Search Cottonwood County Jail Inmates

Cottonwood County Jail Overview

Cottonwood County Jail is operated by the Cottonwood County Sheriff's Office. Official county pages place the jail inside the sheriff's office and law-enforcement-center workflow at 902 5th Avenue in Windom. The sheriff's office page lists Sheriff Jason Purrington and Chief Deputy Tim Evers. The jail page lists Jail Administrator Jason Rupp, Jail Supervisor Daniel Quade, and Jail Program Coordinator Heather Janssen, all tied to the jail phone number.

The facility is a local adult detention facility, not a state prison. It is the first local custody point for Cottonwood County arrests and jail commitments. People sentenced to Minnesota prison custody leave the county roster path and move to the Minnesota Department of Corrections locator. Federal and immigration custody are also separate from this facility unless a person is temporarily held on a specific local or agency matter.

Cottonwood County Jail Capacity

The Minnesota DOC 2024 inspection report is the strongest public source for Cottonwood County Jail capacity. It identifies the facility as a jail governed by Minnesota Rule chapter 2911. The report lists 21 approved secure coed beds and an operational capacity of 16.8 beds at 80 percent. The authority-to-operate period runs from November 1, 2024 through October 31, 2026.

Lookup Cottonwood County Jail Inmates

The official Cottonwood County Jail Roster is the correct first source for current local jail custody. The roster page says information is generated at 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM Central Time. The accessible landing page did not expose a search form, so users may need to open the roster and use browser find. If a person is not listed, the next step is phone confirmation with the jail.

1. Open the Cottonwood County Jail Roster page and follow the current roster link.
2. Check the roster generation time before relying on a no-match result.
3. Use browser find for the person's last name if the roster opens as a static report.
4. Call 507-831-1375 if the arrest is recent, release timing matters, or identity is uncertain.
5. Search MNDOC for a sentenced state prisoner and MCRO for filed charges after arrest.

The roster does not cover every system. If a Cottonwood County case resulted in a prison sentence, use the MNDOC Public Viewer. If federal custody is involved, use BOP. If immigration custody is possible, use ICE ODLS.

Cottonwood County Jail Contact

The sheriff's page lists office hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, and notes that dispatch operates 24/7. The FAQ says jail visitors should enter the sheriff's office lobby and go to the front window for jail personnel. For record-release questions, the sheriff FAQ directs people to Pamela.Hogan@co.cottonwood.mn.us or the main phone number.

Cottonwood County Jail Visitation

Cottonwood County Jail offers free video visitation from a kiosk in the Law Enforcement Center during the official visiting windows. Visitors must sign up 24 hours in advance through Reliance. Visitors are limited to family members age 18 or older unless the inmate has requested two non-family visitors. Adult visitors must present valid government photo ID, and the jail page says work, school, and check-cashing IDs are not accepted.

Immediate family is defined on the jail page as mother, father, brother, sister, spouse, children, and grandparents. In-laws are not considered immediate family. Underage children of inmates may be allowed if accompanied by an adult on the visiting list and must provide a birth certificate. Visits are limited to 20 minutes per visitation day with any one visitor.

Cottonwood County Jail Mail

Mail must come through the United States Post Office and is subject to inspection by jail staff. The inmate mail format is the inmate's name, Cottonwood County Jail, 902 5th Avenue, Windom, MN 56101. Inmates may purchase stamps and envelopes through commissary, and the jail does not accept stamps or envelopes left by visitors. New books may be allowed by approval and must be donated to the library.

The jail page says staff do not share inmate account information with anyone other than the inmate. The jail page and FAQ list different inmate message numbers, so confirm the current message number through 507-831-1375.

Cottonwood County Jail Intake

Cottonwood County does not publish a full local booking manual. The best official intake detail comes from Minnesota Rule chapter 2911 and the 2024 inspection. A typical local custody path includes arrest, transport to the sheriff's office building, identity and warrant checks, property handling, medical screening, booking photo and fingerprinting if required, classification, housing, phone access, and roster posting at the next generated update.

The inspection report discusses required admission medical screening, including questions about current illness, medication, alcohol and drug use, mental-health treatment or suicide-attempt history, tuberculosis symptoms, dental emergencies, and observed injuries or behavior. The 2024 report found that Cottonwood's intake medical screening lacked some required drug and alcohol details and required an update.

Cottonwood County Jail Inspection

The 2024 Minnesota DOC inspection was conducted September 4, 2024 and issued September 25, 2024. Officials present included Assistant Jail Administrator Dan Quade, Jail Administrator Jason Rupp, Sheriff Jason Purrington, County Coordinator Kelly Thongvivong, and Regional Manager Dayna Burmeister. The facility remained on biennial inspection status.

The report found 97.62 percent mandatory-rule compliance and 98.97 percent essential-rule compliance. Mandatory noncompliance items involved well-being checks, weekly lock inspections, and weekly sanitation inspections. The essential item involved weekly fire-code and safety inspection documentation. Other concerns included formal counts, intake medical screening, prescription-medication accounting, pregnancy-restraint training, volunteer emergency-procedure review, and communication devices for volunteers inside the facility.

Cottonwood County Jail VINE

The jail page links Minnesota VINE / VINELink and says VINE can tell victims whether an offender is in the custody of the Minnesota DOC or a county jail. It can also provide custody information and automatic calls when an offender is released, transferred, or escapes. The toll-free number listed by Cottonwood County is 1-877-MN-4-VINE.

VINE is a notification aid, not the only source of protection or custody proof. For current release, transfer, bond, or court conditions, call the jail and check the court record. For sentenced prison custody, use MNDOC. For federal or immigration custody, use the separate federal or ICE locators.