The Detention Center
Beltrami County Jail
- Operated byBeltrami County Sheriff's Office
- Licensed capacity (DOC inspection report)132 beds, secure coed, effective 1/30/2023
- Jail Administrator (title under the sheriff, per DOC report)Calandra Allen
- What was triedThe county's site redirected mid-session from co.beltrami.mn.us to a new domain, beltramicountymn.gov; the elected-officials page and the 2026 preliminary budget book and sheriff's-office policy manual PDFs on that new domain could not be fetched (blocked pending approval); a jail needs-assessment/feasibility PDF referenced in search results was likewise unreachable
- Also sourced toMN DOC inspection report (Beltrami County, 05/22/2026) — https://mn.gov/doc/assets/Beltrami%20County%20Inspection-2026_tcm1089-751190.pdf
Source: Beltrami County Jail inmate locator · checked 2026-09-18
Transparency rating
2/10Closed- ✓The jail is named
- ✓Who is in custody
- ✗Beds and daily population — not published
- ✗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
The Building
You paid for it. Here is what the record says it cost.
- Year builtNot found
- Original costNot found
- Paid for byNot found
- Beds132 beds (secure, coed) per MN DOC inspection report; not independently published by the county pages that could be opened
Since then
- Not found
The Sheriff
Sheriff Jason Riggs
- Runs the jailYes — elected sheriff has charge and custody of the county jail under Minn. Stat. 387.11 and 641.14 (MN state layer)
- How the office is filledElected countywide to a four-year term under Minn. Stat. 382.01 (MN state layer)
- Detention budget requested vs. approved, by year
- Jail staffing levels and vacancy rate
- Lawsuits and settlements involving the jail
Source: MN DOC inspection report (Beltrami County, 05/22/2026) · checked 2026-09-18
The Judges
Minnesota district judges are elected on a nonpartisan ballot to six-year terms, but most first reach the bench by gubernatorial appointment to a mid-term vacancy. Bail at first appearance is set by the court under Minn. R. Crim. P. 6.02.
Minnesota District Court (judicial district covering Beltrami County)
- Not found
- The county's bond schedule
- Share of the jail population held pretrial
- Median time from booking to first appearance
Source: the state judiciary · checked 2026-09-18
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
Notes on the record
- Beltrami County's website moved mid-research from co.beltrami.mn.us to beltramicountymn.gov; the county's own public inmate locator (still on the older co.beltrami.mn.us domain) confirmed the jail's name and a public roster, but budget, PREA, and jail-project documents on the new domain repeatedly failed to load and were not counted.
- Beltrami County Board of Commissioners
These three offices decide who sits in a cell in Beltrami County and what it costs the people who live here. Nationally, almost 77% of the people who died in local jails in 2019 had not been convicted of anything, and suicide was the leading single cause of those deaths (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Local Jails, 2000–2019).
How much is your sheriff — and your judge — costing you?
Your VOTE is POWERFUL.
The sheriff who runs this jail is elected. So are the commissioners who pay for it.
Names verified 2026-09-18 · dollars and outcomes still being gathered