Martin County

The Detention Center

Martin County Jail

• Operated byMartin County Sheriff's Office
• LocationHoused in the Law Enforcement Center, 201 Lake Avenue, Fairmont, MN 56031, adjacent to the historic courthouse
• Hours8:00 AM–5:00 PM administrative hours are published for the Sheriff's Office; the jail page states the facility operates 24 hours per day, 365 days per year
• Staff contact titled "Jail Administrator"Tanya Rathman, 507-238-3153, tanya.rathman@martincountymn.gov — a named staff contact under the Sheriff's Office; the page does not describe detention as a separate county department, so jail_administrator is recorded as null per the sheriff-is-jailer default
• RosterA current custody list is linked from the county's own jail page at https://martincountymn.gov/Government/Sheriff/custodylistMAR.rpt.pdf (the PDF itself could not be opened with WebFetch in this session)
• VisitationVideo visitation only, Friday/Saturday 1–4 p.m. and Sunday 6–8 p.m.; visitors must be 18+ with valid government ID; visits limited to 20 minutes
• Fees publishedInmate-funds kiosk deposits: a $3.25 fee for cash deposits and a $3.25 fee or 10% for credit cards; fingerprinting $10 per card, cash and exact change only; phone cards and commissary are handled through deposits.jailatm.com without rates given on the county's own page
• Capacity, budget, deaths, PREA, inspections, contracts, bond/bail infoNot published on the pages opened (Sheriff's Office index, Jail, Civil, Records, Active Warrant List)
• Also sourced toMartin County Sheriff's Office — https://www.co.martin.mn.us/your_government/departments/sheriff/index.php

Source: Martin County Jail · checked 2026-09-18

• ✓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

This rates disclosure, not conduct — what Martin 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
• BedsNot found

The Sheriff

Sheriff Not found

• Runs the jailYes, if the county operates one — the elected sheriff has charge and custody of the county jail under Minn. Stat. 387.11 and is responsible for its operation and condition under Minn. Stat. 641.14 (MN state layer)
• How the office is filledElected countywide to a four-year term under Minn. Stat. 382.01 (MN state layer)
• Pages readMartin County's own Sheriff's Office pages (index, jail, civil, records, active warrant list) were read in full this session; none named the sitting sheriff
• Possible lead, unconfirmedA search result returned a contact-page URL slug of the form ".../contact/41-sheriff-s-office/21-chad-petschke" on both co.martin.mn.us and martincountymn.gov, suggesting a name, but the page itself returned a 403 error on every attempt this session and was never opened, so this is not recorded as a confirmed sheriff name

Source: Martin County Sheriff's Office · 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 →