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North Dakota will house state inmates at the Burleigh/Morton County Detention Center in Bismarck instead of Grand Forks to address prison overcrowding, per reporting by Jeff Beach from the North Dakota Monitor.
The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation agreed to a deal for 120 beds at $105 per day, or $4.6 million annually—below the jail’s typical $115 rate. The state guarantees payment for all beds even if not full. Combined with 96 beds from a temporary facility at Missouri River Correctional Center, the arrangement should satisfy short-term space needs.
Director Colby Braun says the beds will house minimum-security inmates with programming. The state provides case managers and treatment staff while Burleigh County Sheriff’s Office handles correctional officers. The jail area had been unused due to staffing challenges but recent hiring made the deal possible.
Grand Forks County backed away from a similar arrangement after county commissioners expressed concerns about inmates being released locally. The male inmate population has grown from 1,624 capacity in 2023 to 1,919 in September. The Heart River Correctional Center for women is expected to open in late 2027.
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