Stearns County Booking Reports
Stearns County Booking Reports are public records kept by the Stearns County Sheriff's Office in St. Cloud, Minnesota. The Sheriff's website offers four search categories covering current inmates, past inmates, outstanding warrants, and most wanted individuals, giving the public one of the more complete booking portals in central Minnesota. This page explains how to access the Stearns County inmate and warrant search, what data each record contains, and where to find related court and state records.
Stearns County Booking Reports
Stearns County Inmate and Warrant Search
The Stearns County Sheriff's Office runs a public inmate and warrant search at stearnscountymn.gov/561/Inmate-Warrant-Searches. The portal covers four categories. Current inmates are people held at the Stearns County jail right now. Past inmates are those who were booked and later released. Outstanding warrants are active warrants issued by a court. The Most Wanted section highlights individuals who have evaded arrest.
Each search returns standard booking fields including name, booking number, charges, and intake date. The warrant search is particularly useful because it covers warrants from other jurisdictions that Stearns County is holding. If you are trying to confirm whether someone has an active warrant, this portal is the first place to check.
The Sheriff's Office website is hosted at stearnscountymn.gov/191/Sheriffs-Office. That page links to the inmate search, news releases, and other public safety resources. The main site also has contact information for the jail and the Sheriff's administration office.
All four search categories draw from the same booking database. If a person was booked and released, they move from the current inmate view to the past inmate view. Warrant records are updated as warrants are issued or recalled by the court.
Sheriff's Office Contact and Address
| Address | 807 Courthouse Square, St. Cloud, MN 56303 |
|---|---|
| Jail Administrator | Mark Maslonkowski |
| Sheriff Website | stearnscountymn.gov |
| Inmate Search | Inmate & Warrant Searches |
| Judicial District | Seventh Judicial District |
| County Seat | St. Cloud |
For questions about a specific booking record, call the jail directly. Written public records requests should be mailed to the Sheriff's Office at 807 Courthouse Square, St. Cloud, MN 56303. The Jail Administrator is Mark Maslonkowski. The Sheriff's administration oversees both the patrol division and the jail facility.
How the Jail Works and What Triggers a Booking
The Stearns County jail serves several functions. When a deputy or officer makes an arrest, the person is transported to the jail and booked. That booking creates the record that appears in the public portal. The jail holds people who are waiting for a first appearance, those who cannot post bail, and those sentenced to serve time locally for misdemeanor or low-level felony offenses.
Sentences up to one year are served at the county jail rather than a state prison. The jail also holds people on parole or probation violations. Individuals with warrants from other jurisdictions may be held while those counties arrange transport.
One detail specific to Stearns County: people who serve "weekend sentences" do so by reporting to the jail on Friday evening and leaving Sunday afternoon. These weekenders do not receive a new booking number each time they come in. They stay on one booking record for the full sentence. This means a weekend server may appear as currently in custody on Saturday but not on Monday, which is normal. Their record does not indicate a new arrest.
Note: Weekenders serving a sentence over multiple weekends do not generate a new booking number on each visit, so a single booking record may span several weeks on the roster.
What Booking Records Include Under Minnesota Law
Minnesota law determines what jail data is public. Under Minn. Stat. ยง 13.82, arrest and booking data is classified as public. The Sheriff cannot refuse to release it. Public fields include the person's name, the charges, the booking and arrest dates, and the unit that made the arrest.
Some data is not public. Medical information is always private. Juvenile records are protected under a separate statute. If a case involves an undercover investigation, the agency may withhold identifying information about officers. These are narrow exceptions. For most adult arrests, the full booking record is available on request or through the online portal.
The statute does not require the county to build a searchable website. Stearns County does so voluntarily. Counties that do not offer an online portal must still provide the data in response to a written request. Stearns County's portal makes that step unnecessary for most common searches.
Court Records for Stearns County Cases
Stearns County is in the Seventh Judicial District. Court records from the district court in St. Cloud are available through Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO). MCRO is free to search. You can look up a case by name or by the case number shown in the booking record.
MCRO shows filed documents, hearing dates, and case status. It does not include the full text of every document, but it tells you what has been filed and when. To get certified copies or the full case file, you need to contact the Stearns County Court Administrator's office in St. Cloud. Fees apply for certified documents.
The booking record shows the initial charge. That charge may change after a hearing or plea negotiation. MCRO reflects any updates. If you want to know the final outcome of a case, court records are the right source since the booking portal does not show dispositions.
Statewide Minnesota Resources
The Stearns County portal covers the county jail. For records from other counties or from the state prison system, several tools are available at the state level.
The Minnesota BCA Criminal History Search pulls records from all 87 counties. A BCA search can confirm whether someone has a criminal history in Minnesota beyond what appears in the Stearns County jail roster. The BCA charges a fee for some searches.
The Minnesota Department of Corrections runs a separate Offender Locator. People serving state prison sentences do not appear on county jail rosters. If a Stearns County case led to a state prison sentence, that person will be in the DOC system. The locator is free to search by name.
VINE (Victim Information and Notification Everyday) sends automated alerts when an inmate's custody status changes. Register at vinelink.com or call 1-877-MN-4-VINE. The service is free and covers both county jails and state facilities in Minnesota.
Note: The DOC Offender Locator only covers people in state custody, not those held at county jails, so both the county portal and the DOC tool may be needed depending on the case.
Cities in Stearns County
Stearns County is one of the most populous counties in central Minnesota. St. Cloud is the county seat and the largest city. All bookings from St. Cloud arrests go through the Stearns County jail.
Other cities in Stearns County include Sauk Rapids, Sartell, Waite Park, and Cold Spring. These cities are served by local police departments that book at the Stearns County jail. They do not have separate city-level booking portals.
Nearby Counties
Stearns County borders several counties in central Minnesota. Each operates its own jail and booking portal.