Ramsey County

The Detention Center

Lake Region Correctional Facility (Lake Region Law Enforcement Center)

• Operated byLake Region Correctional Facility joint-powers governing board (Administrator Starr Klemetsrud), not the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office alone
• Who runs itStarr Klemetsrud — Administrator, Lake Region Correctional Facility
• Answers tothe seven-member Lake Region governing board
• Why this is differentThe elected county sheriff does not run this jail.
• Address222 West Walnut Street, Devils Lake, North Dakota
• Rated capacity105
• Population on inspection day81 (May 27-28, 2026 DOCR inspection)
• GradeGrade one — up to a one-year hold
• Compliance"Compliance with Standards 107" / "Non-Compliance with Standards 0" — per DOCR inspection report
• Year built1973, with a 2003 addition
• Governing boardSeven commissioners: two from the City of Devils Lake, two from Ramsey County, one each from Nelson, Benson, and Eddy counties
• Contracts (per DOCR inspection report, not the county's own site)"verbal or contractual agreements" with U.S. Marshals Service, DOCR Parole and Probation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, City of Devils Lake, and the counties of Ramsey, Cass, Foster, Wells, Nelson, Benson, Towner, Eddy, Walsh, and Cavalier

Source: Lake Region Correctional Facility — DOCR Inspection Report (May 27-28, 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 Ramsey 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 built1973, with a 2003 addition (Lake Region Correctional Facility, not a Ramsey-County-only building)
• Original costNot found
• Paid for byNot found
• Beds105 (Lake Region Correctional Facility rated capacity)

The Sheriff

Sheriff Bryan Lang

• Runs the jailNo standalone Ramsey County jail — Ramsey County holds two of seven seats on the Lake Region Correctional Facility joint-powers governing board, and county prisoners are held there
• ElectedYes — NDCC 11-10-02, four-year term
• Office222 W Walnut St, Devils Lake, ND 58301; 701-662-0700; bslang@nd.gov

Source: North Dakota Association of Counties — County Officials Directory (Ramsey County) · 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