Blue Earth County Criminal Records

Blue Earth County criminal records are maintained by the District Court and the Sheriff's Office in Mankato, the county seat of this south-central Minnesota county. With a population over 64,000, Blue Earth County is one of the more active counties in southern Minnesota for criminal court filings. Records include court case histories, jail roster data, active warrants, and arrest information. The county provides an online active warrant search, and the jail roster is available around the clock. This page explains how to access Blue Earth County criminal records through the court system, the BCA, and the Sheriff's Office.

Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office

Sheriff Brad Peterson leads the Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office at 401 Carver Rd., PO Box 228, Mankato, MN 56002-0228. The main phone is 507-304-4800, fax 507-304-4818. You can also email Sheriff Peterson at Brad.Peterson@blueearthcountymn.gov. Services include crime reports, active warrant searches, jail information, and fingerprinting. The County Administrator, Robert W. Meyer, is at 204 S. Fifth St., PO Box 8608, Mankato, MN 56001, phone 507-304-4235. The Sheriff's Office maintains an online active warrant search that lists full names, complaint details, warrant dates, offense levels, and allows tip submissions.

The Blue Earth County Jail is a medium security facility in the Justice Center at 401 Carver Rd., Mankato, MN 56001. The interim jail administrator is Joslyn Lachmiller, phone 507-304-4830, fax 507-304-4859. The lobby is open 24 hours a day. Administrative office hours are 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday. Remote visits are available daily from 7:00-9:30 am, 12:00-3:30 pm, and 6:00-9:30 pm. On-site visits vary by day: Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday evenings, and Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday afternoons. Remote visiting through Inmate Canteen costs $0.39 per minute, emails $0.25, and texts $0.13.

The jail roster shows full name, age, booking date and time, arresting agency, case number, charges, status, and projected release date. Under Minn. Stat. § 13.82, arrest data is public government data in Blue Earth County just as it is statewide.

The Blue Earth County warrant and inmate search resources at stearnscountymn.gov show how county-level inmate and warrant search portals work in the region.

How to Search Blue Earth County Criminal Records

Minnesota Court Records Online at publicaccess.courts.state.mn.us is free and gives you direct access to Blue Earth County court cases. Search by name or case number to see charges, hearings, and outcomes. Cases filed after July 1, 2015 are fully available online. Court-authored documents from July 2005 through June 2015 are also searchable. Blue Earth County is part of the 5th Judicial District, which covers south-central Minnesota. Use mncourts.gov/Find-Courts for court contact information and hours for the Blue Earth County Justice Center in Mankato.

For certified copies or records outside MCRO's scope, visit the Blue Earth County Justice Center in person. The Court Administrator handles those requests during business hours. The BCA at bca.dps.mn.gov offers a $8 statewide conviction check that includes any Blue Earth County convictions within the 15-year public window. Minn. Stat. § 13.87 governs what conviction data is public. The DOC Offender Locator at coms.doc.state.mn.us/PublicViewer shows people currently in state prison or on state supervision.

Note: Active Blue Earth County investigations are confidential while ongoing under state law. Once a case closes, the related data generally becomes public under the Government Data Practices Act.

Blue Earth County 5th District Court

Blue Earth County is part of the 5th Judicial District. The District Court handles all criminal cases filed in the county, from misdemeanor citations to felony prosecutions. MCRO gives you free online access to public documents and registers of action for cases after July 2015. The register of actions is the complete chronological record of every filing, hearing, and ruling in a case. This is often the most useful starting point when researching a specific criminal matter in Blue Earth County.

Documents downloaded from MCRO are PDFs and are unofficial. They do not carry court certification. For legal purposes requiring a certified copy, contact the Court Administrator at the Justice Center in Mankato. Restricted case types are not accessible through MCRO. Juvenile, domestic abuse, harassment, and sealed records remain closed to remote access regardless of when they were filed. The same restrictions apply to all 87 Minnesota counties.

Criminal Background Check for Blue Earth County

The BCA's Criminal History Search at bca.dps.mn.gov is the most efficient tool for a full Minnesota conviction check that includes Blue Earth County records. It costs $8 per name search. The BCA office is at 1430 Maryland Avenue East, St. Paul, MN 55106, phone 651-793-2400. The search returns felony, gross misdemeanor, and misdemeanor convictions statewide for the 15 years following sentence discharge under Minn. Stat. § 13.87. The BCA serves as the central repository under Minn. Stat. § 299C.46.

The BCA public search does not include arrests without convictions, juvenile records, federal charges, out-of-state records, or anything expunged or sealed. Subjects who believe BCA data about them is inaccurate can challenge it under Minn. Stat. § 13.04. The BCA is required to provide a free in-person inspection of your own public conviction data if you request it.

Expungement in Blue Earth County

Expungement petitions in Blue Earth County go through the 5th Judicial District Court in Mankato. Automatic expungement under Minn. Stat. § 609A.015 applies to cases that ended without a conviction. The BCA identifies and processes those records without requiring a petition. For convictions, you file a petition under Minn. Stat. § 609A.03 and serve it on all relevant agencies. The Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office and the BCA each have the right to respond before the judge decides.

If a Blue Earth County court grants expungement, the record is sealed from public databases. Law enforcement and prosecutors retain access. The record is not deleted. Cannabis offense expungement follows a separate process through the Cannabis Expungement Board created under Minn. Stat. § 609A.055 and 609A.06. For free help with expungement in Blue Earth County, LawHelpMN at lawhelpmn.org provides guides and resources for self-represented petitioners.

Sex Offender Registry in Blue Earth County

Minnesota's predatory offender registration system requires qualifying offenders in Blue Earth County to register through the Sheriff's Office under Minn. Stat. § 243.166. Those with qualifying convictions must provide their current address, vehicle information, phone numbers, and employment location. They verify in person annually during their birth month. Address changes require reporting within five days.

Risk levels under Minn. Stat. § 244.052 determine how much community notification occurs. Level III offenders in Blue Earth County are publicly listed and searchable through the DPS at dps.mn.gov. Level II offenders trigger notification to schools, daycares, and similar facilities. Level I offenders have their information kept within law enforcement. Risk levels are set by an end-of-confinement review committee 90 days before release. Failure to register as required is a felony under Minnesota law.

Cities in Blue Earth County

No major cities in Blue Earth County meet our population threshold for dedicated pages. Criminal records for all Blue Earth County residents are handled through the District Court in Mankato.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Blue Earth County. Cases near county lines may be filed in one of these neighboring court districts.