The roster is one PDF that holds every person in custody that day. To use it:

1. Tap the daily roster link. The PDF opens in your browser or a viewer app.
2. Find the print date at the top. It tells you which day's bookings are included.
3. On a laptop, the Ctrl+F keys pull up a find bar. Phone browsers tuck the same tool into a menu item called "Find in page." Type the surname there.
4. Go across the line for that person: age, sex, race, arrest date and time, the "Held For" agency and every booking charge.
5. Note the arrest date and agency so staff can locate the file quickly.

The final line of the PDF gives the total head count. Bail figures and release plans come from the jail desk, 320-693-5415.

Here are the usual culprits when a search comes up empty:

• Timing. A new PDF appears daily, so someone booked late at night tends to show up the following day.
• A ticket instead of a cell. With most misdemeanors, a Minnesota officer writes up a citation and frees the person on the spot, unless keeping them locked up protects someone or is the only way to secure a court appearance (Rule 6.01).
• Released after court. Once a judge orders release at the first appearance, the name drops off.
• Booked elsewhere. Picked up just past the county line? Then a neighboring county's jail probably did the booking.
• Name spelling. Search a piece of the surname, or a maiden or middle name.
• Age. Youths under 18 follow separate juvenile rules.

Jail staff can settle it fast at 320-693-5415. The Sheriff's Office main line, 320-693-5400, is a second choice.

Yes, for adults. The Sheriff operates one jail, and its programs share the building:

• Meeker County Jail (our jail listing calls it the Detention Center), 325 N Sibley Avenue, Justice Center, Main Floor, Litchfield, MN 55355, 320-693-5415. Adults waiting for court stay here. The roster also shows people held for a city police department and people held for the state Department of Corrections under work release.
• Huber work release. This program lets some people serving jail time go to their jobs during the day and come back to the jail afterward.
• Boarders from other counties. Other counties pay to keep some of their prisoners here, so a person on the roster may have a case from somewhere else.

An arrest across the county line may lead to one of these jails instead:

• Kandiyohi County Jail, 2201 23rd Street NE, Suite 101, Willmar, MN 56201, 320-214-6700, to the west
• McLeod County Jail, 801 10th Street East, Glencoe, MN 55336, 320-864-5191, to the south

Booking photos count as public data in Minnesota. Police may delay releasing one for a short time when it could harm an active investigation, but after that anyone can ask (Minn. Stat. 13.82, subd. 26). So are core arrest details: the offense, the custody status and any release (Minn. Stat. 13.82, subd. 2).

Mugshots are requested from whichever agency did the arrest. For a deputy's arrest, that is the Sheriff's Office, 326 N Ramsey Avenue, Litchfield, MN 55355, 320-693-5400. For an arrest inside a city, contact the police in that city.

• Immigration booking photos go through ICE's own records request form.
• Photos from other federal arrests usually stay sealed. The lone exception is the U.S. Marshals Service, which sometimes shares a fugitive's picture during a manhunt.

You can sign up for that yourself. Minnesota VINE is operated by the state's public safety department. Register, and the system will alert you once a county jail logs a release or transfer.

1. Open VINELink Minnesota, or dial 877-664-8463.
2. Enter the name, then confirm the match using age or other details.
3. Finish the registration steps.

Signing up is never automatic. After a transfer to state prison, VINE coverage ends, and alerts come instead from Minnesota Haven, the corrections agency's notice system.

The first appearance, held at the Meeker County Courthouse, 325 North Sibley Avenue, Litchfield, MN 55355, 320-535-6015, is where a District Court judge settles release. For a warrantless arrest where the person stays locked up, it has to take place within 36 hours. Leave the arrest date, Sundays and legal holidays out of the tally (Minn. R. Crim. P. 4.02, subd. 5).

• Starting point. Judges first consider release on the person's promise to return. Under Rule 6.02, any conditions added must be the lightest ones that still protect the public and get the person back to court.
• Two numbers. The judge also sets a cash figure with no conditions at all. That is why a release order often lists a lower bail tied to rules and a higher one free of them.
• Cash bail. Payments go to court administration. By law it counts as the defendant's money, even if a grandparent put it up. The court can first apply it to fines or restitution. To route the refund to a relative instead, the defendant must sign form CRM602 (Minn. Stat. 629.53).
• Bonds. An agent holding a bail bond license from the state Commerce Department can post a bond. Under Minn. Stat. 60M.02 the premium is at least $100, and you won't get it back.

