• Ringgold County Jail, Law Enforcement Center, 801 W South Street, Mount Ayr, IA 50854; 641-464-3921.
• Union County Jail, 302 North Pine Street, Creston, IA 50801; 641-782-7717.
• Decatur County Jail, 206 NE 2nd Street, Leon, IA 50144; 641-446-4111.
• Clarke County Jail, 220 Townline Road, Osceola, IA 50213; 641-342-2914.
• Taylor County Jail, 1601 Justice Street, Bedford, IA 50833; 712-523-2153.
• Adams County Jail, 901 Davis Ave., Corning, IA 50841; 641-322-4444.
• Harrison County Jail (Missouri), Law Enforcement Center, 1501 Central Street, Bethany, MO 64424; 660-425-3199, answered 24 hours.

Public visits are on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and you must book on the Monday before. Visits are held by phone and video monitor, not face to face. Every visitor goes through a background check. Anyone facing charges, or released from a jail or prison in the last six months, may be turned away unless the sheriff or jail administrator waives it, and visitors under 18 are not allowed. More tips are on our visitation page.

After a housing assignment, an inmate can call collect or use a $10 phone card. Cards are sold at the Law Enforcement Center or online through the jail's phone provider. Staff will not pass along personal messages except in an emergency. See our phone guide.

Each inmate can have a commissary account opened at booking, and the money can be spent on items the jail sells. The front desk can explain deposits; also read our deposit guide and commissary page.

Only U.S. Postal Service mail is accepted, and inmates may not get letters from people held in other jails or prisons. Address it to the inmate's full name, Ringgold County Jail, 801 W South Street, Mount Ayr, IA 50854. Our mail page covers common banned items, and our messaging page covers electronic options.

The jail accepts only cash or a surety bond. If the bond is out of reach, ask jail staff how to request a pretrial release interview with the district's correctional services office. Full details are on our Ringgold County bail page.

Search Iowa Courts Online with Ringgold as the county. The courthouse clerk, 109 West Madison, Suite 203, Mount Ayr, IA 50854, can help at 641-464-3234.

Youths are not kept with adults. If detention is ordered, the youth goes to the Central Iowa Juvenile Detention Center, 2317 Rick Collins Way, Eldora, IA 50627, 641-858-3852, and the Juvenile Court Office in Creston, 641-782-2519, handles the case.

For Iowa prisons, search the Iowa Department of Corrections offender search. Federal prisoners are on the BOP locator, and immigration detainees on the ICE locator.

We found no Mount Ayr booking photos online. Reporters and other press can ask the sheriff at 641-464-3921, and a Mount Ayr arrest that makes the local news may carry a photo the office chose to release. ICE photos require an approved ICE FOIA request. Federal mugshots stay private unless the U.S. Marshals release them.

Have him or his lawyer phone the Ringgold sheriff, whose office is at 801 W South Street in Mount Ayr, 641-464-3921; the deputies there serve every county warrant. Ringgold County doesn't publish names, and Iowa has no statewide lookup for families, but Iowa Courts Online shows his case. Reporting to the Ringgold County Jail in Mount Ayr with an attorney is the steadiest route, and a magistrate usually sees people within a day. For a missed court date, call the clerk at 641-464-3234.

In small-town Mount Ayr, most first bonds follow the statewide uniform bond schedule; for serious charges, Mount Ayr's magistrate sets it. Call 641-464-3921 for amounts.

• How to pay at 641-464-3921: cash, surety or Iowa property.
• Guide: our bail guide.
• Hearings: our court guide, or the clerk at 641-464-3234.

In small-town Mount Ayr, federal arrests go to the U.S. Marshals Service; its Des Moines office answers at 515-400-8140. Cases are heard by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa; its clerk is at 111 Locust Street, Des Moines, IA 50309, 515-284-6248. After a federal sentence, check the BOP inmate locator. Bond at 801 W South Street, Mt. Ayr, IA 50854 cannot lift a federal hold; only 515-284-6248 can.

1. The Ringgold County Jail receives DHS Form I-247A from ICE.
2. Iowa Code chapter 27A makes the jail in Mount Ayr honor it, holding someone 48 hours longer at most (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. After 48 hours without ICE at 801 W South Street, Mt. Ayr, IA 50854, the hold ends.
4. The ICE detainee locator tracks transfers by A-number or name.

VINELink sends free release and transfer alerts for Mount Ayr. Phone sign-up is at 888-742-8463. The Ringgold County Jail answers at 641-464-3921.

In small-town Mount Ayr, new bookings can lag; call 641-464-3921. Anyone moved from Mount Ayr, or released, may show in the Iowa DOC offender search, or the BOP inmate locator. Juveniles are never listed (Iowa Code 232.147). If unsure, ask 641-464-3921.

In small-town Mount Ayr, a magistrate reviews the arrest within 24 hours (Iowa Code 804.22). Bond can be changed later (Iowa Code 811.2). If money is short, the State Public Defender may be appointed. The clerk (641-464-3234) has the next date.

Yes. Small-town Mount Ayr's judges may release on a promise (Iowa Code 811.2), or with conditions, sometimes supervised by the Department of Correctional Services. Skipping court means forfeiture (Iowa Code 811.6) and a warrant; Mount Ayr's clerk (641-464-3234) has the terms.

In small-town Mount Ayr, the clerk (641-464-3234) refunds cash bail (109 West Madison, Suite 203, Mount Ayr, IA 50854) at case end, to the payer. A 10% bondsman fee is never returned; call 641-464-3921.

In small-town Mount Ayr, misdemeanor terms are served at 801 W South Street, Mt. Ayr, IA 50854 (Iowa Code 903.1). Longer terms mean prison; see the Iowa DOC offender search. Work release or weekends in Mount Ayr, Iowa, need a judge's OK; 641-464-3921 schedules it.

In small-town Mount Ayr, judges can bar contact at hearings (Iowa Code 664A.3). Breaking it is a new crime (Iowa Code 664A.7). Only judges can change it; Mount Ayr's clerk (641-464-3234) keeps a copy at 109 West Madison, Suite 203, Mount Ayr, IA 50854.

In small-town Mount Ayr, a free lawyer depends on income (Iowa Code 815.9). Ask in court on day 1, or call 641-464-3234. The State Public Defender covers most cases in Mount Ayr; families may hire private counsel.

In small-town Mount Ayr, the Ringgold County Jail never takes gift cards or crypto; call 641-464-3921 before paying anyone. Mount Ayr's bond goes only to the clerk (641-464-3234) or the jail at 801 W South Street, Mt. Ayr, IA 50854. Report scam calls to the Iowa Attorney General.

• Ringgold County Sheriff's Office, 801 W South Street, Mount Ayr, IA 50854: 641-464-3921.
• Mount Ayr Police Department, City Hall, 200 S Taylor Street, Mount Ayr, IA 50854: 641-464-2402.
• Iowa State Patrol District 2, 1619 Truro Pavement, Osceola, IA 50213: 641-342-2108.
• Emergencies: 911.