The sheriff posts a jail roster you can download. For release alerts, sign up on VINELink. Staff at 712-336-2793 will confirm whether someone was booked and quote the bond. Arrests come in from the sheriff, the State Patrol, the DNR and the police in Arnolds Park, Lake Park, Milford, Okoboji and Spirit Lake. Our inmate search page has more ways to look.

When no judge is on hand, Iowa's uniform bond schedule sets the figure. A simple misdemeanor is $300, a serious one $1,000 and an aggravated one $2,000. Class D felonies are $5,000, class C $10,000 and class B $25,000. Every count carries its own amount, and traffic tickets follow the state fine book.

No schedule bond is allowed after an arrest for a forcible felony or domestic abuse, for violating a protective or no-contact order, for stalking, or for sexual abuse of degree one, two or three. Meth labs, meth sales and holding meth to sell are handled that way too, as are intimidation with a dangerous weapon and a firearm found on a felon. A Third Judicial District magistrate sets release in those cases after looking at the accusation, past convictions, ties to the lakes area and public safety.

The sheriff's office takes bond through a secure online payment portal linked from its jail page. Have the person's full name, date of birth and case number ready. A service fee of 8.5 percent is added to every online bond payment, and that fee is not part of the bond.

• Cash covering the full bond, paid back after the final ruling as long as every hearing was attended.
• A surety bond written by an insurance company through an Iowa-licensed agent. The agent's premium stays with the agent.
• Land or a home in Iowa, which the owner signs over as security with the clerk.
• A 10 percent deposit paid to the clerk, but only when a judge's order allows it.

The sheriff's office is open weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. At other hours, call 712-336-2793 or 712-336-2525 before driving to the courthouse.

From July 1, 2026, a promise to return to court is enough only in a simple or serious misdemeanor case that is free of violence and drug charges. A judge who goes below the schedule must put the reason on paper. The current dollar figures still apply until the Judicial Council delivers an inflation-adjusted schedule to the Supreme Court, which it must do by July 1, 2027.

The Clerk of District Court is in Suite 2506 of the courthouse, 1802 Hill Avenue, Spirit Lake, IA 51360. Phone 712-336-1138 or email CountyClerk.Dickinson@iowacourts.gov during weekday hours. Bond deposits and case files are handled there, though staff are not allowed to give legal advice.

A judge can issue a warrant and order the bond forfeited. Iowa Code 811.6 gives a bonding company 30 days from notice to return its client or settle up. Under 811.2(8), a no-show on a felony charge becomes a class D felony of its own, and on a lesser charge a serious misdemeanor.

When the case wraps up and the defendant made all appearances, the clerk returns the deposit to whoever paid it. A judge can first order fines, costs or restitution subtracted. Bonding agent premiums are not returned, and the 8.5 percent online charge is a processing fee you should not count on getting back. Leftover jail account money is covered in our money guide.

Dickinson County belongs to the Northern District of Iowa, Western Division. The federal clerk is at 320 6th Street, Sioux City, IA 51101, 712-233-3900, and a federal magistrate decides release in those cases. Because of Iowa Code chapter 27A, someone with an ICE detainer can be kept even after posting state bond. Track moves on the ICE locator.

Youth are not kept there on a bond. Secure detention is at the Northwest Iowa YES Center, 1231 West Cedar Loop, Suite 110, Cherokee, IA 51012, 712-225-5777, and the judge must hold a hearing inside 1 working day.