Hughes County

The Detention Center

Hughes County Jail

• Operated byHughes County
• Address3100 E Hwy 34, Pierre, SD 57501; (605) 773-7475
• Medical staffingSite states a Registered Nurse is on-call 24/7 with regular physician clinics
• VisitationRemote video visits daily 8am-10pm via Reliance Telephone, plus on-site non-contact visits, one visit per day
• Inmate communication/commissaryPhone/texting and commissary orders (processed twice weekly) through Reliance Telephone; inmate voicemail line 605-223-5244
• BondCash or surety bonds accepted, including cashier's checks, money orders, and credit cards via courtmoney.com
• FeesOnline deposits via Jail ATM (Visa/Mastercard/Discover) or on-site kiosk carry a $3 transaction fee
• PREASite states a zero-tolerance policy for sexual abuse/harassment/misconduct with multiple reporting options and investigation
• 2020 Census snapshot"Hughes County Jail" population 124 on April 1, 2020 (a point-in-time count, not a capacity figure) — from the state-layer research citing the Prison Gerrymandering Project's republished Census facility file

Source: Hughes County, SD — Jail · checked 2026-08-25

• ✓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

This rates disclosure, not conduct — what Hughes 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 Jeff Metzinger

• StatusListed as Hughes County's Interim Sheriff by the South Dakota Sheriffs' Association directory — no separate confirmation of permanent/elected status was opened this session
• Office3200 E Hwy 34, Suite 9, Pierre, SD 57501; (605) 773-7470; fax (605) 773-7417
• How the office is filledElected countywide, four-year term (SDCL 7-7-1.1), unless the interim label reflects a mid-term vacancy — that was not established

Source: South Dakota Sheriffs' Association — Hughes County · checked 2026-08-25

The Judges

South Dakota circuit judges are elected in a nonpartisan election for an eight-year term (S.D. Const. Art. V, section 7; SDCL 16-6-3); a mid-term vacancy is filled by the Governor from two or more nominees of the Judicial Qualifications Commission. Magistrate judges, who in practice handle most rural first appearances and bail-setting under SDCL 16-12B-7, are not elected: the presiding judge of the circuit nominates them and the Supreme Court approves or disapproves the appointment (SDCL 16-12B-1.2); full-time magistrates serve four-year terms, part-time magistrates serve at the presiding judge's pleasure (SDCL 16-12B-1.3). Hughes County sits in the Sixth Judicial Circuit (SDCL 16-5-1.2). Named circuit or magistrate judges were not located from sources opened this session.

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 →