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Sheriff’s office reports steady jail population, rising incident reports and strong rental-bed revenue
Summary
Sheriff Mike Milstead and command staff briefed the commission on jail operations, steady local inmate numbers, growth in out-of-county housing and $5.385 million rental revenue for 2024; they also highlighted increases in documented incidents and assaults on staff.
Sheriff Mike Milstead and senior staff briefed Minnehaha County commissioners April 1 on the sheriff’s office operations, jail population and programs that monitor people in the community rather than in custody.
Milstead said Minnehaha County inmate numbers remain near year-ago levels, though the jail is housing more people held for Lincoln County, the U.S. Marshals Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He credited community programs such as a pretrial services monitoring arrangement and a “20/4/7” program for helping keep more people supervised outside custody.
Captain Adam Zyshka reported patrol staffing is currently adequate with a few vacancies, identified equipment and vehicle costs as rising, and highlighted technology upgrades including a Motorola antenna project that should improve first-responder communications. Zyshka also described expanded community engagement: deputies participated in 64 unique community events last year, up about 10 from prior years.
Chief Deputy Jeff Gromer summarized jail operations: the jail averages roughly 500 inmates daily, with an increase in documented incidents — about 27 incidents per day and inmate-on-inmate assaults rising from 122 in 2023 to 130 in 2024. Assaults on staff increased from 16 in 2022 to 28 in 2024. The jail booked 15,594 people in 2024, up from 15,150 the prior year. Gromer said rental revenue from housing out-of-county inmates totaled about $5,385,000 in 2024, roughly $2 million above projection.
Gromer said the county had planned staff expansion tied to opening two additional jail floors but expects to delay hiring another year because local inmate numbers have not increased as projected. He also noted medical and substance-use treatment demands are high in the jail population, increasing costs and workload.
Commissioners asked about partnerships with state law enforcement, EMT training for deputies and the local training center; staff said these programs are ongoing and provide operational and recruitment benefits. Milstead and Zyshka praised the command staff and deputies for professionalism and training investments.
