Houghton County Jail Committee

06/01/2026

The Sheriff's office needs to be in the county seat, which for HoCo is the City of Houghton. For low cost and good access, the Sheriff's office and the Jail need to be together. Take a look at the map of Houghton (link in comments). Where would you put a new jail? Previous millages were voted down because of objections to having it in its current downtown location. So, the county bought a new location in response to this voter input. Where else would you suggest? Note the space taken up by MTU, housing, and historic downtown (including the new entertainment district). Remember it needs to be buildable and easy access for sheriff's vehicles.

06/01/2026

This was made for last year's millage but it describes the problem with the Houghton County Jail. Please take a look.

The Houghton County jail is out-of-date and is generally compliant ...

06/01/2026

Check out what a retired sheriff, a Yooper, has to say about the experience of waiting until the Feds close down your non-compliant jail.

Faith Morrison from the League of Women Voters of the Copper Country interviewed Sheriff Bob Peryam, a Hancock native and former officer of the South Range P...

05/20/2026

What has been happing on the subject of the HoCo jail? The LWVCC has been posting press releases and FOIA-ed documents online. Check it out for yourself:

For the latest updates on the Houghton County Jail, please read the press releases below.Jail feedback link - please send in your feedback:https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/THKRayEYdu Marquette Regional Community Corrections presentation for Houghton/Baraga/Keweenaw counties, by Trevor Kadlec, 4/30/20...

05/15/2026

Want to send a comment to the HoCo Jail Committee? You can do it anonymously at the link in the comments. Otherwise, type away. All comments are read and feed into the deliberations.

Send a message to learn more

05/14/2026

https://keweenawreport.com/2026/05/13/houghton-county-will-not-sell-canal-view-long-term-care/

Canal View has more value to residents than a dollar figure. In the fall, Houghton County's board of commissio...

05/06/2026

UPDATED!!! Would you be willing to work the polls? I do it; it's rewarding and the people are great. And it's a super important part of our democratic process. To get involved in Houghton County, please reach out to Houghton County Clerk Jennifer Kelly (906)482-1150) or your own township/city clerk. THEY NEED FOLKS TO WORK THE EARLY VOTING STATION IN AUGUST & NOVEMBER. There are lots of trainings scheduled May-June-July--reach out to your clerk to be scheduled as this is a paid training and there's paperwork for the clerks. Thanks for considering it. (I deleted the schedule as it is changing a bit; the clerks have the up-to-date info!!!)

04/10/2026

As the planning and exploration process continues for a new jail, we often run into the same or similar questions. These have been combined into a list of FAQ's that was assembled by the League of Women Voters and is available as a link on their website. See the link in the comments of this post. If you have other questions we should consider, please post them in the comments or fill out the feedback form on the county's website.

04/04/2026

Houghton County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Helmer joined Todd VanDyke on Copper Country Today for a discussion about the local justice system. See the link in the comments.

03/20/2026