Jackson County Jail Overview
Jackson County Jail is run by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office. The official county address is 400 Sherman Street, PO Box 229, Jackson, MN 56143, and the jail and dispatch line is (507) 847-4420. The sheriff is Shawn Haken. The Minnesota DOC 2025 inspection report identifies the facility as a local adult detention facility governed by Minnesota Rules chapter 2911, with authority to operate from September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2027.
The jail holds county-level adult custody. That includes people arrested in Jackson County and awaiting court, people held on local warrants, sentenced county inmates, and lawful commitments. Lakefield Police and other local agencies route custody through the county system unless another authority says otherwise. Sentenced felony prisoners from Jackson County move into the Minnesota Department of Corrections after sentencing and classification. Federal defendants and immigration detainees use separate federal systems.
The official Jackson County Jail and Inmate page lists the jail contact details and visiting rules used for this facility.
The county page is the best local source for visitor rules, phone routing, and current jail contact instructions.
Jackson County Jail Capacity
Jackson County Jail is small by design and by facility age. The Minnesota DOC 2025 inspection lists approved secure coed capacity of 18 beds, effective August 1, 2005. The report also lists 80 percent operating capacity, which gives the jail an operational capacity of 14.40. Current daily population was not published in the official sources located for this build, so the page should not invent a daily count. Use the current roster if a day-specific count is needed.
The new Law Enforcement Center and Government Center project is tied to the county's aging jail facility. The county project materials say the existing jail was built in 1976 and that the new jail will have 24 prisoner beds. Official materials describe the project as a compliance and infrastructure response, not a large regional expansion.
Look Up Jackson County Jail Inmates
The Jackson County Jail roster is the local lookup source for people currently held in county custody. The official roster page says the roster is generated at 6 AM and 6 PM and uploaded by 8 AM and 8 PM Central. Because the roster is an embedded or published document rather than a full interactive search portal, a person arrested very recently may not appear until the next update. The roster disclaimer also warns that information should not be relied on for legal action and may not be current, accurate, or complete.
- Open the official Jackson County Jail roster wrapper from the county jail page.
- Review the most recent roster upload and the time expectation for the next update.
- Search visually by name because no separate interactive search form was exposed in accessible text during research.
- Call Jail/Dispatch at (507) 847-4420 if the person was just arrested or if custody must be confirmed.
- Use Minnesota DOC, BOP, or ICE locator tools when the person is not in county jail custody.
The county roster is only one access channel. For nonposted or older booking records, the Sheriff's Office records request process may be needed. For case status after arrest, use Minnesota Court Records Online rather than the jail roster. For state prison custody after felony sentencing, use the Minnesota DOC public locator instead of the county roster. The broader lookup process is covered on the Jackson County inmate records page.
| Custody Question | Where To Check | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Current Jackson County jail custody | Jackson County Jail roster and Jail/Dispatch | Shows local jail custody when the roster has updated. |
| Formal charge or court date | MCRO Case Search | The court record tracks filed charges and hearing activity. |
| Sentenced felony prison custody | Minnesota DOC Locator | State prisoners are not tracked by the county roster after DOC transfer. |
| Federal or immigration custody | BOP locator, ICE locator, or federal routing | Federal systems are separate from Jackson County Jail. |
Jackson County Jail Contact
Use the county's public jail contact for custody questions, visitor confirmation, and local routing. The inmate voicemail or message number is separate from the main jail and dispatch line. The county says jail email is not used to relay inmate messages, so phone routing is the safer channel for time-sensitive information.
Jackson County Jail
400 Sherman Street, PO Box 229
Jackson, MN 56143
(507) 847-4420
Fax: (507) 847-4308
Inmate voicemail: (507) 800-1308
Directions should stay general unless the county publishes more detail. Visitors arriving from I-90 should exit toward Jackson and follow local signs into downtown. Visitors from MN-71 or US-71 approaches should route to downtown Jackson and confirm the final turn in a navigation app. Official visitor parking details were not located, and the county project FAQ notes accessibility deficiencies at the current jail, so do not assume a specific parking or ADA arrangement without calling first.
Visit Jackson County Jail
Jackson County Jail visitation is scheduled by day and time, with visits handled first come, first served. The official jail page says visits are limited to 30 minutes and are not allowed on Sundays or holidays. Visitor rules are narrow. Immediate family includes spouses, parents, siblings over 18, and children over 18. Children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian and may visit a parent or legal guardian. A birth certificate or legal papers proving guardianship must come with the child.
| Day | Hours | Type and Rules |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | 7 PM to 9 PM | First come, first served, 30-minute visit. |
| Thursday | 1 PM to 4 PM and 7 PM to 9 PM | First come, first served, 30-minute visit. |
| Saturday | 12 PM to 4 PM | First come, first served, 30-minute visit. |
| Sunday | Not allowed | The county says no Sunday visits. |
| Holidays | Not allowed | Confirm before traveling near a holiday. |
Every visitor must provide photo identification. In-laws are not considered immediate family. Each inmate may have one non-family member on the visitor list. Video calling is available, but the inmate initiates the call and receives instructions. Because the visiting window is first come, first served, call the jail before driving from outside Jackson, Heron Lake, Lakefield, Okabena, Alpha, or nearby rural areas.
