By Jo McMullen / KVSC reporter

Work and fact finding continue on future growth or changes to the Stearns County Jail.

In order to help guide any decisions about expanding the jail, the Stearns County Board of Commissioners has scheduled a meeting discussing the Jail Study. The county is concerned about running out of space and how the jail that was built in 1987 is outdated for today’s needs.

The jail is a medium/maximum security facility licensed by the State of Minnesota to house inmates for up to one year after final disposition. It houses inmates who are pending in the court process, who have been arrested but not yet convicted and sentenced. Most are housed full-time while some are Huber/Work Release inmates who are housed nights and weekends but allowed to work.

The jail currently has:

• 135 secure housing general population beds in 8 different housing units
• 22 holding cells
• 16 secure Huber or work release beds
• 8 segregation cells
• 2 medical cells

The meeting is Tuesday, March 14 at 11 a.m. in the Board Room of the Stearns County Service Center in Waite Park.