sioux Falls must be replaced. The department has been working with the design team for the new facility, and we look forward to continuing with this project and meeting our move-in deadline of 2028.”