The Detention Center
Blue Earth County Jail
- Operated byBlue Earth County Sheriff's Office
- Address401 Carver Rd., Mankato, MN 56001
- Approved capacity (DOC inspection report)146 beds
- Jail Administrator (title under the sheriff)Joslyn Lachmiller
- Phone/commissary servicesCounty site directs users to third-party vendors (Reliance Telephone for phone cards; Inmate Canteen for commissary) rather than publishing its own rates
- Also sourced toMN DOC inspection report (Blue Earth County, 05/29/2025) — https://mn.gov/doc/assets/Blue%20Earth%20County%202025_tcm1089-690326.pdf
Source: Blue Earth County Jail-Inmate page · checked 2026-09-18
Transparency rating
3/10Closed- ✓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
- ✗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
- Beds146 beds (approved capacity) per MN DOC inspection report; not independently confirmed on the county's own site
Since then
- Not found
The Sheriff
Sheriff Jeff Wersal
- 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: Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office directory · 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 Blue Earth 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
- Blue Earth County publishes a genuine PREA page (https://www.blueearthcountymn.gov/1045/Prison-Rape-Elimination-Act-PREA), but it states general zero-tolerance policy only, with no audit results, so prea is marked 'no'.
- The county's inmate-services page names third-party vendors (Reliance Telephone, Inmate Canteen) for phone and commissary but does not itself publish rates, so fees is marked 'no'.
- Blue Earth County Administration; Board of Commissioners not separately confirmed within budget
These three offices decide who sits in a cell in Blue Earth 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