Welcome to Weekly Connections! Here is your summary of key updates from the justice industry for the week of April 27.

Let's get started with project updates:

• South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden and other officials broke ground last week on a new $650 million men's prison in Sioux Falls, with completion expected in 2029.
• Officials in New York City held a topping-out ceremony last week as the last structural steel beam was placed atop the new 15 story Brooklyn Borough-Based jail.
• Wasatch County, Utah has proposed a three-phase renovation of its aging jail facility, with work spanning the next 5 to 10 years.
• Brazos County, Texas is advancing construction of a four-story courthouse annex, with completion targeted for May 2028.

Moving on to legislation and funding:

• Monroe County, Ind., faces a near-term decision to advance a new criminal justice complex as legal pressure from the ACLU mounts over unsafe jail conditions.
• Commissioners in Lehigh County, Pa., voted to enter a 20-year agreement with four other counties to develop a regional juvenile detention center in Berks County.

Up next in people news:

• California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that Marie Daley has been appointed Chief of Legislative Affairs and Operations at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and Eric Mejia has been appointed warden of the California Institution for Men.

And now for this week's construction reports:

• The County of San Luis Obispo, Calif., is requesting statements of qualifications from design-build entities to convert an existing facility into a new adult and youth behavioral health facility, with submittals due May 28.
• Hendry County, Fla., is soliciting qualifications from architecture and engineering firms for a mental health addition to the Hendry County Government Complex, with submittals due May 22.
• The Elmore County Commission in Alabama is seeking proposals for the construction of a new county jail, with bids due June 2.
• The City of Devils Lake, N.D., has issued an RFQ to architectural and engineering firms for a new police headquarters facility, with submittals due June 5.

And finishing up with events:

• The Correctional Leaders Association Southern Region meeting will take place this week in Oklahoma City from April 28–May 1.
• An International Corrections and Prisons Association webinar, "Challenges in Conducting Research in Corrections," will take place on May 6.
• The second episode of Correctional News's new Corrections Connections docuseries, "Changing Minds, Changing Lives," is now live.

For more details or to access the links mentioned, check out our podcast show notes at correctionalnews.com/podcast.