Lookup Steele County Detention Center Inmates

Steele County Detention Center Overview

The Steele County Detention Center is operated by the Steele County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Lon Thiele is the elected sheriff, and Anthony Buttera is listed as Jail Administrator. The facility is the county’s secure local adult detention facility for men and women who are booked after arrest, held before court, serving local sentences, approved for work release, held on warrants, or held for another county, state, or federal organization.

The current jail opened in October 2003 and is the fourth jail in county history. Earlier jail buildings were near West Main Street in Owatonna, while the present facility sits on the Alexander Street SW public-safety campus. The county’s building facts page lists a large secure jail area, typical 70-square-foot cells, 52 cameras, 367 doors, and 125 parking spaces. Those local details help distinguish the current Detention Center from the county’s older courthouse-area jail locations.

The public roster confirms the facility’s mixed custody role. Sample records included Owatonna Police bookings, Steele County Sheriff bookings, Minnesota DOC work-release holds, probation and parole violations, warrant arrests, new offenses, people under sentence, and holding-for-other-agency entries.

Steele County Detention Center Capacity

Capacity has two official numbers that should not be blended. The county Detention Center facts page lists 154 rated beds. The 2026 Minnesota DOC inspection report is more current for operational approval and lists 134 approved secure coed beds with 90 percent operating capacity, or 120.6 operational beds. The same inspection identifies the facility as a jail governed by Minnesota Rule chapter 2911.

The public roster inspected on June 18, 2026 listed 13 total records, but that is only a one-day snapshot. Facility population changes as arrests, releases, court appearances, work-release placements, and transfers occur.

Lookup Steele County Detention Center Inmates

The correct local lookup tool is the Steele County Sheriff’s Office Inmate Roster PDF. It is free and has no login, but it is a PDF list rather than a searchable jail database. It does not show mugshots, booking numbers, bond, housing unit, date of birth, or a profile page.

1. Open the roster PDF from the Detention Center page or use the direct roster link.
2. Use the browser or PDF viewer find command to search by last name.
3. Read the booked date, agency, hold reasons, and charges together.
4. Call the Detention Center if the person is not listed or release timing is unclear.
5. Use MNDOC, BOP, ICE ODLS, or MCRO when custody has moved outside the county jail.

For charges filed after booking, check Minnesota Court Records Online. Roster charges are booking or hold information, while MCRO reflects public court case records after filing.

Steele County Detention Center Contact

The Detention Center and Sheriff’s Office share the public-safety campus address. Office hours are listed as Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays. The facility operates 24 hours a day. The sheriff page also notes an exterior lobby with a phone that can connect visitors to personnel for routing.

Visit Steele County Detention Center

All regular inmate visiting at the jail is video visiting. There is no face-to-face contact visit process in the public rules. Visitors must create an InmateCanteen or TurnKey account, and account approval may take up to 24 hours. Lobby visits are free. Home video visits require a credit card and are charged by the minute.

Visitors may be denied or removed for drug or alcohol influence, cell phone use during visits, food or drinks in visiting areas, lack of child supervision, inappropriate conduct or attire, discipline sanctions on the detainee, or safety and security concerns. Professional visitors must call ahead for an appointment and bring identification.

Mail and Money at Steele County Detention Center

The jail publishes detailed mail, phone, messaging, and money rules. Address mail to the inmate’s name at the Detention Center address. Mail is sent and received Monday through Friday, and incoming mail is distributed Tuesday through Saturday. All mail is inspected. Legal mail is opened and inspected in the detainee’s presence.

Cash enclosed in approved mail is removed and placed into the inmate’s TurnKey account. Approved money orders must be issued by a post office or bank. Merchandise orders and deliveries are not accepted.

Steele County Booking and Release

Arresting agencies bring detainees to the Detention Center for intake. The public roster fields suggest an intake path that includes identity confirmation, search and property handling, booking entry, charge and hold-reason coding, screening, classification, housing, phone access, and later court or release processing. Hold reasons may include new offense, warrant arrest, probation or parole violation, under sentence, work release, or holding for another agency.

Steele County publishes local release-time guidance. Sentenced detainee releases usually occur between 0600 and 0800. Detainees arraigned on new charges usually release between 1430 and 1600. The county says those times can change due to emergencies, so the jail phone line is the practical confirmation channel.

Classification

Jail review that assigns housing and security needs after intake.

Detainer

A hold request or custody basis from another agency or jurisdiction.

Work release

A jail sentence or program that allows approved employment under jail rules.

Programs at Steele County Detention Center

The jail says it uses a program-based approach to reduce recidivism and return detainees to the community with stronger skills. Official program listings include Alcoholics Anonymous, Adult Basic Education, anger management, chaplaincy, chemical dependency, job skills, Narcotics Anonymous, parenting, library, recreation, inmate worker program, work release, and domestic abuse programming.

Work release has a separate county page. People granted work release as part of sentence are told to review the policy, contract, and work placement or search program materials. Additional program questions route to the programs department through the jail phone number.

The facility also publishes PREA materials. Reporting routes include Jail Administration, the jail administrator’s email, Crisis Resource Center of Owatonna, law enforcement, and the Steele County Attorney’s Office. PREA audits are posted for multiple years, and the facility is subject to recurring audit review.

Steele County Transfers and Holds

A person may leave the local roster because of release, court order, transfer to state prison, transfer to another county, federal custody, or immigration custody. Use the Steele County jail inmate records page for the full local roster process and fallback chain. Once a person is sentenced to DOC custody, the Minnesota Department of Corrections locator is the main tool, though new commitments can take several business days to appear.

Federal defendants may involve the U.S. Marshals District of Minnesota even if local jail custody appears for a time. Federal sentenced inmates are searched through the BOP locator. Immigration detainees are searched through ICE ODLS and the ICE detention-facility list. The county roster should not be treated as a federal or immigration locator.