The Nobles County Inmate Population
The local Nobles County inmate population is centered at the Nobles County Jail in the Prairie Justice Center. The jail is operated by the Nobles County Sheriff's Office and receives people arrested by the sheriff, Worthington Police Department, nearby county agencies, and other authorities when the custody is routed through Nobles County. The roster reviewed in the research showed status terms such as probable cause arrest, unsentenced, sentenced, warrant arrest, holding for another agency, and fugitive from justice. Those terms are useful because the public roster does not publish a separate status field.
No separate Nobles County work-release center, city jail, state prison, BOP prison, or ICE detention center was found in official sources. That makes routing clearer. A person booked after a local arrest belongs in the county jail listing while still held locally. A person sentenced to a Minnesota prison belongs in the Minnesota Department of Corrections Locator. Federal inmates are checked through the BOP Inmate Locator, and immigration detention is checked through the ICE Online Detainee Locator System.
Nobles County Inmate Population Statistics
The strongest official population sources are the Minnesota DOC jail inspection and the live county roster. The 2019 Minnesota DOC inspection report approved 88 secure coed beds and calculated 79.20 operational capacity at 90 percent of that number. The official embedded roster inspected on June 18, 2026 showed 44 current entries. That count is a point-in-time roster total, not an annual average daily population.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Approved secure coed capacity | 88 beds | Minnesota DOC Nobles County Jail inspection, 2019 |
| Operational capacity | 79.20 | Minnesota DOC inspection, 2019 |
| Current online roster count | 44 people | Official embedded Nobles roster, inspected June 18, 2026 |
| State prison in county population | None found | MNDOC facilities list, 2026 |
Nobles County Inmate Population Trends
The available trend record is limited but still useful. The 2019 DOC inspection said the jail had averaged daily population well over 60 for the prior two years. That level mattered because Minnesota jail rules triggered staffing-plan and assistant jail administrator requirements. The later roster count from June 18, 2026 was below the approved capacity and operational capacity, but it should not be treated as proof that the jail was generally under capacity in 2026. It was only one online roster snapshot.
| Year / Date | Population Figure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2017-2019 inspection lookback | ADP well over 60 | DOC inspection described a two-year average above 60. |
| 2019 approved capacity | 88 approved beds / 79.20 operational | DOC inspection capacity table. |
| June 18, 2026 | 44 current roster entries | Official roster point-in-time count. |
| 2020-2025 | Not located | No official annual jail-population report was found. |
Who Appears in Nobles County Jail Records
The county roster does not publish race, ethnicity, sex, age, date of birth, citizenship, housing unit, or a full pretrial-versus-sentenced person count. It does publish charge rows and charge type labels. The June 18, 2026 roster review counted 67 felony charge rows, 30 gross misdemeanor rows, 14 misdemeanor rows, and 29 unknown rows. These are charge rows, not unique people. One person may have more than one charge, and the Type column can be unknown even when the description names an offense.
- Local arrestees: people booked after Nobles County arrests can appear while held before court or release.
- Warrant arrests: the roster can list warrant-related custody in the charge description.
- Sentenced local inmates: some local sentences remain in the county jail.
- Outside agency holds: the roster may show Pipestone, Rock, or other agency references.
The agency column showed Nobles County Sheriff's Office, Worthington Police Department, Pipestone County Sheriff's Office, Rock County Sheriff's Office, and other holding language in the inspected roster. That local mix is why a Nobles County inmate population search may include more than arrests made by Nobles County deputies.
Nobles County Jail Capacity
The 2019 DOC inspection is the main official capacity source. It described the Nobles County Jail as a secure coed local adult detention facility governed by Minnesota Rules chapter 2911. The report found substantial compliance overall, but it also documented staffing, well-being check, medication storage, building condition, moisture, mold, rust, paint, graffiti, and security electronics concerns. Those findings do not create a current overcrowding figure. They do show why capacity and condition records should be read together, not as separate topics.
Capacity note: The 44-person roster count from June 18, 2026 was a current list snapshot, not a current average daily population.
Laws Governing Nobles Jail Data
Minnesota public-record and jail-standard rules explain why some Nobles County inmate population data is public while other details are limited. The jail roster shows names, photos, booking dates, agencies, charge types, and descriptions, but it does not show medical data, housing assignments, account balances, or full identifiers. For records not online, the Nobles County Data Practices Request Form is the local route for existing public data.
Key Statutes:
Minn. Stat. section 13.03 sets the general rule that government data are public unless a law makes them not public.
Minn. Stat. section 13.82 governs law-enforcement data and treats booking photographs as public unless temporary withholding is allowed.
Minn. Stat. section 13.85 covers corrections and detention data created because of lawful confinement.
Minnesota Rules chapter 2911 sets minimum standards for local adult detention facilities.
Search the Nobles County Inmate Population
The official current custody path starts at the Nobles County inmate listing page, which embeds the working FTP roster. The embedded roster is not a database search form. It is a static HTML current list. Use the browser Find command for a last name, and open the embedded inmate listing directly if the frame is hard to read.
The manifest image below comes from the official embedded roster source. The screenshot shows why the Nobles County jail roster is best understood as a current list with photos and charge tables, not a full inmate profile portal.
Open the official embedded Nobles roster to compare the roster layout with the search steps.
