Pennington County Facility Overview
Pennington County Law Enforcement Center / Correctional Facility is operated by the Pennington County Sheriff's Office in Thief River Falls. It is outside Marshall County, but it belongs in a Marshall County custody search because Pennington County's own official source says it houses all female Marshall County inmates. That single detail changes the search path for many families. A woman arrested in Marshall County may not remain in the Warren jail long enough to be found there, even though the case began in Marshall County.
The facility is best described for this project as a regional jail serving Pennington County inmates and boarded inmates from nearby counties. The FY25 Minnesota DOC Performance Report listed Pennington County as a Class III jail with 92 approved beds and 43.00 average daily population. Pennington County's page also discusses boarding fees for other counties, which supports its role as a contract or regional holding option. For Marshall County readers, the key point is not the Pennington criminal case system. It is the official female-inmate fallback for Marshall County custody searches.
The image shown here comes from the official Pennington County sheriff source that discusses female Marshall County inmates and jail contacts.
That source is why the Pennington County facility receives its own Marshall County facility page even though it is not located in Marshall County.
Pennington County Jail Population
The FY25 MNDOC Performance Report gives the sourced capacity and cost context for Pennington County. It listed the Pennington County facility as a Class III jail with 92 approved capacity, 43.00 average daily population, and 90 percent operational capacity. The report also listed $2,255,222 in total expenditures, a $143.69 per diem based on average daily population, and a $67.16 per diem based on capacity. Those figures describe Pennington County as a larger regional jail setting than Marshall County's 90 Day Lockup.
| Measure | Figure | Source context |
|---|---|---|
| Facility class | Class III jail | FY25 MNDOC county jail per-diem table |
| Approved capacity | 92 beds | FY25 MNDOC report |
| Average daily population | 43.00 | FY25 MNDOC report |
| Operational capacity | 90 percent | FY25 MNDOC report |
| Per diem based on ADP | $143.69 | FY25 MNDOC report |
These Pennington County numbers should not be read as Marshall County's jail population. Marshall County's own FY25 ADP was not published in the same table because Marshall County was listed as temporarily closed. Pennington's figures help explain why it can serve as a regional boarding facility when Marshall County's smaller jail cannot hold a person locally.
Find Marshall Inmates in Pennington
The Pennington County lookup method is phone-led for Marshall County users. A separate Pennington public roster that reliably labels a person by Marshall County case origin was not located in the official source set. The official route is to call Pennington County Corrections when the person is female, when the Marshall County Sheriff says the person has been boarded, or when a name is missing from the Marshall roster after a recent arrest. Have the person's full name, date of birth if known, arrest date, and Marshall County connection ready.
- Check the Marshall County Sheriff roster first for current local custody.
- If the person is female or not listed, call Marshall County at 218-745-5411 and ask whether Pennington County is holding the person.
- Call Pennington County Corrections at 218-416-7097 with the name, birth date if known, and Marshall County arrest or case context.
- Use the MNDOC offender locator only after a state prison sentence or DOC supervision transfer.
- Use the BOP locator, ICE locator, or Minnesota VINE only when the custody type fits those systems.
The access channels must stay separate. Marshall County Jail and Pennington County Corrections are local jail channels. MNDOC is for sentenced state custody and DOC supervision. BOP is for federal prison records from 1982 to present. ICE is for immigration detention, with A-number or biographical search paths. VINE is a notification tool and should not be treated as a live jail roster.
Pennington Facility Contacts
Pennington County publishes several jail contacts. The corrections phone is the most useful number for a Marshall County female or boarded-inmate search. The main sheriff line may route general office questions. The inmate voicemail line is for messages, not a public-record lookup. Staff titles and direct numbers can help when a question involves jail administration rather than immediate custody confirmation.
