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Office: Clarke County Emergency Management – Clarke County Annex Building, 109 S. Main Street, Osceola, IA 50213 | (641) 342-6654 | Fax (641) 342-1545; Chief Byron Jimmerson. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4:30 PM. Clarke County CERT provides trained disaster-response volunteers.
Sheriff: Clarke County Sheriff & Local Departments – 220 Townline Road, Osceola, IA 50213 | (641) 342-2121 | Fax (641) 342-2914. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4:30 PM (emergency 24/7).
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-35 and US-34 serve Osceola, the county seat, in south-central Iowa. Osceola is served by an Amtrak intercity rail station – among Iowa’s Amtrak stops, the closest to Des Moines (roughly 50 miles away). The historic depot was restored in 2016, with original wood benches refurbished by offender employees from Iowa Prison Industries.
Notes: Clarke County’s site for Osceola was chosen by three commissioners on August 8, 1851, purchased from George W. How for $100.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Clarke County Courthouse – 100 S. Main Street, Osceola, IA (current building completed 1956, Modern style; part of the Osceola Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places since 2018).
Notes: Osceola is home to Lakeside Hotel Casino, a genuinely notable regional attraction on the shores of West Lake just off I-35, offering more than 600 slot machines and nine table games on a 24-hour gaming floor, plus lodging, dining, and lake-view recreation.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Clarke County Veterans Affairs – Courthouse, Osceola, IA 50213 | (641) 342-2933.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Osceola Public Library (Osceola) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Lakeside Hotel Casino and West Lake, the restored historic Osceola Amtrak Depot, and the Clarke County Historical Museum are the county’s premier heritage and recreational attractions.
Notes: The genuine role of the restored Osceola Amtrak Depot – with prison-refurbished benches – as a preserved piece of railroad heritage is a notable local restoration story covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Clarke County Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via clarkecounty.iowa.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Clarke County Animal Shelter – 125 E. Ayers Street, PO Box 223, Osceola, IA 50213 | (641) 340-1180 | Email: [email protected]. Established 2009; serves Osceola, Woodburn, and Murray, plus a broader Southern/Central Iowa area including Clarke, Decatur, Lucas, and Union counties. Hours: Tue and Fri 2-6 PM, Sat 9 AM-2 PM. Adoption fees: $100 dogs, $65 cats (includes spay/neuter, vaccinations, heartworm test).
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Clarke County Environmental Health – confirm current contact via clarkecounty.iowa.gov.
NOTES: Clarke County is the twentieth county in Iowa’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine role of the restored Osceola Amtrak Depot as a preserved piece of railroad heritage is a notable local restoration story 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 Clarke County County
Clarke County is south-central Iowa’s Grand River and casino destination county – the Lakeside Casino Resort that brought gaming and hospitality to a traditional farming county and the rolling south Iowa agricultural landscape define a community where Osceola serves both the county’s farming families and regional visitors near the Missouri border.
Osceola (the county seat, population ~4,700) is Clarke County’s governmental hub on I-35, a south-central Iowa community whose Lakeside Casino, Grand River watershed, and agricultural heritage anchor its identity as a south Iowa crossroads.
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Clarke County Assessor at 100 S. Main Street, Osceola, IA 50213, phone 641-342-3817. IA assessed at actual value.
Courts & Legal
Clarke County District Court at 100 S. Main Street, Osceola, IA 50213, phone 641-342-6096, 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)
100 S. Main St., Osceola, IA 50213
(641) 342-6096
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Clarke County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Clarke 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
Clarke County District Court, 5th Judicial District 100 South Main Street, Osceola, IA 50213 (641) 342-6096 Clarke County is in south-central Iowa, seated in Osceola.
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 Clarke 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
100 S. Main St., Osceola, IA 50213
(641) 342-6411
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY AUDITOR (Records, Elections, Finance)
100 S. Main St., Osceola, IA 50213
(641) 342-3315
ELECTIONS (County Auditor)
100 S. Main St., Osceola, IA 50213
(641) 342-3315
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Clarke County Public Health – 134 W. Jefferson Street, Osceola, IA 50213 | (641) 342-3724.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Osceola
Population: 9,500
Area: 431 sq mi
Established: 1846
Public Records
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