Polk County

The Detention Center

Not found

• Operated byNot found
• What was triedhttps://polkcounty.nebraska.gov/sheriff ; https://polkcounty.nebraska.gov/county-offices/sheriff ; https://polkcounty.nebraska.gov/county-offices ; https://polkcounty.nebraska.gov/about — none names a jail facility, gives an address distinct from the Sheriff's Office, or states whether Polk County operates its own jail or holds prisoners elsewhere

Source: · 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 Polk 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
• BedsNot found

The Sheriff

Sheriff Dwaine W. Ladwig

• Runs the jailThe county's own sheriff page states 'the sheriff has charge and custody of the jail and its prisoners' (quoting Neb. Rev. Stat. 47-105/23-1703 language), but does not name, locate, or describe an operating facility
• How the office is filledElected countywide, four-year term (Neb. Rev. Stat. 32-520); the county's own page does not restate this
• Office location251 North Main Street, Osceola, NE 68651

Source: Polk County, NE — Sheriff (polkcounty.nebraska.gov) · checked 2026-08-25

The Judges

Nebraska judges are merit-selected, not county officials: the Governor appoints from a judicial nominating commission's list and the judge then faces an uncontested retention vote (Neb. Const. Art. V, sec. 21). The County Court judge sets bail at first appearance. Polk County's combined clerk-of-court page names only the Clerk Magistrate (Jodie L. Roberts) and an assistant clerk, not a judge.

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 →