Union County

The Detention Center

Union County Jail

• Operated byUnion County Sheriff's Office
• Capacity"40 inmate beds, along with an additional 12 work-release beds" for eligible inmates in approved programs
• Opened"The current Union County Jail opened in August 1999"
• Staffing"10 full-time and 4 part-time jailers"
• ContractsHouses detainees for "the U.S. Marshals Service, federal agencies, and neighboring counties" through intergovernmental agreements and housing contracts — specific per-diem rates charged to those agencies were not published on the page found
• FeesSentenced inmates pay "$25.00 daily" for room and board, deducted from their inmate account; inmates also bear the cost of prescribed and approved over-the-counter medications; phone service is through Reliance Telephone, purchased online or via $10/$20 phone cards
• RosterA dated "Daily inmate report" PDF is linked from the Sheriff's Office page (file dated 2026-08-24, one day before this research), alongside a daily activity log and an active-warrant report

Source: Union County, South Dakota — Jail · checked 2026-08-25

• ✓The jail is named
• ✓Who is in custody
• ✓Beds and daily population
• ✗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

This rates disclosure, not conduct — what Union 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 built1999
• Original costNot found
• Paid for byNot found
• Beds40 (plus 12 work-release beds)

The Sheriff

Sheriff Jim Prouty

• Runs the jailYes — Union County Jail, opened August 1999
• ElectedYes — SDCL 7-7-1.1, four-year term
• Prior sheriffThe county's own site notes a previous sheriff, Dan Limoges, served 33 years before the current administration
• Contact209 E Main Ste 250, Elk Point, SD 57025; non-emergency 605-356-2679; emergency 911

Source: Union County, South Dakota — Sheriff's Office · checked 2026-08-25

The Judges

South Dakota circuit judges are elected in a nonpolitical election to eight-year terms (SD Constitution Art. V §7; SDCL 16-6-3); vacancies are filled by the Governor from Judicial Qualifications Commission nominees. Many first appearances go instead to an appointed magistrate judge (SDCL 16-12B-1.2) or a clerk magistrate working off a bond schedule (SDCL 16-12C-10), neither of whom is elected. All are state judicial officers, not county officials.

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 →