Beltrami County commissioners approve design for new jail
Beltrami County has locked in a 243-bed jail design after years of crowding and off-site housing that costs about $1.3 million.
Beltrami County commissioners have settled on a 243-bed, class III design for the new jail, moving the project from planning toward construction. The decision comes after years of strain at the current jail, which opened in 1989 with room for 81 inmates, was pushed to 106 in 2001 through double-bunking, and then had space for another 60 minimum-security inmates added in a 2004 remodel before capacity was cut back to 80 in 2023.
That reduction followed Minnesota Department of Corrections rules, a rise in violent offenders and staffing problems, and it left the county paying about $1.3 million to house inmates in other jails. The new building would bring those detainees back under one roof while giving the sheriff’s office a layout built for modern supervision, intake, medical care, programming and secure movement through the building.
The proposed jail includes public, staff and program areas, work release space, arresting functions and separate secure circulation routes, all of which affect how many employees are needed and how safely they can move people through the facility around the clock.
On Jan. 16, 2024, commissioners were told schematic design was finished at the end of December and included 78 plan sheets and a 194-page design report. The board approved the architect contract on May 21, 2024, and the replacement project moved into its next phase and remained on schedule.
The new jail is being built on 9.2 acres at 815 Pioneer Street SE in Bemidji, with access to Railroad Street SE and General Industrial zoning. County maps show water and sewer utilities are available in the street, and the site was chosen after the county backed away from an earlier southwest Bemidji property offer in July 2023. A ceremonial groundbreaking was held Sept. 25, 2024.
The jail replacement dates to a 2017 National Institute of Corrections assessment by Joseph Fenton and Mark Goldman. County survey materials also asked residents whether inmates should be housed locally.
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