State readying to overhaul gravel road as new prison plans progress

Rural Lincoln County area to be transformed; opponents say for the worst

CANTON – Opponents of a new prison in Lincoln County opened a new front in their bid to block the project Monday night.

Neighbors Opposed to Prison Expansion, or NOPE, turned out to question a key road improvement project that is being studied in order to handle increased traffic in the area. The Department of Transportation hosted an open house on the 278^th Street corridor study. About 100 people turned out to hear details about the project.

Mike Behm, the department’s director of planning and engineering, set the ground rules early in the presentation: He and members of the presentation group were not there to talk about the virtues of the prison that is now driving the need for transportation upgrades in the region, he said.

Sioux Falls School District to be led by local teacher, administrator