Yellow Medicine County Police Blotter Access

The Yellow Medicine County Sheriff's Office in Granite Falls maintains police blotter records across 758 square miles of southwest Minnesota, including arrest logs, inmate booking data, and incident reports that are public under Minnesota data practices law. The Sheriff's Office contracts with the City of Clarkfield for law enforcement services and coordinates with police departments in Canby, Granite Falls, and the Upper Sioux Community, making it the central hub for county-wide law enforcement data in Yellow Medicine County.

Yellow Medicine County Sheriff's Office

The Sheriff's Office is at 415 9th Avenue, Suite 103, Granite Falls, MN 56241. The main number is (320) 564-2130. Fax is (320) 313-3087. The jail line is (320) 564-5901. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, closed on observed holidays. Sheriff Bill Flaten leads the office and can be reached directly at Bill.Flaten@co.ym.mn.gov. Chief Deputy Travis W. Peterson handles daily operations and is available at (320) 313-3094 or Travis.Peterson@co.ym.mn.gov.

The department is staffed with 10 full-time sworn officers, 2 part-time deputies, 14 full-time corrections staff, and 1 full-time office associate. The office covers all 21 townships within the county's 758 square miles. Investigator Casey Namken handles follow-up investigations and can be reached at (320) 313-3093 or Casey.Namken@co.ym.mn.gov. For administrative matters, contact Ali Mensink, the administrative assistant, at (320) 564-5902.

How to Request Police Blotter Records

Yellow Medicine County does not have an online public records portal. To request police blotter records, contact the Sheriff's Office directly. You can email Sheriff Flaten at Bill.Flaten@co.ym.mn.gov or call (320) 564-2130 during office hours, Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Mail requests can be sent to 415 9th Avenue, Suite 103, Granite Falls, MN 56241. In-person requests are also accepted during office hours.

Under Minn. Stat. § 13.82, the Sheriff's Office must release defined categories of law enforcement data. Public records include the name and date of birth of any person arrested, the charges, the date and time of the arrest, the location, and the name of the arresting agency. This data is public from the moment of arrest, no matter what the outcome of the case turns out to be. Arrests that are later dismissed or reduced are still part of the public blotter record.

Minnesota's data practices framework under Minn. Stat. § 13.03 requires agencies to respond to requests promptly. If the office declines any part of a request, they must tell you the specific law that allows them to withhold the data. Most arrest and incident data is public by default, so refusals on standard blotter data are rare. If you run into an issue, citing § 13.82 in your request often helps clarify what you're entitled to receive.

Inmate Roster and Custody Status

Yellow Medicine County publishes an inmate roster through a third-party service. You can view current inmates, including names, booking numbers, photos, intake dates, listed charges, and bail bond information, at jailrosters.org/mn/Yellow Medicine. This roster is updated as new bookings come in and as inmates are released or transferred. It's a useful starting point if you want to check custody status without calling the jail directly.

For direct jail inquiries, call the jail line at (320) 564-5901. Jail Administrator Kathy Busack handles jail operations and can be reached at (320) 313-3049 or Kathy.Busack@co.ym.mn.gov. The VINELink system is also available for name and offender ID searches across Minnesota county jails, including Yellow Medicine County. VINELink allows you to set up notifications for custody status changes if you're tracking a specific case.

The Yellow Medicine County Sheriff's Office and county government portal are the primary access points for law enforcement records, department contacts, and public data in the county.

The county portal at co.ym.mn.gov provides department contact information, links to county services, and general information about how county government operates in Yellow Medicine County.

Death Investigations

Like many rural Minnesota counties, Yellow Medicine County assigns death investigation duties to the Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Flaten serves as the county coroner, which means all unattended deaths, suspicious deaths, and accident fatalities in the county are investigated by the Sheriff's Office. This is a significant responsibility that goes beyond typical law enforcement duties. Death investigation reports can become part of the public record depending on the nature and outcome of the investigation, though some details may remain private under state law.

What Minn. Stat. § 13.82 Covers

This statute is the legal basis for public police blotter records in Minnesota. It requires law enforcement agencies to release certain data as a matter of public right, not discretion. The statute covers calls for service (time, date, location, type of call), all arrest records, and citations issued for violations. It also covers data about property taken into evidence in some circumstances. The agency cannot hold back this data simply because the case is pending or because releasing it might be inconvenient.

Active investigative data is a separate category. While a case is open, the agency can protect investigative details that would compromise the investigation if released. Once a case is closed, more of that data becomes public. Victim identities in sensitive crime types (domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking) remain protected indefinitely. Juvenile records have additional protections. But the basic blotter data, including who was arrested and for what, is always public.

Minnesota's § 13.82 ensures that police blotter records remain open to the public, a key part of how residents can track law enforcement activity in their communities.

The full text of § 13.82 is available at the Minnesota Legislature's official statute database, maintained by the Office of the Revisor of Statutes.

Jurisdiction and Contract Services

The Yellow Medicine County Sheriff's Office provides law enforcement to all 21 townships in the county. It also contracts with the City of Clarkfield to provide municipal police services. Other law enforcement agencies operating in the county include the Canby Police Department, the Granite Falls Police Department, and the Upper Sioux Community's tribal law enforcement. For incidents within those jurisdictions, you would contact the relevant department directly. For county-level data or incidents in unincorporated areas, the Sheriff's Office is the right contact.

The Sheriff's website is at ymcsheriff.com. This is a dedicated site separate from the county portal, with information about department services, contact details, and public resources. The broader county portal is at co.ym.mn.gov and covers all county departments.

Nearby Counties

Yellow Medicine County sits in the far southwest corner of the state. If you need police blotter records from a neighboring area, each of these counties operates under the same state data practices law:

• Lac qui Parle County - north, county seat in Madison
• Swift County - northeast, county seat in Benson
• Chippewa County - east, county seat in Montevideo
• Redwood County - south, county seat in Redwood Falls
• Lyon County - southeast, county seat in Marshall

Court Records

Yellow Medicine County criminal court cases go through the Eighth Judicial District. Court filings, hearing dates, case outcomes, and sentencing records are separate from police blotter data but often relate to the same incidents. Search Yellow Medicine County cases at mncourts.gov using the public case search tool. Case numbers on arrest records can be used to find the corresponding court file. Court records become public when charges are filed and remain accessible through the court system, providing a complete picture from arrest through final resolution.