Steele County Police Blotter
The Steele County Sheriff's Office in Owatonna maintains the police blotter and public safety records for the county, covering patrol activity, incident reports, warrant data, and inmate information under Minnesota's Government Data Practices Act. Whether you need to check a warrant, review a recent incident, or request a copy of a report, this page explains what records are available and how to get them.
Steele County Sheriff's Office Contact and Hours
The Steele County Sheriff's Office is located at 2500 Alexander St. SW, Owatonna, MN 55060. Sheriff Lon Thiele leads the office. The main line is 507-444-3800. For non-emergency dispatch, call 507-451-8232. The office fax is 507-444-3894. The exterior lobby is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with a phone inside that connects directly to on-duty staff. If you have information to share and want to stay anonymous, the confidential tip line is 1-866-878-7964. To verify whether someone is in custody at the Detention Center, call 507-446-7000.
The office's mission centers on protecting and serving county residents while supporting their quality of life. Its stated core values are fairness, integrity, and honesty. These principles shape how staff handle records requests, public inquiries, and day-to-day law enforcement work in the county.
What the Police Blotter Covers
The Steele County police blotter is a running log of law enforcement activity. It captures calls for service, arrests, traffic stops that result in citations or charges, and reports of property crimes, assaults, thefts, and other incidents. Each entry generally includes the date, time, general location, type of incident, and the outcome. Not every call generates a formal record. Low-level assists, welfare checks, and informational contacts may not appear in the blotter at all.
Under Minn. Stat. § 13.82, law enforcement agencies in Minnesota must make certain categories of data publicly available. These include the time and date of calls, the nature of each incident, the names of people arrested, and the charges brought against them. This statute forms the legal backbone of what gets published in the police blotter. Agencies can't decide on their own to keep these records secret. The law requires disclosure unless a specific exemption applies.
Sheriff's Office Website and Public Records Tools
The Steele County Sheriff's Office posts several public records tools on its website. You can find the warrant database, media releases, and general department information through the main page.
Visit the Steele County Sheriff's Office main page for access to warrant data, media releases, and contact details.
The sheriff's main page links to the warrant database, recent media releases, inmate roster, and other resources that make up the county's public-facing police blotter information.
Warrant Database
The Sheriff's Office maintains an active warrant database updated Monday through Friday at 9 AM. The list reflects outstanding warrants tied to Steele County cases. Results are only as current as the last update, so same-day changes may not appear right away. Anyone using the list should confirm warrant status with the issuing agency before acting on that information. Warrants can be recalled or modified, and the online record may not capture the most recent change.
For warrants from neighboring counties, you would need to contact those jurisdictions directly. The Steele County list covers county-issued warrants only. City and district court warrants may be tracked separately depending on how the issuing court reports them to the Sheriff's Office.
View the Steele County warrant database for the current list of active warrants, updated each weekday.
The warrant list is a key part of the county's police blotter system. It gives residents and attorneys a way to check outstanding warrants without having to call the office directly.
How to Request a Police Blotter Record or Incident Report
To get a specific incident report or police blotter entry, contact the Steele County Sheriff's Office at 507-444-3800 during business hours. For records from the Owatonna Police Department, the records line is 507-774-7200, open Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 4:30 PM. When you call, have the date of the incident, the general location, and any case number you already have. Specific details help staff locate the record faster.
Requests for public data under Minn. Stat. § 13.82 are handled promptly in most cases. When a request involves data that may be private or confidential, the agency must review it under the broader framework of Minn. Stat. § 13.03 before deciding what to release. Active investigative data is classified as confidential while a case is open. Once a case closes or charges are filed, more of the record typically becomes accessible. If you are denied access to a record you believe is public, you can ask for a written explanation and challenge the decision through the state's Department of Administration.
Media Releases and Body Camera Records
The Sheriff's Office publishes media releases at https://www.steelecountymn.gov/sheriff/media_releases.php. These cover significant incidents, arrests, and public safety notices. Media releases provide a narrative that goes beyond what the raw blotter data shows. They give context to major events and are often the fastest way to learn about something that happened in the county.
Body camera footage is handled separately under Minn. Stat. § 13.825. This statute sets specific rules for who can view footage, under what conditions, and how long agencies must keep it. Body camera recordings are not part of the standard police blotter, and requests for that footage go through a different process than requests for written reports or incident logs.
Inmate and Detention Information
The Steele County Sheriff's Office publishes an inmate roster as a PDF on the county website. The roster lists individuals currently held at the Detention Center. For real-time status on a specific person, call 507-446-7000. Basic custody data, including who is detained, on what charges, and since when, is public under Minnesota law. Medical, mental health, and active investigative data tied to a person in custody may be withheld.
Nearby Counties
If an incident crossed into a neighboring jurisdiction, or you need records from a county that borders Steele, the counties below handle their own records and warrant data.
Search Steele County Police Blotter Records
Use the tool below to look up Steele County police blotter entries and incident data. For records not returned here, call the Sheriff's Office at 507-444-3800 or visit 2500 Alexander St. SW, Owatonna, MN 55060.