Mower County is ready to hire two new jailers as part of the transition into the forthcoming jail and justice center.

On Tuesday, the county board gave human resources permission to fill the two spots, which are opening up because a few current jailers are expected to move into newly created positions, county coordinator Craig Oscarson said.

Those spots are an assistant jail administrator, a program coordinator, and a training and compliance sergeant, who along with the current jail administrator will make up a “transition team,” which will figure out how inmates will be moved into the building and how the new facility will run.

Oscarson said he expects all three positions to be filled internally, but the plan for now would be to only fill two out of the three jailer openings that would open as a result.

That’s because “transition team” roles will only be half time through the winter, so those workers could still do jailer duties.

When the new jail opens, Oscarson said he anticipates a need for between 28 and 31 jailers, which is roughly double the size of the current staff.