Call 320-693-5415 to learn where to pay and which forms of payment the jail takes. For more, see our bail walkthrough, plus the statewide bail law overview.

Booking charges are printed beside each name on the roster. These can change later, because the prosecutor decides what to file in the formal complaint.

After a case is filed, Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO) shows it for free. Search by name; some juvenile files are withheld. For help by phone, court administration at the Courthouse, 325 North Sibley Avenue, Litchfield, MN 55355, answers at 320-535-6015. Clerks there can share the case number and what is charged now.

A public defender is free for people who can't afford a lawyer. In Minnesota, that help applies to felony and gross misdemeanor cases, plus misdemeanors carrying possible jail time. Ask the judge at the first appearance. The court checks a financial statement, and those already on income-based public benefits are presumed eligible. The governing laws are Minn. Stat. 611.14 (who may get one) and 611.17 (how need is judged).

The office handling this county is the Eighth Judicial District Public Defender, 316 Becker Ave SW, Suite 301, Willmar, MN 56201, 320-231-6064. Paying for a private defense attorney remains an option at any stage.

All in-person visits need an appointment. Phone 320-693-5415 a full day or more ahead.

• Tuesdays and Saturdays: 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., then 1:00 to 3:15 p.m.
• Thursdays: 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., 1:00 to 3:15 p.m., and an evening slot from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
• Visits last up to 30 minutes, with a limit of one per inmate each day.
• Show a picture ID. Kids and teens need a grown-up escort plus staff approval in advance.
• Leave cell phones behind, and don't eat, drink or take photos during the visit. Dress modestly; staff can refuse or stop a visit.
• No visitors are allowed before the person's first court appearance. Victims in the case may not visit.

Attorneys, clergy, probation officers, bail agents and other professionals visit with proper ID. Reliance Telephone Services offers paid video visits. See our visiting page before you go.

Reliance Telephone Services runs the jail's phones, texts and video visits, and you can fund the account at reliancetelephone.com. Its customer line, 800-896-3201, is open weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. From inside, a person may send five free messages every 24 hours asking for money.

Commissary money for snacks and toiletries may work differently. Check with the jail at 320-693-5415 about accepted methods and limits. General tips on funding an inmate account and on what the jail store sells are on our site. Ask before you mail any money.

Yes, but only outward. Nobody can ring in to someone held here. Reliance Telephone Services carries calls, texts and video visits, and collect calls are allowed. Expect every call, text and video message to be recorded and possibly reviewed.

A voicemail line, 320-434-1240, lets you leave a brief message. Skip private details like account numbers. See our jail phone service page and our page on inmate texts and email for setup help. Anything about the arrest itself is best saved for the defense attorney.

Phone 320-693-5415 before mailing. Confirm the address to use, whether to add an inmate or booking number, and what is accepted, like photos, greeting cards or books.

Print the recipient's complete legal name on the front. Put your street address in the top left so returned mail can come back. Simple paper and a plain envelope cause the fewest problems. Our guide to jail mail covers typical rules.

The jail stores whatever the person brought in at booking and hands it back at release. Most people simply collect their belongings on the way out.

Need an item before then, like house keys or a car key? Ring 320-693-5415. Find out if the person can authorize a release to you, what hours pickup runs, and which ID you need. It also helps to ask when releases usually happen. The jail sits at 325 N Sibley Avenue, Justice Center, Main Floor, Litchfield, MN 55355.

Phone the jail at 320-693-5415 right away. Share any illness, prescriptions with doses, allergies, and how to reach the doctor. Also urge the person to tell an officer about any health need.

Worried about self-harm or suicide? Tell staff exactly that. For a crisis anywhere else, 911 is the number.

For warrant questions, contact the Sheriff's Office, 326 N Ramsey Avenue, Litchfield, MN 55355. Phone 320-693-5400 and ask whether one is on file. Information about someone wanted can go to the confidential tip line at 320-693-5411. The state corrections department adds its own Wanted Fugitives list, made up of people sought for supervised release violations. MCRO lists court cases, though it is not a warrant search. To resolve a warrant, first get a lawyer's view, then call court administration at the Meeker County Courthouse, 325 North Sibley Avenue, Litchfield, MN 55355, 320-535-6015. Turning in at the jail on Sibley Avenue is another option.

