McLean County

The Detention Center

McLean County Detention Center (MCDC)

• Operated byMcLean County Sheriff's Office, under the McLean County Commission
• Rated capacity30 (DOCR inspection, Dec 3, 2025)
• Population at inspection13
• GradeGrade 1
• Assistant Jail AdministratorCasey Howe, per the DOCR inspection report
• Standard found non-compliantStandard 032 (Inmate Observation): the inspection states "MCDC will need to have a demonstrated period to show adherence to their plan and this standard" through future monitoring inspections
• Standards resolved during inspectionStandard 026 (Intake Telephone Call) and Standard 040 (Post Order Staff Review) initially showed non-compliance but were resolved after MCDC submitted accepted corrective action plans
• Order of noncomplianceDOCR posted a separate Order of Noncompliance for McLean County; the posted PDF contains no machine-readable text, so its specific terms (violations named, corrective deadline) could not be read or confirmed this session
• Also sourced toMcLean County — Sheriff's Office department page — https://www.mcleancountynd.gov/departments/sheriffs-office/

Source: ND DOCR inspection report — McLean County Detention Center (Dec 3, 2025) · checked 2026-08-25

• ✗The jail is named — not published
• ✗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 McLean County publishes about a jail its taxpayers own, checked 2026-08-25. 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
• Beds30 (DOCR rated capacity)

The Sheriff

Sheriff Jerry "J.R." Kerzmann

• Runs the jailYes — the McLean County Sheriff's Office operates the county jail
• ElectedFirst elected 2018; NDCC 11-10-02, four-year term
• Staffing22 full- and part-time officers and 13 full- and part-time jailer/dispatchers, per the county's own site
• Contact709 6th Avenue, Washburn, ND 58577; (701) 462-8103; jkerzmann@nd.gov

Source: McLean County — Sheriff's Office department 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.

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 →