The roster image matches the research finding: one photo, a name, booking date, agency, type, and description are visible, while bond, housing, and birth date are not shown.
- Open the county inmate listing page or the embedded FTP roster.
- Use browser Find for the person's last name because there is no roster search box.
- Read the booking date, agency, charge type, and description for status clues.
- Call the jail at (507) 295-5290 if the name is missing or release information is unclear.
- Check MCRO, MNDOC, BOP, or ICE when custody may have moved outside the county jail.
Nobles County Current Inmate Lookup
The roster has no visible Search, Submit, Reset, Advanced Search, Clear, tab, dropdown, pagination, export, login, or registration controls. That is a page-specific detail users need before they start. The county website has a general site search, but it is not a roster search. If the inmate is newly booked, missing, released, transferred, or held under another name, the access channel shifts to phone, records request, court search, or a state or federal locator.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search field | None | n/a | The roster is a static embedded current list. |
| Inmate photo | Image | n/a | One front-facing booking photo appears for each listed person. |
| Name | Displayed text | n/a | Last name first, with first and middle name or suffix where available. |
| Booking date | Displayed text | n/a | Date only, in M/D/YYYY format. |
| Charges | Table rows | n/a | Agency, type, and description are shown for each row. |
Nobles County Past Inmate Records
The public roster is a current listing and does not state a released-inmate retention period. For a past booking, use the Nobles County Data Practices Request Form and describe the record sought, the person's name, the approximate booking date, and the agency if known. The county form allows copy or in-person review. In-person inspection has no charge, while 100 or fewer black-and-white letter or legal pages cost 25 cents per page. Larger requests and other formats may be billed at actual cost.
Court records are a separate path. Use Minnesota Court Records Online for filed cases after an arrest. Use the Minnesota Public Criminal History Search for public BCA conviction history, with the state limits on what appears. The jail roster, MCRO, and BCA search do not answer the same question.
What Nobles County Inmate Records Show
Nobles County inmate records on the public roster are lean. The charge description is often the richest field because it combines custody posture and offense wording. It may say probable cause arrest, unsentenced, sentenced, warrant arrest, holding for another agency, or fugitive from justice from another state. Statute numbers, bond, booking number, court date, housing, physical description, and release date were not visible in the inspected roster.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Booking photo | Current roster image for the listed person. |
| Name | Last, first, middle or suffix format. |
| Booking date | Date booked into the jail. |
| Agency | Arresting, filing, or holding agency listed for the charge row. |
| Type | Felony, gross misdemeanor, misdemeanor, or unknown. |
| Description | Custody posture plus offense wording, without a statute number observed. |
Nobles County Jail vs State Prison
Current Nobles County jail custody and sentenced Minnesota prison custody must be searched in different systems. The county roster covers people held at the local jail. The MNDOC Locator covers adults committed to the Commissioner of Corrections who remain under DOC jurisdiction, including some people released from prison but still on supervision. New prison commitments may take several business days to appear.
| Question | Nobles County Jail | Minnesota DOC |
|---|---|---|
| Who is held | Pretrial detainees, local sentences, warrants, and agency holds | Sentenced state-prison prisoners and supervised release cases |
| Run by | Nobles County Sheriff's Office | Minnesota Department of Corrections |
| Where to look | County inmate listing | MNDOC Locator |
| Best for | Current local custody after arrest | Post-sentence prison custody |
State and Federal Inmate Search
The state and federal tools fill the gaps after a person leaves the county jail path. The MNDOC Locator searches adults under state DOC jurisdiction. The BOP locator searches federal inmates from 1982 to the present and warns that release dates can change. ICE's locator searches immigration detention by A-number and country of birth or by name, country of birth, and date of birth. The VINELink portal and 877-MN4-VINE can be used for custody-status notification when available.
The Minnesota DOC Locator screenshot in the project manifest shows the statewide search screen used for sentenced prisoners, not Nobles County pretrial jail custody.
Use that locator only after the custody question has moved from a county jail booking to a state corrections commitment or supervision record.
Nobles County Detention Facility
Nobles County has one confirmed local adult detention facility in the research file. It serves the local jail population for arrests, warrants, short local sentences, and holds routed through the county. No state prison, federal prison, ICE detention center, separate work-release annex, or city jail in the county was found in official sources.
- Nobles County Jail holds adult pretrial detainees, unsentenced defendants, sentenced local inmates, warrant arrests, and other agency holds.
Nobles County Inmate Population FAQ
How big is the Nobles County inmate population?
The researched snapshot showed 44 current roster entries on June 18, 2026. The 2019 DOC inspection approved 88 secure coed beds and noted an average daily population well over 60 for the prior two years. No current official ADP dashboard was found.
Can released inmates be searched online?
The Nobles roster is a current listing and does not state a released-inmate retention period. For older booking data, use the county data-practices request process, then check MCRO for filed criminal cases.
Does Nobles County have a sheriff app?
No official Nobles County Sheriff mobile app was found. Reliance Connect, VINE, and Regroup are service apps or notification tools, not an app-only jail roster.
Where are Nobles County court charges searched?
Filed criminal cases are searched through MCRO and Nobles County District Court. The jail roster shows booking-level charge text, which can differ from what prosecutors later file in court.