Pembina County

The Detention Center

Pembina County Correctional Center

• Operated byPembina County Sheriff's Office
• Rated capacity18 (DOCR inspection, Apr 29-30, 2026)
• Population on inspection day6
• GradeGrade two — up to a ninety-day hold
• Counties/agencies served, per the DOCR inspection reportCavalier County; Walsh County; cities of Grafton, Drayton, and Cavalier; U.S. Customs/Border Patrol
• Non-compliance findingStandard 038 (Inventory of Equipment): inspectors observed "an outside vendor enter the facility and remove a master set of keys from the designated key box" and conduct business in the secure area without proper escort or logging procedures; a corrective action plan was accepted but "this standard will remain as noncompliant"

Source: Pembina County Correctional Center — DOCR Inspection Report (Apr 29-30, 2026) · 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 Pembina 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
• Beds18

The Sheriff

Sheriff Terry Meidinger

• Runs the jailYes — statutory keeper under NDCC 11-15-03(1)(f); Sheriff Meidinger also serves personally as the Pembina County Correctional Center's Jail Administrator, per the DOCR inspection report
• ElectedYes — NDCC 11-10-02, four-year term
• Office301 Dakota St. W #10, Cavalier, ND 58220 (courthouse); 701-265-4373

Source: North Dakota Court System — Pembina County court location 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