Edwards County

The Detention Center

Edwards County Jail

• Operated byEdwards County Sheriff's Office
• CapacityMaximum capacity of 12 beds but typically houses no more than nine inmates at a time, per the county's own sheriff page.
• Care and maintenanceThe Sheriff's Office is responsible for the care and maintenance of the Edwards County Jail, per the county's own sheriff page.
• What was triedThe county's own sheriff page (edwardscountyks.org/county-sheriff) was opened and names the jail and gives a capacity figure directly, which is why this county scores both 'named' and 'capacity.' No roster, budget, deaths, PREA result, inspection result, contract, bond guidance, or fee schedule was published on any page actually opened.

Source: Edwards County — County Sheriff page · checked 2026-09-17

• ✓The jail is named
• ✗Who is in custody — not published
• ✓Beds and daily population
• ✗What it costs taxpayers — not published
• ✗Deaths in custody — not published
• ✗PREA audits — not published
• ✗Independent inspection — not published
• ✗Who else it holds, and for how much — not published
• ✗How to post bond — not published
• ✗Phone, video and commissary rates — not published

This rates disclosure, not conduct — what Edwards County publishes about a jail its taxpayers own, checked 2026-09-17. Nothing here says the jail is run well or badly. Every mark moves the moment the county posts the document.

The Building

You paid for it. Here is what the record says it cost.

• Year builtNot found
• Original costNot found
• Paid for byNot found
• BedsNot found

The Sheriff

Sheriff Bryant Kurth

• Runs the jailYes — K.S.A. 19-811 gives the sheriff charge and custody of the county jail and its prisoners; K.S.A. 19-1903 makes the sheriff responsible for the manner in which it is kept.
• How the office is filledElected countywide for a four-year term (K.S.A. 19-801a).
• Office address312 Massachusetts Ave., Kinsley, KS 67547
• Phone(620) 659-3011 or (620) 659-3012; Hours Monday–Friday 8:00am–5:00pm (closed holidays); Emergency 911

Source: Edwards County — County Sheriff page · checked 2026-09-17

The Judges

Kansas decides judicial selection district by district under Kan. Const. Art. 3 §6 and K.S.A. 20-2901. In most rural Kansas counties the district magistrate judge sets bail (K.S.A. 20-302b). Whether the 24th Judicial District has adopted nonpartisan/merit selection, and the names of its sitting judges, were not established this session. The 24th Judicial District elects its district judges on a partisan ballot - the default under Kan. Const. Art. 3 sec. 6. Its voters have not adopted the nonpartisan nominating-commission method available under K.S.A. 20-2901.

Source: the state judiciary · checked 2026-09-17

The County Commissioners

They pay for the jail. The sheriff runs it.

• What they controlThe detention budget, the building itself, and the agreements that let other agencies rent its beds.
• What they don'tDay-to-day operations. The sheriff is separately elected and answers to voters, not to the board.
• The boardBoard of County Commissioners →