Cottonwood County Police Blotter

Cottonwood County is one of Minnesota's more transparent counties when it comes to police blotter and public safety records. The Sheriff publishes a Weekly Citizen Report, a public warrant list, and a jail roster PDF, all available online at no cost. This page covers how to find and use those resources, plus how to request full incident reports from the Sheriff's Office in Windom.

Cottonwood County Sheriff's Office

Sheriff Jason J. Purrington leads the Cottonwood County Sheriff's Office. The office is at 902 Fifth Avenue, Windom, MN 56101. Phone is 507-831-1375 and fax is 507-831-1957. The Sheriff's Office has 21 total staff, including the Sheriff, deputies, dispatchers, jailers, secretaries, and other support staff. The jail holds 21 beds, split between 10 work release and 11 non-work release spaces.

Dispatch receives 911 calls and dispatches emergency equipment for the county. For emergencies, call 911. For records questions, call the main line at 507-831-1375. All records operate under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act at Chapter 13.

Cottonwood County Police Blotter - Weekly Citizen Report

The Cottonwood County Sheriff's Office publishes a Weekly Citizen Report in PDF format. This is the county's main police blotter format and it gives the public a clear look at recent activity. The report covers call types and totals from the previous week. It is published through Windom Radio's website and is free to download.

The Weekly Citizen Report includes categories like animal bites, assaults, assists to other agencies, citizen complaints, civil process service, concern for welfare checks, traffic stops, warrant service, theft, and suspicious activity. Each category shows a count for the week. It does not always give names or specific addresses, but it tells you how busy the Sheriff's Office was and what kinds of calls came in. This is more than most rural counties publish on a regular basis.

Historical reports are archived on the Windom Radio website, so you can go back and look at prior weeks if you need to track trends or find a general timeframe for an incident. For the specific report with names and addresses, you need to make a formal request to the Sheriff's Office.

Cottonwood County Warrant List Online

The Cottonwood County Warrant List page is publicly accessible and updated by the Sheriff's Office. It shows active warrants by category, including felony, gross misdemeanor, and misdemeanor.

The warrant list includes the person's name, date of birth, charge level, and description of the offense. Categories on the list include FEL (felony), GMD (gross misdemeanor), and MSD (misdemeanor). Common warrant types include FTA DWI, drug possession, domestic assault, theft, and burglary. This is free to view and no registration is needed.

Cottonwood County Jail Roster and Arrest Records

The jail roster is available as a PDF through the county website. It shows current inmates at the Cottonwood County jail. Each entry includes the inmate's name, charges with statute citations, the agency holding them, booking date, projected release date, and bail amount. This is public data under Minn. Stat. § 13.82.

The jail at 902 Fifth Avenue in Windom holds up to 21 people. Work release inmates make up part of that count. For custody status questions or to check if someone has been booked, call the main line at 507-831-1375. VineLink at vinelink.com also tracks custody changes for inmates in Minnesota jails and lets you sign up for notifications. It is a free service and works for Cottonwood County.

For criminal history records that go beyond the county level, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension at dps.mn.gov/divisions/bca has statewide records. BCA records cover arrests and court dispositions across all Minnesota counties, not just Cottonwood.

Local Police Departments in Cottonwood County

Two city police departments serve communities in Cottonwood County. Mountain Lake Police is at 930 3rd Avenue, Drawer C, Mountain Lake, MN 56159. Their phone is 507-427-3403. Windom Police is at 444 9th Street, PO Box 38, Windom, MN 56101, with a phone of 507-831-6134.

For incidents within either of those cities, go to the city police department for records, not the Sheriff. The city departments keep their own reports. If an incident happened on a county road or in a rural part of the county, the Sheriff's Office is the right place to call. Not sure which agency handled it? The county dispatch at 507-831-1375 can usually confirm which officer or department was sent.

How to Request Cottonwood County Blotter Records

Start with what is already online. The weekly reports, warrant list, and jail roster are all free. If you need more detail, contact the Sheriff's Office at 507-831-1375 or stop by 902 Fifth Avenue in Windom. A written request is best for formal records. Include the date, names, and type of record you need. Under Minn. Stat. § 13.03, you can inspect public data at no cost. Copies are charged at standard state rates, typically up to $0.25 per page.

Reports with active investigations or pending charges are withheld until those cases are resolved. Once resolved, most of the record becomes available. The county attorney's office handles cases in the court system. If a report is tied to a pending prosecution, they can tell you when data might become available. For court records on Cottonwood County cases, use mncourts.gov.

Cities in Cottonwood County

Cottonwood County includes Windom, Mountain Lake, Storden, Jeffers, and several other small communities. None of the cities in Cottonwood County meet the population threshold for individual city pages on this site. Windom is the county seat and largest city. Mountain Lake and Windom both have city police departments that maintain their own records.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Cottonwood County in southwestern Minnesota. Jurisdiction follows county lines, so use the incident location to find the right agency.