Search Mower County Jail Inmates

Mower County Jail Overview

Mower County's official jail page identifies Mower County Jail as the county's detention facility and publishes the roster link, policy PDFs, jail contacts, and program information. The jail is operated by the Mower County Sheriff's Office. It serves the Austin civic and court area, where the sheriff, jail, District Court, and County Attorney are clustered in nearby Justice Center blocks. That location matters for records work because jail custody, court filings, prosecution, and warrant questions are handled by different offices even when the offices sit close to each other.

The official jail overview says the facility opened in 2010 after replacing an outdated jail. It holds pretrial and sentenced adult men and women. A pretrial inmate has been arrested or charged but has not finished the court process. A sentenced jail inmate is serving a local jail term or waiting on a related court or transfer decision. The Minnesota Department of Corrections inspection record treats the facility as a local adult detention facility under Minnesota Rules Chapter 2911, not as a prison. The 2026 inspection also named Sheriff Steve Sandvik and Jail Administrator James Brown in the state report.

The official jail page is the best visual source for the public roster and policy links. The county page at Mower County Jail shows the roster link with jail forms for visits, mail, phones, canteen, property, medications, work release, Sentencing to Service, and volunteer programs.

Use that county page as the starting point for facility-specific jail information, then confirm current custody, visit status, or money rules with jail staff before acting on a time-sensitive detail.

Mower County Jail Capacity

Mower County Jail capacity figures need source context. The county mission and overview material says the jail is approved to house 128 inmates. Minnesota DOC inspection snippets and indexed report material list secure coed capacity in a different regulatory form, including 88 approved beds and 79.20 operational capacity in recent report context. Those figures should not be merged into one flat number because the county overview and the state inspection materials serve different purposes.

The roster is also not a clean daily headcount. The official PDF may show current bookings and recently released records together, so a reader must check each custody status and release-date field. The June 18, 2026 roster snapshot reviewed during research showed records numbered into the low 30s, but the research warned that released records were included. That makes the roster useful for a person search, not for a reliable population rate. State inspection and county overview sources are better for capacity.

The 2026 DOC inspection also notes a rural exception for short delinquent juvenile holds, limited to 24 hours excluding weekends and holidays. That does not make Mower County Jail a juvenile detention center. It remains an adult county jail, with only narrow short-hold authority under the inspection report.

Mower County Jail Roster Lookup

The correct lookup channel for this facility is the Mower County Jail roster PDF. It is a public PDF titled as inmates in custody, but it is not a form database with name fields. Search it with the browser or PDF viewer find function. Useful search terms include the person's last name, first name, booking number, or CID/MNI if known. The roster can show booking number, CID/MNI, age, city, booking date and time, release date and time, custody status, bail, arresting agency, charge text, and status.

The roster does not replace the jail phone line. A PDF can lag behind a release, court order, transport, or new hold. For a current custody question, call Mower County Jail at 507-437-9562. For inmate messages, use 507-481-3131. For state prison custody after a felony sentence, use the Minnesota Department of Corrections public locator because those people are no longer tracked through the county jail roster after transfer.

1. Open the official Mower County Jail roster PDF from the county jail page.
2. Use PDF find for the last name first, then try the first name or booking number.
3. Read custody status, bail, release date, arresting agency, and status together before assuming the person can be released.
4. Call the jail when the record shows a hold, no-bond status, transfer status, or a recent booking.
5. Use MNDOC, BOP, or ICE systems if the person is in state prison, federal custody, or immigration detention.

A few roster terms deserve plain meaning. ROR means release on recognizance, often with conditions. A detainer or hold means another agency or authority may keep the person in custody. Rule 20 Eval refers to a Minnesota competency or mental-condition process. Book and release means a person may have been booked and released without staying in jail.

Mower County Jail Contacts

Use the jail contact block for facility questions about roster status, inmate messages, property, medications, visits, and local jail procedures. Use the sheriff's main office for broader Sheriff's Office business. The official directory lists Sheriff Steve Sandvik and the Sheriff's Office hours as Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Emergency matters still go to 911.

The official Sheriff's Office staff directory also lists jail, warrant desk, investigative, chief deputy, captain, and sheriff contacts. That directory is useful when a question is not about a current inmate but still belongs with the Sheriff's Office.

Mower County Jail Visits

Mower County Jail uses video visitation for social visits, and social visits are non-contact. The official visitor rules say no contact visits are allowed. Visitors must be on the inmate's approved list, and only one visitor may be in the visiting area at a time. Inmates may receive two visits per scheduled visiting day, and each visit is electronically timed to 30 minutes. Visitors over 18 must bring current valid photo identification such as a driver's license, state ID, military ID, or U.S. passport.

