Cass Co. Jail expansion is on the way

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – In a unanimous vote, Cass County Commissioners approve an expansion at the county jail to hold nearly 100 more inmates.

Sheriff Jesse Jahner says the architectural design will add one more pod to the jail to separate inmates based on behavioral and mental health needs. He says he’s been in talks with county commissioners for about two years about the expansion.

Jahner says the average length of stay has increased from 11 days to 19 and the jail is slowly reaching its 348-person capacity.

“Additional challenges that we’ve had for length of stays were longer, court cases seem to drag out a little bit longer, female population on the rise. Then, if we have a breakout of a future pandemic, just planning for all of those things. So, this is definitely needed at this time and we need it to maintain public safety in our community,” Jahner said.

Jahner says he’s unsure how much it will cost, but initial plans are to have the expansion finished sometime in 2025.