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Office: Decatur County Emergency Management – 203 NE Idaho Street, Leon, IA 50144 | (641) 446-3665 | Cell (641) 572-0665; Coordinator Jessica Bear (also Environmental Health Sanitarian). Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4:30 PM. Established 1983 as a joint agreement between the county’s municipalities, the county, and the Sheriff.
Sheriff: Decatur County Sheriff’s Office – Courthouse, 207 N. Main Street, Leon, IA 50144 | (641) 446-4111.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. As of December 31, 2024, the Leon Police Department has disbanded; the Sheriff’s Office now handles all non-911 matters within Leon.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-69 and IA-2 serve Leon, the county seat, in south-central Iowa; I-35 passes near Lamoni, the county’s largest city.
Notes: Decatur County was created January 13, 1846, and organized May 6, 1850, named for Stephen Decatur Jr., a naval hero of the War of 1812. Leon’s county-seat history involved genuine local drama: after floods repeatedly cut off the original seat at Decatur City, voters chose to relocate east of the Little River, but Decatur City residents refused to accept the outcome – so county records were reportedly stolen and moved by ox-drawn wagon under cover of darkness to the new site, first called Independence and, after finding that name taken elsewhere in Iowa, ultimately renamed Leon.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Decatur County Courthouse – 9th Street, Leon, IA (built 1908, Renaissance Revival, architects Smith, Wetherell and Gage; National Register of Historic Places since 1981). It is the sixth courthouse building in county history – prior ones were destroyed by a windstorm, gutted by fire (losing county records), and, in one case, subjected to an 1876 attempted safe-blast robbery that damaged the building without cracking the safe.
Notes: Lamoni, Decatur County’s largest city, holds a genuinely remarkable place in American religious and retail history. The city served as international headquarters of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS, today Community of Christ) from 1880 to 1920, after church president Joseph Smith III relocated there; the church went on to found Graceland College (now Graceland University) in Lamoni in 1895, the first fully accredited junior college in Iowa, whose alumni include Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner. Separately, and even more surprisingly, the supermarket chain Hy-Vee traces its roots directly to Lamoni: church members Charles Hyde and David Vredenburg, associated with the church-owned General Supply Company (which operated Lamoni’s mills, hardware store, and grocery), founded a grocery chain called the Supply Store in 1930 – the company took the name Hy-Vee from its founders’ surnames and was headquartered in Lamoni until 1945, when it relocated to Chariton, Iowa.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Decatur County Veterans Affairs – Courthouse, Leon, IA 50144.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Leon Public Library (Leon) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Graceland University’s campus in Lamoni, Liberty Hall (Joseph Smith III’s former home, now a museum), and the Little River Lake Recreation Area near Leon are the county’s premier heritage and outdoor attractions. Leon also hosts an annually recognized “Rodeo of the Year” event in Iowa.
Notes: The genuine, little-known fact that Hy-Vee – now a major Midwestern supermarket chain – traces its origins to Lamoni is among the most surprising corporate-history connections uncovered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Decatur County Assessor’s Office – Courthouse, Leon, IA 50144.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
⚠️ No confirmed dedicated Decatur County, Iowa animal shelter was found in current sourcing. Residents should contact the Decatur County Sheriff’s Office, (641) 446-4111, for current animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Decatur County Environmental Health – 203 NE Idaho Street, Leon, IA 50144 | (641) 446-3665 (same office as Emergency Management).
NOTES: Decatur County is the twenty-seventh county in Iowa’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, little-known fact that Hy-Vee traces its origins to Lamoni is among the most surprising corporate-history connections uncovered anywhere in this project. ⚠️ Animal services could not be confirmed and are flagged for follow-up rather than smoothed over. 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 Decatur County County
Decatur County is south Iowa’s Thompson River and cattle country – the wooded river valley and rolling corn, soybean, and beef cattle landscape define a traditional farming community where Leon serves the county’s agricultural population near the Missouri border.
Leon (the county seat, population ~1,800) is Decatur County’s governmental hub on US 69, a south Iowa agricultural community whose Thompson River watershed, cattle farming, and courthouse anchor its identity.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
No dedicated Decatur 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
Decatur County District Court, 5th Judicial District 207 North Main Street, Leon, IA 50144 (641) 219-4265
Decatur County was created January 13, 1846 and organized May 6, 1850, named for naval hero Stephen Decatur Jr. Its largest city, Lamoni, is home to Graceland University.
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 Decatur 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
207 N. Main St., Leon, IA 50144
(641) 446-4143
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY AUDITOR (Records, Elections, Finance)
207 N. Main St., Leon, IA 50144
(641) 446-4331
ELECTIONS (County Auditor)
207 N. Main St., Leon, IA 50144
(641) 446-4331
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Decatur County Public Health – confirm current contact via decaturcountyiowa.gov.
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Leon
Population: 7,900
Area: 534 sq mi
Established: 1846
Public Records
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