South Dakota Supreme Court Says Nope to NOPE

South Dakota Supreme Court says nope to NOPE

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) -- The South Dakota Supreme Court says a group that was trying to stop the state government's plan to build a men's prison in Lincoln County lacked legal standing to bring the lawsuit. In their decision, the justices stated that the non-profit corporation, NOPE —Neighbors Opposing Prison Expansion — did not have the authority to enforce the Lincoln County zoning regulations that formed the basis of the lawsuit. Phot…

South Dakota Supreme Court rules against neighbors in now-moot prison site dispute • South Dakota Searchlight

The site that was selected in 2023 in Lincoln County for a prison construction project. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)The South Dakota Supreme Court handed a legal loss Thursday to opponents of a Lincoln County prison site lawmakers have already abandoned. In a unanimous ruling, the justices decided that Lincoln County residents don’t have the right to force the state to adhere to local zoning ordinances. Representatives from the nonprofit…

South Dakota Supreme Court rules NOPE can’t challenge prison zoning issue

PIERRE — The South Dakota Supreme Court has ruled that a group of neighbors had no authority to challenge the Department of Corrections’ decision to locate a prison in Lincoln County on the basis of zoning rules. The unanimous decision released Wednesday, July 9, affirmed a lower court’s order dismissing the lawsuit, which focused on efforts to subject any potential prison location to local zoning ordinances. The opinion, penned by Justice Mark …

SD Supreme Court Rules Against Neighbors In Now-Moot Prison Site Dispute

The South Dakota Supreme Court handed a legal loss Thursday to opponents of a Lincoln County prison site lawmakers have already abandoned.

Lincoln County prison opponents lose lawsuit that sought to block construction

A group of landowners that sued the state to block construction of a prison in Lincoln County lost their appeal to the South Dakota Supreme Court Thursday.The landowners and NOPE – a group that formed to oppose the prison – contended in their lawsuit that the state’s plan to build a men’s prison on 320 acres did not comply with Lincoln County’s 2009 revised zoning ordinance. That land had been designated as agricultural in Lincoln County’s zonin…