The Detention Center
Mountrail County Correctional Center
- Operated byMountrail County Sheriff's Office
- Detention commandLaurie Johnson — Administrator, Mountrail County Correctional Center
- AddressPO Box 155, Stanley, ND 58784-0309; 701-628-8900
- Rated capacity42 (DOCR inspection, May 19-20, 2026)
- Population on inspection day18
- GradeGrade one
- ComplianceFull compliance; two standards initially found non-compliant during inspection were resolved via accepted corrective action plans (specific standard numbers not captured from the extracted report text)
- Counties/agencies served, per the DOCR inspection reportAll North Dakota county agencies; cities of Stanley, New Town, and Powers Lake; Burke County; ICE; U.S. Border Patrol; Federal Bureau of Prisons; U.S. Marshal Service; MHA Nation
- PREAThe county's own Correctional Center page states it publishes PREA annual reports (2017-2025), audit reports, an investigation policy, and an information brochure
- BailThe county's own Correctional Center page states bail may be posted by credit card via GovPayNet
Source: Mountrail County Correctional Center — DOCR Inspection Report (May 19-20, 2026) · checked 2026-08-25
Transparency rating
3/10Closed- ✓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
- ✗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
- Beds42
Since then
- Not found
The Sheriff
Sheriff Corey Bristol
- Runs the jailStatutory keeper under NDCC 11-15-03(1)(f); day-to-day operation of the Correctional Center is delegated to a jail administrator
- ElectedYes — NDCC 11-10-02, four-year term
- Office101 Main Street N, Stanley, ND 58784; 701-628-2975; coreyb@co.mountrail.nd.us
- Detention budget requested vs. approved, by year
- Jail staffing levels and vacancy rate
- Lawsuits and settlements involving the jail
Source: Mountrail 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 — North Central Judicial District
- Gary H. Lee (Presiding Judge)
- Todd L. Cresap
- Richard L. Hagar
- Steven A. Lautt
- Stacy J. Louser
- 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
Notes on the record
- Mountrail County publishes seven years of PREA reports and its own bail-payment guidance (GovPayNet) directly on the Correctional Center page — one of the more complete disclosures found in this group.
- No capacity, budget, roster, death, or inspection data was found published on the county's own site (capacity numbers come from DOCR's inspection report only), so those checks are recorded no.
- The Sheriff's Office page separately lists administrative service fees (passport photos, fingerprints, civil process, report copies) but no phone, video-visit, or commissary rates, so 'fees' is recorded no.
- Board of County Commissioners (NDCC 11-11-01). The county's own directory lists a County Commissioners page, but it redirected in a loop this session and its content (member names, agendas, budget) could not be read.
These three offices decide who sits in a cell in Mountrail 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