Find Booking Releases in Yellow Medicine County

Yellow Medicine County booking releases are public records created each time someone is booked into the county jail. This page explains how to access arrest and custody data through the Yellow Medicine County Sheriff's Office and free state tools.

Yellow Medicine County Sheriff's Office

The Yellow Medicine County Sheriff's Office is the primary law enforcement agency for the county. It handles bookings for the county jail, which is located in Granite Falls. The sheriff's office serves a rural prairie county in southwestern Minnesota, covering agricultural land and small towns along the Minnesota River valley.

As a small county with under 10,000 residents, Yellow Medicine sees a relatively low volume of bookings compared to metro counties. The sheriff's office is the right place to call if you want to know whether a specific person is currently in custody. There is no online jail roster for this county.

Yellow Medicine County is in the 8th Judicial District. Court hearings for cases originating here are held in Granite Falls at the district court. The county attorney reviews charges and decides what to formally file. Once filed, cases show up in the state's court records system.

How to Find Yellow Medicine County Booking Releases

Yellow Medicine County does not maintain a public online jail roster. To look up who is in custody or find recent booking records, you have a few main options. Each works a little differently, and together they cover most situations.

VINE Inmate Locator

VINE (Victim Information and Notification Everyday) is the most direct tool for checking custody status at the Yellow Medicine County Jail. Search by name for free at any time. VINE is available at VINELink.com or by phone at 1-877-664-8463. The service runs 24/7 and covers all Minnesota county jails. You can also sign up for alerts if you want to know when someone's status changes.

VINE is managed at the state level, so it works the same way regardless of the county. If the person you're looking for has been moved to a different facility, VINE may still show their location.

BCA Criminal History Search

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension maintains a public criminal history database at chs.state.mn.us. This shows conviction records and court dispositions across the state. It won't tell you if someone is currently sitting in the Yellow Medicine County Jail, but it will show a history of past charges and outcomes.

Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO)

Once charges are filed in district court, the case is searchable through MCRO at mncourts.gov. You can find the case number, charges, and current status. This is a good way to follow up on what happened after a booking. MCRO covers cases statewide, so you don't need to know the specific court location to search.

Call the Sheriff's Office

For a direct answer, call (320) 564-2130. Staff can confirm current custody status and basic booking details. This is especially useful for small counties where the volume is low enough that staff can answer questions quickly.

What Booking Records Contain

A booking record is created the moment a person is processed at the county jail. It captures key facts about the arrest and the person in custody. Under Minnesota law, much of this information is public.

The public portion of a booking record typically includes the person's full name and date of birth, the date and time of booking, the name of the arresting agency or officer, and the charges listed at the time of booking. That last point matters. Charges at booking are preliminary. The county attorney can later file different charges, add counts, or drop the case entirely. What you see in the booking record is not necessarily what ends up in court.

Booking records also usually include a physical description, such as height, weight, and hair color. Mugshot photos may be part of the record. Bail or bond information is added once a judge sets it. If the person has been released, the release date and method (bond, own recognizance, transfer) may also be documented.

Information that is not public includes medical and mental health data, juvenile records, and data tied to active ongoing investigations. These categories are protected under specific provisions of Minnesota law and cannot be shared in response to a public records request.

Minnesota Law and Booking Records

The Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA) is the legal foundation for public access to booking records. Several statutes within the MGDPA are directly relevant to arrest and jail data.

Minnesota Statute 13.82 is the key law for law enforcement records. It says arrest data is public. That means the name of the person arrested, the time and date of arrest, the charges, and the arresting agency must all be disclosed. There is no room for a county to decide on its own to keep this information private. The statute is clear.

Minnesota Statute 13.85 covers data held by correctional facilities, including county jails. It lays out what is public and what is private within the jail context. Basic custody data falls on the public side. Internal discipline records, medical records, and similar information is private.

Minnesota Statute 641.05 gives counties the authority and responsibility to operate jail facilities. It sets minimum operational standards and places overall responsibility with the county sheriff. Yellow Medicine County's jail operates under this framework along with rules set by the Minnesota Department of Corrections for county jail oversight.

If you believe a records request has been wrongly denied, you can contact the Minnesota Department of Administration's Information Policy Analysis Division. They handle disputes about access to government data across the state.

Formal Records Requests

To get actual copies of booking records, you submit a written data request under the MGDPA. This is the formal process for getting documents rather than just checking custody status.

Address your request to the Yellow Medicine County Sheriff's Office at 415 9th Ave, Granite Falls, MN 56241. Be specific about what you want. Include the name of the subject, the approximate date of arrest, and what type of records you are seeking (booking sheet, arrest report, etc.). Vague requests can slow things down.

The agency must respond within a reasonable time. For basic booking data, that is often quick. If the request involves a larger set of records, more time may be needed. Copy fees are allowed, but the agency cannot charge you for staff time spent on the search unless the request is unusually large. Call (320) 564-2130 first if you have questions about the process before submitting anything in writing.

Yellow Medicine County Jail Operations

The Yellow Medicine County Jail is a small rural facility in Granite Falls. It holds people awaiting arraignment or trial, those serving short sentences for misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor convictions, and people held on warrant holds from other counties or states.

Given the small population of the county, booking volume is lower than in urban counties. Common offense types include traffic-related offenses such as DUI, drug possession, domestic assault, and property crimes. The jail may transfer inmates to nearby county facilities if capacity is an issue.

Visitation policies are set by the sheriff's office and can change. Call (320) 564-2130 for current visiting hours and rules before making the trip. Mail for inmates should be addressed to the jail at 415 9th Ave, Granite Falls, MN 56241.

Bond is set by the court. For lower-level charges, a bail schedule may allow release without a judge's hearing. For felony charges, a first appearance before a judge is required. Once bail is posted with the jail, release processing begins. The time it takes can vary depending on how busy the facility is at that moment.

Cities in Yellow Medicine County

Granite Falls is the county seat and largest city in Yellow Medicine County. Other communities include Canby, Clarkfield, and Hanley Falls. None of these cities reach the 100,000-population threshold for a dedicated page on this site.

Nearby Counties

Yellow Medicine County borders several counties in southwestern Minnesota.