SIOUX FALLS, SD — the South Dakota Department of Public Safety (DPS) has at this time released corrected statistics regarding initial arrests in the wake of Operation: Prairie Thunder, bringing the total number from the 174 narcotics-related arrests originally stated by Governor Larry Rhoden to 78, 51 of whom are currently jailed and 27 of whom have been released with a notice to appear in court. “DPS apologizes for the confusion regarding the statistical reporting. In the future, the SDHP will provide statistics which accurately reflect the number of unique individuals arrested in addition to the number of total charges filed,” said DPS representative Steve Long.
The operation, which comes as a controversial collaboration between South Dakota Highway Patrol and ICE agents came as a surprise to many Sioux Falls citizens and has been largely mired in confusion, as it has been up until now largely unclear what the intentions of the operation are, the proposed timeline for it, and who exactly is overseeing the operation.
“We are keeping South Dakotans strong, safe, and free,” said Gov. Rhoden on the reasoning for initiating the operation. This operation at this time focuses primarily on the Sioux Falls metro area, and more specific reasoning or incidents which spurred the initiation of Prairie Thunder are unclear at this time, and narcotics related cases appear to be on a relatively steady downturn since 2014, at least according to 2024 statistics by the Sioux Falls Police Department.
The operation is currently being overseen by the Department of Public Safety and utilizes the current budget of the department. According to the Governor’s Office, the operation will continue for five months as a sort of test case, after which “we will reassess what worked, what could go better, and what can be applied to the rest of South Dakota”.