Sheriff: ‘Overwhelming’ Response to Jail, LEC Tours Led to Many Not Getting In

(KNSI) — The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office says due to extremely high public interest, they were overwhelmed by the number of people coming to tour the jail and law enforcement center over the weekend.

Sheriff Steve Soyka says he couldn’t believe how many people showed up on Saturday. “It got to be to the point where there was a line out the door at the sheriff’s office and over to the courthouse. And I think it’d be safe to assume there was a good 2,000 people that showed up throughout the course of the morning.”

He says only around 500 people got to tour both facilities before the time was up. Soyka says he knows many people left feeling disappointed. “Definitely got more people than we were probably anticipating or thinking. I know and the staff knows that there was people that came down and actually didn’t even get into the facility because of the amount of people that were down here. I apologize to people that came down and couldn’t get in.”

Soyka says they may look at doing the tours every year because of the overwhelming response.

The sheriff’s office took people on a walk-through of the LEC, which includes portions of the garage, interview rooms, jail, 9-1-1 Dispatch Center, shooting range and workout area. The public will also see the sheriff’s office drone, K9s, SWAT vehicles and squad cars up close. Kids will have a chance to get some free prizes and enjoy cookies and refreshments.

In March 2021, the Stearns County Board of Commissioners held a meeting to discuss renovating the law enforcement center and jail or building new facilities. County officials say the two buildings are nearly 30 years old, and their configuration has become obsolete. County officials also say they need more space in both buildings.

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