Pennington County Law Enforcement Center / Correctional Facility
102 1st Street West, PO Box 484
Thief River Falls, MN 56701
218-416-7097 corrections; 218-681-6161 main
Call the corrections line for custody confirmation before traveling.
| Contact | Number | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Corrections phone | 218-416-7097 | Custody and jail questions |
| Main phone | 218-681-6161 | General sheriff office routing |
| Inmate voicemail | 218-416-1120 | Leave messages through the jail system |
| Jail Administrator | 218-416-7095 | Administrative questions where appropriate |
Pennington Facility Visits
A complete Pennington visitation schedule, visitor approval rule, dress code, mail rule sheet, or holiday schedule was not located in the official sources. Pennington County's own site does link Inmate Canteen and jail contact numbers. For a boarded Marshall County inmate, the visit rules come from the facility that physically holds the person. That means Pennington's jail rules control while the person is in Thief River Falls, even if the criminal case or arrest began in Marshall County.
| Topic | Published detail | Action |
|---|---|---|
| In-person visits | Full schedule not captured in research | Call 218-416-7097 before travel |
| Video visits | Inmate Canteen linked by Pennington | Confirm active account and schedule rules |
| Visitor ID | Not captured in research | Ask the jail what ID is required |
| Female Marshall County inmates | Pennington states it houses them | Confirm location before arranging a visit |
Do not drive from Marshall County to Thief River Falls based only on an old roster note. Call first. Transfers, court hearings, medical moves, release orders, discipline limits, and classification changes can all affect whether a visit can happen that day.
Pennington Jail Money
Pennington County's page links Inmate Canteen and lists an inmate voicemail line. It also describes boarding fees charged to other counties, which are not the same thing as a family deposit, commissary purchase, or visit fee. Do not confuse government boarding rates with a user's account cost. For personal deposits, mail, books, or video visits, confirm current instructions with Pennington County Corrections before sending funds or items.
| Item | Official detail found | Meaning for Marshall County users |
|---|---|---|
| Inmate Canteen | Listed in Pennington quick links | Likely vendor path for account services, subject to facility rules |
| Inmate voicemail | 218-416-1120 | Message line, not a custody records line |
| Other-county boarding | $65 per bed per day effective 2023 | County billing context, not a family deposit fee |
| High-risk boarding | $125 per bed per day effective 2023 | County billing context |
| Out-of-county Huber | $65 per day, meals $10, urinalysis $15 plus lab cost | Applies to the stated program context, not every inmate |
Mail caution is the same as with any jail. Do not send cash, stamps, personal checks, books, photos, packages, or money orders until the jail confirms the exact current rule. A boarded Marshall County inmate is subject to Pennington's security screening while housed there.
Pennington Facility Intake
A Marshall County case can reach Pennington County after local arrest, classification, or boarding decisions. The person may first be booked through Marshall County channels, then transferred for housing based on gender, facility limits, sentence length, safety, or bed availability. Pennington then becomes the physical holding jail, while the court case may still be in the county where the arrest or charge is filed. Custody location and case county can be different.
For court charges after a Marshall County arrest, use Minnesota Court Records Online and select Marshall County when the case is a Marshall County district court case. For custody and location, use the holding jail. For state prison after sentencing, use MNDOC. For a federal or immigration move, the county jail may know the transfer, but the long-term locator becomes BOP or ICE depending on the legal basis.
- Boarded inmate
- A person housed by one jail for another county or agency.
- Huber privileges
- A work-release type status referenced in Pennington's fee notes.
- DOC custody
- State corrections custody after commitment to the Minnesota Commissioner of Corrections.
- Detainer
- A notice or request from another agency seeking continued custody or transfer.
Pennington Facility Role
Pennington County's role in Marshall County inmate searches is unusually clear because the official Pennington source names Marshall County. It says many local counties house inmates at Pennington due to DOC restrictions, that Marshall County can hold male inmates up to 90 days, and that Pennington holds all female Marshall County inmates. Those facts make Pennington a required facility page for Marshall County even though the address is in Thief River Falls.
The facility also has recent public-history context from its justice center and corrections facility construction period in 2017 and 2018. For current custody work, though, the more important facts are its Class III status, 92-bed approved capacity, corrections phone line, and female Marshall County boarding role. If a name search fails in Warren, Pennington is not a guess. It is a documented fallback from official research.
Note: Confirm physical custody with Pennington County Corrections before visits, deposits, or records requests.