Rules also cover dress, behavior, children, contraband, and legal restrictions. Children under 18 must be escorted and supervised by a parent or guardian. Co-defendants, victims, and people subject to DANCO, OFP, HRO, or restraining-order issues involving the inmate cannot visit unless written court authorization allows it. Lockers are available in the lobby for personal items, and visitors entering the jail may be searched.

Note: Confirm visit status with the jail before traveling because lockdowns, discipline, crowding, or refusal can stop a scheduled visit.

Mower County Jail Mail

Mail for an inmate must use the jail's published format: Mower County Jail, C/O the inmate's name, 201 2nd Avenue NE Suite #4, Austin, Minnesota 55912. Staff inspect and filter mail for contraband and unapproved content. Denied mail is placed in the inmate's property until release. Unapproved content includes gang-related material, sexually explicit material, drug-related content, excessive vulgarity, evidence or intent for a crime, or material considered a safety or security risk.

Pictures must be on 4-by-6 picture paper and may not contain unapproved content. An inmate may keep four pictures in the cell, with extras going to property. Books and newspapers must come through USPS directly from the publisher. A personal Bible may be dropped off, but bookmarks and cloth page markers are removed. Jail communications are monitored under the policy, so mail should not be treated as private legal advice or confidential case strategy.

Mower County Jail Booking

Booking at Mower County Jail must cover legal authority, identity, health, property, and classification steps before a person is housed. Minnesota Rule 2911.2525 admissions requirements, as applied in the 2026 inspection material, include verifying commitment papers or other detention authority, documenting date and charges, searching the inmate and possessions, inventorying and storing property, screening medical and mental-health needs, allowing phone calls during booking before housing, issuing clothing and hygiene items, photographing and fingerprinting, recording identifying marks, assigning a booking number, and making an initial classification and housing assignment.

Property rules are specific. Property an inmate arrives with stays in Mower County Jail custody until release, except some keys may be released within the first 48 hours. Another person's property, such as EBT, credit, or debit cards, may be released any time if ownership is verified by government ID. The property release form is completed with the inmate and staff, and the person receiving property must have government ID.

Medication rules are time-sensitive. Daily prescription medication must be dropped off within 24 hours from arrest. Late medication is denied entry, and jail medical staff complete medication orders after that period. Medication can also be denied if it is expired, not in the original container, or not taken according to directions.

Mower County Jail Work Release

Mower County publishes detailed Work Release, also called Huber, documents. The jail program contact listed in the forms is Mary Davidson at 507-434-2718, fax 507-437-9563, and maryd@co.mower.mn.us. Eligibility generally requires a sentence of 30 days or more with judge approval, a completed application, a pre-incarceration interview scheduled at least one week before reporting, paid booking and required fees, no negative account balance, a passed UA, and approved employment and transportation.

The handbook limits time away from the jail to 12 hours per day including travel, no more than six days per week, and no more than 60 hours per week. Employment usually must be in Mower County unless a court allows a transfer. Disqualification reasons include lack of proof, lack of supervision or transport, escape history, reporting under the influence, failing to report, a positive or failed chemical test, unpaid fees, other agency holds, failure to post bail on an open file, maximum classification, certain criminal or probation history, noncompliance, disciplinary segregation, and lack of team authorization.

Sentencing to Service and volunteer programs are also published from the jail page. The program categories include activity-focused, reformative, and reintegration programs, such as board games, a computer lab without internet, creative arts, educational videos, library services, exercise gym, chemical dependency meetings, anger management, cognitive and behavioral skills, religious involvement, job skills, life skills, and parenting classes.

Mower County Jail Inspection

The Minnesota DOC adult inspection index lists Mower County Jail inspection reports for 2026, 2023, 2022, 2020, and 2019. The 2026 report was a biennial inspection conducted on January 8, 2026. It reported 97.62 percent mandatory compliance and 100 percent essential compliance, with authority to operate from February 1, 2026 through January 31, 2028.

The 2026 inspection found three mandatory noncompliance items: a mental-health screening referral issue in booking files, missed or incomplete well-being checks on certain reviewed dates, and missing or pre-filled medication refrigerator temperature logs. A March 2026 corrective action response from DOC said Mower County made adequate corrections after the inspection, while DOC would continue monitoring compliance.

The inspection record is useful because it separates documented compliance findings from rumor. It shows the jail remained on biennial inspection status, retained limited juvenile hold approval, and had specific corrective items that the state later marked adequately corrected. For current conditions or urgent safety concerns, contact the jail or the Sheriff's Office rather than relying on an old roster snapshot.