Rusk County Jail Overview
Rusk County Jail is operated by the Rusk County Sheriff's Office and serves as the main local detention facility for the county. It receives adults after arrest, court commitment, warrant pickup, probation hold, or sentencing to county jail time. The jail is also the local point for Huber work-release custody. The public roster is a current-inmates PDF, not an interactive inmate search site, so lookup work often combines the PDF, the jail phone line, and court or state systems.
The facility is a county jail under Wisconsin DOC Office of Detention Facilities oversight. The 2024 inspection identifies it as a Chapter DOC 350 jail with a maximum rated capacity of 52. Rusk County Jail was approved to double cell and was not approved to hold juveniles. The research did not locate a separate city jail, state prison, BOP prison, or ICE detention center in Rusk County, so this jail is the only local detention facility in the project facility map.
Rusk County Jail Capacity
The most direct facility figures come from the Wisconsin DOC ODF 2024 inspection and the sheriff's current inmate list. The inspection found 21 people present on August 13, 2024 in a jail with a maximum rated capacity of 52. The current-inmates PDF inspected on July 2, 2026 listed 23 entries. Both are snapshots. They do not prove the daily average or peak count, but they show the public numbers available from official sources.
The inspection's strongest local warning was classification, not just head count. Rusk County had a contract with Chippewa County Jail because the Rusk facility lacked the ability to properly house people with different classification levels. That can matter for families searching for a person after a Rusk County arrest, because the arrest may be local even if housing later changes for classification or operational reasons.
Look Up Rusk County Jail Inmates
The correct lookup source for this facility is the current-inmates PDF linked from the official jail page. It lists current Rusk County Jail inmates in a report format, with no profile click-through and no recent-release tab. The PDF can still be searched by name through a browser or PDF viewer. If the person is not listed, use the jail phone line and the other official systems because the person may be newly booked, released, transferred, sentenced to DOC, or held by a different agency.
- Open the official Rusk County Jail page and select the current inmate list PDF.
- Use the PDF find tool for the person's last name, first name, statute number, or booking type.
- Read the booking date, booking type, offense lines, bond entries, and scheduled release field.
- Call 715-532-2200 if the PDF is stale, the person is not listed, or a release or transfer may have happened.
- Search WCCA for filed court cases, Wisconsin DOC for sentenced custody, and BOP or ICE for federal or immigration custody.
The roster's charge line is not the same as the final court charge. The jail entry can reflect arrest, warrant, probation, or hold information, while the Rusk County District Attorney and Circuit Court determine filed charges, amendments, dismissals, bond conditions, and dispositions.
Rusk County Jail Contact
Use the jail number for custody-status questions, visit confirmation, release logistics, and current housing questions that the PDF does not answer. Use the sheriff's main office or open-record request email for law-enforcement records, booking records, incident reports, or booking-photo requests not posted online.
Rusk County Jail
311 Miner Avenue East, Suite L100
Ladysmith, WI 54848
715-532-2200
Jail business hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 am-12:00 pm and 1:00 pm-4:30 pm
Rusk County Sheriff's Office
311 Miner Avenue East, Suite L100
Ladysmith, WI 54848
715-532-2189
Open-record requests: mrmurphy@ruskcountywi.gov
Rusk County Jail Visits
Rusk County Jail visitation is video based through CIDNET. The 2026 visitation rules allow family kiosk visits in the jail lobby any day during the posted video window, but visitors must schedule through CIDNET and the inmate must be housed in general population. There are no contact visits. Visits are recorded, and the jail can cancel them for emergency, severe weather, discipline, behavior, or safety and security reasons.
| Visit type | Schedule | Length / limits | Rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jail lobby video visit | Any day, 7:00 am-9:00 pm | About 25-30 minutes; one face or lobby-kiosk visit per inmate per day | CIDNET account and scheduling required; one visitor at a time in the jail lobby. |
| Remote CIDNET visit | Scheduled through CIDNET | No stated limit on remote visits in the 2026 PDF | Rates set by Stellar services and county board; visits are recorded. |
| Attorney or clergy visit | Reasonable times | Reasonable time, not to exceed one hour unless staff allows more | Security observation and jail rules still apply. |
Children under 18 must be with an adult. Cell phones, cameras, and recording devices are not allowed in the visitation area. Visitors under the influence of alcohol or drugs are denied. Court or probation no-contact orders are enforced.
Rusk County Jail Mail and Money
Jail mail must identify the sender and the inmate by first and last name, with no nicknames or aliases. Incoming mail is opened and inspected for contraband. Legal mail is opened in front of the inmate. The mail rules allow money in a letter to be placed into the inmate canteen account, but deposits are more commonly routed through the jail's listed kiosk and online payment channels.
| Service | Provider / Detail | Local rule |
|---|---|---|
| Mail address | Inmate full name, Rusk County Jail, 311 E. Miner Ave., STE L100, Ladysmith, WI 54848 | Sender full name and address required. |
| Phone | Cellblock phones | Inmates may call collect or buy phone time from canteen; calls may be monitored and recorded. |
| Canteen deposits | Stellar Teller kiosk, JailATM.com, GovPayNet or GovPayNow | Transaction fees apply. |
| Bond payments | Stellar Teller or GovPayNet/GovPayNow using PLC #1559 | $10 non-refundable processing fee per bond. |
| Huber fees | Rusk County Jail | $18/day for Rusk County sentenced inmates plus 25% of jail debt before Huber. |
If an inmate owes jail debt, at least 40 percent of deposited money can be applied toward the debt, and the amount can increase based on circumstances. Commissary can be suspended or withdrawn if abused, and inmates may not share or buy commissary items for others.
Rusk County Jail Intake
The jail orientation says intake includes a body and property search, general questions, a medical questionnaire, fingerprints, and a photo. Clothing and unauthorized property are secured in a locked locker. The jail supplies a blanket, two sheets, wash cloth, towel, and hygiene kit. Cell and bunk assignments are made at arrival, and inmates cannot change beds without jailer authorization. Property is searched, inventoried, stored, or released to a responsible person, and excess property must be removed within seven days or it can be disposed of.
Medical care is provided through Advanced Correctional Healthcare, medication through Westwood Pharmacy, and the jail nurse is available 15 hours per week. Sick-call slips are reviewed by the nurse, and the nurse office visit charge is $10. Medication must be in original containers with current prescriptions and is approved or denied by the jail doctor. Special medical needs such as allergies or CPAP must be documented by a doctor.
Rusk County Jail Programs
Rusk County Jail orientation materials list group activities that include AA, 12-step, church services, and bible study. Programs include general schooling and GED classes. Library privileges are allowed on designated days. The daily schedule is concrete: wakeup, count, and breakfast at 7:00 am, lunch at noon, evening meal at 5:00 pm, evening events at 7:00 pm, and lockdown at 11:00 pm, with possible midnight lockdown on weekends.
The official New Jail Project page gives broader facility context. It links inspection reports and project planning materials for eventual jail replacement. The 2024 inspection described damaged ceiling tiles, shower wear, one shower leaking into a hallway, repeat carpet concerns, dispatch inside the secure perimeter, and the classification limits that led to the Chippewa County housing contract.
Note: Confirm custody, visit status, and payment eligibility with Rusk County Jail before traveling or sending money.
Rusk County Jail Source Page
The county's official jail page is the source for the current inmate list, bond rules, canteen links, jail fees, Huber fees, and public jail contact information.
The page matters because the Rusk County inmate lookup is a linked PDF report, not a separate database with profile pages or mugshot thumbnails.
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