Note: Confirm custody, visitor eligibility, and the daily schedule with Jackson County Jail before traveling to the facility.
Jackson County Jail Money
Jackson County documents inmate account deposits through JailATM and the public lobby kiosk. The county's inmate account page says online deposits require selecting Jackson County Jail and searching by inmate name. The lobby kiosk accepts cash and Visa, MasterCard, or Discover credit and debit cards. Kiosk users search by inmate last name or inmate ID. Transactions are final and nonrefundable, so confirm the person and facility before sending funds.
The official inmate account page explains JailATM and kiosk options for Jackson County Jail deposits.
The deposit page is for commissary and inmate account funds, not for posting court bond.
| Service | Provider or Location | Details and Fees |
|---|---|---|
| Online inmate account deposit | JailATM | Select Jackson County Jail and search by inmate name. |
| Lobby kiosk deposit | Public lobby of Jackson County Sheriff's Office | Cash or Visa, MasterCard, and Discover cards accepted. |
| Cash kiosk fee | Lobby kiosk | $3.25 fee. |
| Credit or debit kiosk fee | Lobby kiosk | $3.25 or 10 percent, whichever is greater. |
| Phone cards | JailATM or Reliance Telephone | County states phone cards may be purchased through either service. |
| Inmate voicemail | Reliance or jail message line | (507) 800-1308. |
Reliance Telephone lists voicemail service for Jackson County Jail. Reliance also lists an address at 405 4th Street, Jackson, MN 56143, but the county jail address should be treated as the primary public jail address. Mail rules were not fully available in the accessible official text located during research, so call the jail before sending letters, books, photos, or packages.
Jackson County Jail Booking
Booking begins when a person is brought to Jackson County Jail by the Sheriff's Office, Lakefield Police, Minnesota State Patrol, DNR, another local agency, or another lawful authority. The county does not publish a full booking-process manual, so details should stay tied to confirmed inspection and jail-standard material. Minnesota jail standards require an intake-control framework that includes property handling and medical screening.
The 2025 DOC inspection found two property-receipt issues in 18 reviewed inmate files and required the jail to ensure property receipts are signed. The same inspection found that the medical screen did not address signs and symptoms of active tuberculosis and required the medical screen to be updated. Those findings do not mean every intake was flawed. They do show the areas DOC reviewed during the July 16, 2025 biennial inspection.
- Booking
- The jail intake process after arrest or lawful commitment.
- Property receipt
- A record of personal property taken and held by the jail until release.
- Medical screen
- An intake health check used to decide whether medical referral or special handling is needed.
- Detainer
- A hold from another agency that can affect release from the jail.
Jackson County Jail Inspection
The most recent inspection detail in the research file is the Minnesota DOC inspection conducted July 16, 2025. The report covered a facility walk-through, staff and inmate interviews, file reviews, video review, and documentation review. Jail Administrator Brandon Hendrickson was named among officials present. DOC gave Jackson County Jail a mandatory-rule compliance rating of 98.43 percent and an essential-rule compliance rating of 98.98 percent.
The report identified two mandatory-rule findings and one essential-rule finding. Two of 18 reviewed inmate files lacked signed property receipts. The medical screen did not address active-tuberculosis signs or symptoms. Weekly fire-inspection documentation was missing for several weeks in 2024. DOC required corrective action, and the report said physical plant concerns identified in prior inspections were being addressed by the new jail construction. It also found no JJDPA violations.
| Inspection Item | Finding | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| Mandatory compliance | 98.43 percent | Most mandatory rules were met, with noted corrective items. |
| Essential compliance | 98.98 percent | Essential rules were substantially met, with missing fire-inspection documentation noted. |
| Juvenile handling | No JJDPA violations | Six juveniles were processed during the audit period under limited handling rules. |
| Operating authority | 09/01/2025 to 08/31/2027 | The jail remained on biennial inspection status. |
Jackson County Jail Juveniles
Juveniles are not general residents at Jackson County Jail. The 2025 DOC inspection describes a rural exception under the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act framework. Jail policy requires prior judge approval before a juvenile is held, and juveniles are brought to the facility only for fingerprinting because the jail is the only fingerprinting station in Jackson County. DOC reported six juveniles processed from October 1, 2024 to July 16, 2025.
This juvenile handling rule is easy to misread. It does not make the jail a juvenile detention center, and it does not mean juvenile roster data is public in the same way as adult jail data. The county roster disclaimer says juvenile information held within Jackson County is restricted by Minnesota law. Adult custody searches should use the jail roster and Jail/Dispatch. Juvenile data questions require official agency routing and may not be publicly released.
Jackson County New Jail
Jackson County is building a new Law Enforcement Center and Government Center in the City of Jackson. The official project page lists a total project cost of $41.2 million and says construction started in January 2024, while the DOC inspection comments refer to construction beginning August 14, 2024. The project FAQ says the current jail has exceeded its useful life and cites long-running problems, including no separate medical room, undersized cells, no recreation room, and accessibility deficiencies.
The Jackson County Law Enforcement Center and Government Center project page provides the county's public project background.
The new facility is planned for 24 prisoner beds, while courts remain tied to the historic courthouse and county campus planning.