Sheriff Steve Harr has addressed his position on the potential state prison in Davison County, acknowledging strong opinions both for and against it.
Initially, many residents he spoke with supported the idea, and he signed a letter of support to encourage further discussion. However, after the county advanced as a possible site, opposition grew significantly.
Recognizing this shift, Sheriff Harr has decided not to support bringing the prison to Davison County.
He emphasized his responsibility to represent the majority of citizens and thanked the community for sharing their views.
He remains open to further discussion and can be contacted at the Sheriff’s Office.
Statement about Potential Prison from Davison County Sheriff Steve Harr:
I have been asked by numerous people about my position on a state prison coming to Mitchell. I know there are strong opinions on this matter, both for and against it.
Prior to the previous Prison Task Force meeting, we all knew Davison County was one of the possible sights being looked at. I talked with numerous people in all parts of the county. I don’t have an exact number, but the majority I talked to were in favor of it. It was probably over 80%. Unfortunately, I believe there was a lot of people that thought “it’s not coming to Mitchell so why worry about it.”
Prior to the meeting, I did sign a letter of support for the prison. This was done with hopes Davison County would make the final cut and some conversations would start. It was not done as a statement of “we need a prison in Mitchell.” Well, as you know, this was successful, as the conversation all over town is on this topic.
Since Davison County made the cut at the last meeting, it has become quite clear that there are a very large number of residents that are opposed to the prison coming to our county. I have heard very little from anyone that is in favor of it. That is why it was important to get a conversation going. It is unfortunate that it didn’t happen earlier, but better now than after a decision has been made.
Moving forward, I will not be supporting bringing the state prison to Davison County. I contacted Minnehaha County Sheriff Milstead, who sits on the task force, informing him of this. I have asked him to forward it on to the entire task force.
I did not make this decision lightly, as there are people in this county that are supportive of bringing it here. However, the clear majority do not. My job as Sheriff is to look out for the citizens of Davison County and I feel that is what is being done by coming to this decision. I would like to thank everyone that has reached out or made your concerns known in other ways. Without an open conversation, nothing gets accomplished. To the people that are in favor, I hope you understand how I came to this decision.
If anyone would like to discuss this, I can be contacted at the Sheriff’s Office at 605-995-8630.
Sheriff Harr