Houston County

The Detention Center

Houston County Jail

• Operated byHouston County Sheriff's Office
• Approved capacity40 beds, Secure Coed (MN DOC 2024 inspection)
• Jail Administrator named in state inspectionRachel Meyer — a role under the sheriff, not a separate county department
• What was triedhttp://co.houston.mn.us/HCSO-Jail.aspx and https://co.houston.mn.us/Jail.aspx were both refused by WebFetch (robots.txt fetch failed / redirect loop); the Sheriff's Office landing page (departments/sheriff/) names the jail but links no URL, no roster, PREA, bail, inspection, or fee content beyond a PREA-violation reporting form

Source: Houston County — Sheriff · checked 2026-09-18

• ✓The jail is named
• ✗Who is in custody — not published
• ✗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

This rates disclosure, not conduct — what Houston County publishes about a jail its taxpayers own, checked 2026-09-18. 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
• Beds40 (Secure Coed, per MN DOC 2024 inspection — state source)

The Sheriff

Sheriff Brian Swedberg

• Runs the jailYes — elected sheriff has charge and custody of the county jail under Minn. Stat. 387.11 and 641.14
• How the office is filledElected countywide to a four-year term under Minn. Stat. 382.01
• Named on the county's own siteConfirmed via the Sheriff's Office page and phone directory, which also lists Chief Deputy Bill Hargrove

Source: Houston County — Sheriff · 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.

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 →
• Where the jail money is decidedAgendas and minutes →