Every criminal file from this county lands in District Court, Eighth Judicial District, at the Courthouse, 325 North Sibley Avenue, Litchfield, MN 55355. Court administration's line, 320-535-6015, is staffed weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• Scheduled hearings appear in the free MCRO hearing search; a name is enough to start.
• When you phone, give the date of birth or case number to speed things up.
• Lawyers fight over evidence at the omnibus hearing. Rule 11.01 usually schedules it by day 42.
• Rule 11.09 gives a defendant who demands a quick trial the right to start it within 60 days.

Our court page explains every stage in order.

Cases under federal law belong to the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Its closest courthouse to this county is the Diana E. Murphy U.S. Courthouse, 300 South Fourth Street, Minneapolis, MN 55415, and the clerk can be reached at 612-664-5000.

1. At a detention hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142), a federal judge makes the call on pretrial detention.
2. The U.S. Marshals Service holds federal prisoners before trial, usually in county jails under contract. Its Minnesota office is at 300 South 4th Street, Suite 402, Minneapolis, MN 55415, 612-664-5900; phone them to ask which jail.
3. Following sentencing, look up the prison placement on the Bureau of Prisons locator.

1. Federal immigration officers can send the jail Form I-247A. With that detainer, ICE requests that staff keep the person for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
2. On February 6, 2025, the Minnesota Attorney General's office issued a formal opinion. Its reading: under state law, once a person is due to walk out, an ICE detainer alone doesn't let the jail keep them.
3. When ICE does take someone, it may place them in a jail it uses nearby, like the Kandiyohi County Jail, 2201 23rd Street NE, Suite 101, Willmar, MN 56201, 320-214-6700.
4. Look the person up on the ICE Online Detainee Locator by A-number. No A-number? Search the name together with the birth country.
5. For questions, phone the ERO St. Paul Field Office at 612-843-8600. Its address is 1 Federal Drive, Suite 1601, Fort Snelling, MN 55111.

Felony prison time falls under the Minnesota Department of Corrections. Before that, they wait at the Litchfield jail. Deputies then make the drive to the state's intake unit, where the person is assessed and placed.

• Use the DOC Offender Locator to check status. Allow a few business days for a new person to be listed.
• Visit our Minnesota state prisons guide for each facility.
• Supervised release in the community, monitored by the DOC, normally covers the final third of the sentence.

Anyone below age 18 is legally a child here, per Minn. Stat. 260B.007, so the District Court's juvenile side takes the case. Officers usually hand a young person back to a parent or guardian. The exceptions are a youth who seems dangerous or who might skip court (Minn. Stat. 260B.176).

• Time in an adult jail is short for a youth. A jail outside a metropolitan area may keep a youth up to 24 hours. Inside one, the cap is 6 hours. Only a judge ruling on a filed petition can extend it (Minn. Stat. 260B.176, subd. 2).
• Keeping a youth in locked detention past 36 hours takes a petition on file plus a ruling from the bench. Weekend days and holidays are skipped when tallying the time.
• A 14- to 17-year-old accused of something grave can be certified to adult court. A judge may instead label it an extended jurisdiction juvenile (EJJ) matter.

Wondering where the youth was taken? Call county probation at 320-373-6961. Court administration can help as well: Courthouse, 325 North Sibley Avenue, Litchfield, MN 55355, 320-535-6015.

Check the "Held For" field on the roster for the agency's name. Law enforcement in the county:

• Sheriff's Office, 326 N Ramsey Avenue, Litchfield, MN 55355, 320-693-5400. Deputies handle calls wherever a town has no police force of its own.
• Sheriff's Watkins Station, 320-764-6792
• Sheriff's Grove City Station, 320-857-2656. The state's police phone list sends Grove City calls to the Sheriff.
• Litchfield Police Department, 320-693-5425
• Dassel Police Department, 320-275-2827
• Cosmos Police Department, 320-877-7345
• Eden Valley Police Department, 320-453-5452. The city sits partly in Stearns County.
• Minnesota State Patrol, headquarters at 445 Minnesota Street, Suite 130, St. Paul, MN 55101, 651-201-7100. The State Patrol contact page lets you pick the county to reach the district office.

Dial 911 for emergencies anywhere here.