The Detention Center
None — Benson County operates no jail
- Operated byN/A
- Where Benson County's prisoners are heldLake Region Correctional Facility (Lake Region Law Enforcement Center), Devils Lake, Ramsey County — named directly on Benson County's own Sheriff's Office page (222 Walnut St W, Devils Lake, ND 58301)
- Governing board seatBenson County holds one of seven seats on the LRLEC governing board under a joint powers agreement — two from City of Devils Lake, two from Ramsey County, one each from Nelson, Benson, and Eddy counties, per LRCF's own DOCR inspection report
- LRCF facility statsGrade one, rated capacity 105, population 81 on the May 27-28, 2026 inspection day
- Confirmed counties served"counties of Ramsey, Cass, Foster, Wells, Nelson, Benson, Towner, Eddy, Walsh, and Cavalier County" — LRCF's own DOCR inspection report
Source: Lake Region Correctional Facility — DOCR Inspection Report (May 27-28, 2026) · checked 2026-08-25
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 applicable — Benson County operates no jail
Since then
- Not found
The Sheriff
Sheriff Laura Wanzek
- Runs the jailNo county jail — Benson County has no jail; it holds one of seven seats on the Lake Region Law Enforcement Center's joint-powers governing board and its prisoners are held there
- ElectedYes — NDCC 11-10-02, four-year term
- OfficePO Box 194, Minnewaukan, ND 58351; 701-473-5340 option 7
- Detention budget requested vs. approved, by year
- Jail staffing levels and vacancy rate
- Lawsuits and settlements involving the jail
Source: Benson County — Sheriff's Office page · checked 2026-08-25
The Judges
North Dakota district judges are elected on a nonpartisan ballot to six-year terms (ND Constitution Art. VI, Sec. 1). Midterm vacancies are filled by the Governor from a list submitted by a judicial nominating committee, unless the Governor instead calls a special election (ND Constitution Art. VI, Sec. 13). District judges are state judicial officers, not county officials. Under ND Supreme Court Administrative Rule 20, a presiding judge may appoint a magistrate with delegated authority to hold initial appearances and set bail under NDCC ch. 29-08.
District Court — Northeast Judicial District
- Anthony Swain Benson (Presiding Judge)
- Kari Michelle Agotness
- Kelley Cole
- Michael P. Hurly
- Lonnie Olson
- Ashley Samuelson
- The county's bond schedule
- Share of the jail population held pretrial
- Median time from booking to first appearance
Source: the state judiciary · checked 2026-08-25
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 →
Notes on the record
- Benson County operates no jail and is not among the 20 ND counties with an operating adult correctional facility.
- 'named' is recorded yes because Benson County's own Sheriff's Office page names the Lake Region Law Enforcement Center as the facility it uses — this is the finding, not a gap.
- 5-member Board of County Commissioners (NDCC 11-11-01): Ron Stadum (District 1), Dick Horner (District 2), Doris Griffin (District 3), David Davidson (District 4), Tammy Kuk (District 5).
These three offices decide who sits in a cell in Benson 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 2026-08-25 · dollars and outcomes still being gathered