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Iowa County
Carroll County, Iowa
Carroll's Swan Lake State Park and west-central Iowa agricultural heritage - from Swan Lake State Park (one of Iowa's most popular state parks - the lake and wetlands complex in Carroll County provides exceptional waterfowl hunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing in the west-central Iowa rolling prairie landscape) to Carroll County's significant livestock and grain farming economy and the city of Carroll's role as the regional hub for west-central Iowa's agricultural communities.
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Office: Carroll County Emergency Management Agency – 608 N. Court Street, Suite B, Carroll, IA 51401 | (712) 775-2166 | Fax (712) 775-2058; Coordinator Jeff Cullen. Located in the lower level of the Fricke Building with Environmental Health. Hours: By appointment, 8 AM-12 PM Mon-Fri.
Sheriff: Carroll County Sheriff’s Office – 114 E. 6th Street, Carroll, IA 51401 | (712) 792-4393; Sheriff Ken Pingrey. Provides contracted law enforcement for the cities of Arcadia, Breda, Dedham, Glidden, Halbur, Lanesboro, Lidderdale, Ralston, Templeton, and Willey, plus all unincorporated areas. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4:30 PM.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-30 and US-71 serve Carroll, the county seat, in west-central Iowa.
Notes: Carroll County was formed January 15, 1851, from sections of Pottawattamie County, named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Maryland – the only Roman Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence and its longest-living signatory. The county seat moved from the village of Carrollton to the city of Carroll in 1868.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Carroll County Courthouse – 114 E. 6th Street, Carroll, IA (current building completed 1965, the fourth structure to serve this function).
Notes: Carroll has a genuinely well-known piece of NBA history. On January 18, 1960, a DC-3 aircraft carrying the Minneapolis Lakers basketball team (now the Los Angeles Lakers) – including 10 players and 13 other people – was forced into an emergency landing in a Carroll County cornfield during a severe snowstorm; everyone aboard survived. In 2010, on the 50th anniversary of the crash landing, the Los Angeles Lakers organization donated an outdoor basketball court, installed at Carroll’s Veterans Memorial Park (corner of Forest and 22nd Street), to commemorate the event.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Carroll County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via carrollcountyiowa.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Carroll Public Library (Carroll) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Swan Lake State Park and its Farmstead Museum, the Sauk Rail Trail (Iowa’s first recreational trail connecting two state parks – Black Hawk and Swan Lake), the Carroll County Historical Museum, and the Lakers Basketball Court at Veterans Memorial Park are the county’s premier heritage and outdoor attractions.
Notes: The genuine, well-documented 1960 emergency landing of the Minneapolis Lakers’ plane – and the Lakers organization’s 2010 commemorative gift – is among the more surprising sports-history connections covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Carroll County Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via carrollcountyiowa.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Animal Rescue of Carroll, Inc. – 1721 E. 10th Street, PO Box 393, Carroll, IA 51401 | (712) 790-9116 | Email: [email protected]. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2006, providing shelter, adoption, and spay/neuter services for dogs and cats in Carroll County.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Carroll County Environmental Health – confirm current contact via carrollcountyiowa.gov.
NOTES: Carroll County is the fourteenth county in Iowa’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, well-documented 1960 emergency landing of the Minneapolis Lakers’ plane – and the Lakers organization’s 2010 commemorative gift – is among the more surprising sports-history connections covered in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Carroll County
Carroll County is west-central Iowa’s Swan Lake and rolling prairie agricultural county – the productive farmland and the popular state park define a regional hub community between Des Moines and Sioux City.
Carroll (the county seat, population ~10,000) is the commercial hub for west-central Iowa – its hospital, retail, and St. Anthony Regional Hospital serve a broad surrounding agricultural region.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Carroll County Assessor at 114 E. 6th Street, Suite 1, Carroll, IA 51401, phone 712-792-9973. IA assessed at 100% market value with residential rollback.
Courts & Legal
Carroll County District Court at 114 E. 6th Street, Carroll, IA 51401, phone 712-792-3512, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
114 E. 6th St., Carroll, IA 51401
(712) 792-3512
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Carroll County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The county’s strong German-Catholic settlement heritage is a notable local historical topic.
Local societies
No dedicated Carroll County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Carroll County District Court, 4th Judicial District 114 East 6th Street, Suite 5, Carroll, IA 51401 (712) 792-4327 Carroll County is in west-central Iowa, historically shaped by strong German-Catholic settlement.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Iowa has its own comprehensive probate code (Iowa Code Chapter 633) and has not formally adopted the Uniform Probate Code. Iowa offers several tracks depending on estate size and complexity:
Distribution by Affidavit (“very small estates”) – for estates where the gross value of personal property is $50,000 or less and there is no real estate, available 40 days after death under Iowa Code § 633.356. A sworn affidavit is presented directly to banks and other institutions. No court filing is required.
Small Estate Administration – a simplified probate process under Iowa Code Chapter 635 for estates with a gross value of $200,000 or less, with reduced notice requirements and court costs compared to full administration.
Regular (Full) Probate – standard administration through the district court for larger or more complex estates, which can be independent (unsupervised) or supervised.
Supervised Administration – closer court oversight, typically used for contested estates.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a Petition for Probate of Will and Appointment of Executor (if there’s a will) or a Petition for Administration (if intestate) with the Carroll County District Court.
The court admits the will (if any) and issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (intestate) appointing the personal representative.
Publish notice to creditors; under independent administration, creditors generally have 4 months from the date of first publication to file claims.
The personal representative inventories assets, pays valid debts and expenses, and – under independent administration – largely acts without ongoing court check-ins.
After the creditor period closes and debts are paid, the personal representative distributes assets to heirs or beneficiaries.
File a final accounting/final report; the court closes the estate upon approval.
What it costs
Personal representative fees are capped by statute at 3% of the gross value of the probate estate (excluding life insurance) unless services are itemized; attorney fees follow a similar framework.
Recording fees at the county recorder run about $7 for the first page of a document and $5 for each additional page.
Typical timelines: Distribution by Affidavit – a minimum 40-day wait; independent (unsupervised) probate typically closes in 6-12 months, with the 4-month creditor period as the primary timing constraint.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
114 E. 6th St., Carroll, IA 51401
(712) 792-4725
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY AUDITOR (Records, Elections, Finance)
114 E. 6th St., Carroll, IA 51401
(712) 792-4327
ELECTIONS (County Auditor)
114 E. 6th St., Carroll, IA 51401
(712) 792-4327
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Carroll County Health Dept
(712) 792-9688
Iowa DHHS — Region 4
(800) 338-8366
Iowa Medicaid
(800) 338-8366
St. Anthony Regional Hospital
stanthonyhospital.org (Carroll — excellent community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Carroll County Public Health – confirm current contact via carrollcountyiowa.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Carroll
Population: 21,000
Area: 569 sq mi
Established: 1851
Tier: 3
Public Records
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Search public records for Carroll County residents.
