Martin County Jail awarded for going ‘Above and Beyond’

FAIRMONT - Out of over 230 eligible places of employment throughout Minnesota, the Martin County Jail was one of 20 selected for this year's Above and Beyond awards.

The awards, presented by Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), go to places that go above and beyond what is legally required of places of employment for employees in the National Guard and Reserve.

Martin County Jail is a 32-bed facility. Jail Administrator Tanya Rathman said it is a relatively smaller population, but that means they are better able to meet with inmates individually and ensure everything they need is done.

"We feed them, we give them their medication, we make sure they get into court," she said.

In her time working for Martin County, Rathman said she's had up to six guard and reserve employees working for her, in a facility that currently has 17 employees. Currently, she said she has two guards and reserves, Brandon Adams and Ashley Mueller, who are full-time correctional deputies.

"Their main responsibilities are the care and safety of the inmates and the facility," Rathman said. "They deal with on-the-line stuff with the inmates."

What Adams and Mueller do is imperative to the workings of the Martin County Jail, according to Rathman.

"My staff have to work individually on their own and be self-starters. I can’t be there every day with them. They’re the bread and butter of what makes my job. They take care of the inmates. They’re the ones on the front line. They take care of their everyday needs. They take care of the facility’s safety, cleanliness and maintenance. Make sure the maintenance gets fixed if there’s something they need. Without them, we don’t function."

As a daughter and sister of veterans, Rathman said it is important to her to support her employees in the Guard or Reserves.

"They are going to training or going to their drills and preparing to protect our country," she said. "It’s my responsibility in the Martin County Sheriff’s Office to make sure that they get to those trainings, plus they get a day in-between to get back to their family because they’re away from their family."

In her 28 years at the jail, Rathman said this is the first time they have received an award like this. The process got rolling in June of 2025, when Rathman received the Patriot Award from the ESGR. From there, the Martin County Jail went into a pool of around 230 places of employment to potentially be selected. In their first year of eligibility, Rathman found out the Martin County Jail was selected. She said it is really special and means a lot.

"We’re a smaller jail, and we’re a family," she said. "We have to wear many hats at a small jail, and we take a lot of pride in what we do, and we help each other out, and we have each other’s back. It means a lot to get this award because it just shows that somebody is paying attention to how we act in this jail and how we help each other and support one another."