This Is Not a Government or Law Enforcement Office. This is a private reference site. It cannot confirm whether a warrant exists, recall or clear one, post bond, arrange a surrender, or give legal advice. For any of those, reach the district court or the Sheriff's Office directly.
Need Official Warrant Information?
Here is where each kind of warrant question goes in Big Stone County:
- Whether a warrant exists: the district court holds the case record, and the Sheriff's Office answers questions about service and outstanding orders
- A warrant after a missed court date: the district court that set the case holds the file, and Court Administration can explain the event and the next date
- Resolving or clearing a warrant: a licensed Minnesota attorney and the issuing court handle a recall motion, a surrender, or a bond
- A traffic or city citation: the district court that holds the case answers, and the state Court Payment Center handles an eligible fine
- A federal matter: the District of Minnesota clerk and the U.S. Marshals handle federal records, and the county sheriff cannot clear a federal order
- A question about a sheriff's record: the county's data practices contact answers written requests for existing public data
Big Stone County Court Administration sits in the courthouse at 20 S.E. Second Street, Ortonville, MN 56278. The phone number is 320-849-7005 and the fax is 320-839-2537, with weekday hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The court administrator is Rachel Schmidt.
The Big Stone County Sheriff's Office is at 11 SE 2nd Street, Suite 101, Ortonville, MN 56278, and the general line is 320-839-3558. Weekday hours run 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and weekend hours run 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., though weekend hours can change. Written requests for existing public data follow the county's data practices policy under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, Minn. Stat. ch. 13. Because the state's 2024 regional jail study reports no county jail facility, ask the sheriff where a person would be received before anyone travels.
Money questions belong to a different office than case questions. A traffic or petty misdemeanor fine runs through the state Court Payment Center, which answers at 651-281-3219 in the Twin Cities metro and 800-657-3611 elsewhere, takes mail at PO Box 898, Willmar, MN 56201, and does not accept card payments by phone. Processing can take up to seven days. Paying a fine can enter a plea, and a receipt does not by itself recall an order, so confirm the case status with the court first.
A written records request needs three things: a statement that it is a request under Minn. Stat. ch. 13, a choice between inspection, copies, or both, and a clear description of the record you want. You do not have to explain why you want it. The sheriff's data practices contact listed in the county's 2023 policy is 320-839-5990, with a fax of 320-839-5980. Minn. Stat. § 13.82 keeps an unserved arrest-warrant index entry confidential until custody, service, or a court appearance, so a narrow request for a defined case record works better than a request for a list of names.
For anything outside the court and the sheriff, the county general line at 320-487-1200 can route a call. Policy and compliance questions go to the County Attorney's Office at 20 Second Street SE, Ortonville, 320-487-1206, fax 320-487-1209. That office is not a warrant-status line, and it does not set bond or recall an order.
Federal matters follow a separate path. The District of Minnesota clerk can be reached at 612-664-5000, and the western Minnesota courthouse in Fergus Falls is at 118 South Mill Street, with a phone number of 218-739-5758. A federal warrant can stay sealed until it is served, so a missing docket entry proves nothing either way.