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Iowa County
Mills County, Iowa
Missouri River bluffs and Omaha metro proximity - from the scenic Loess Hills State Forest along the Missouri River bluffs to Mills County's position as a bedroom community for the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro (Glenwood and Malvern residents access employment in the greater Omaha area while enjoying Iowa's lower cost of living and rural character along the Missouri River corridor).
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Office: Mills County Emergency Management – confirm current contact via millscountyiowa.gov.
Sheriff: Mills County Sheriff’s Office – 600 Industrial Road, Glenwood, IA 51534 | Non-emergency (712) 527-4871 | Detention Center (712) 527-4275; Sheriff Eugene Goos, with 11 full-time deputies patrolling 447 square miles. Provides contract law enforcement for all Mills County cities except Glenwood, which has its own police department. Hours: Mon-Fri 7:30 AM-4 PM.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. Mills County’s first sheriff, W.W. Noyes, was appointed in 1851; the county’s only officer to die in the line of duty, Sheriff Elijah W. Bushnell, fell from courthouse-jail scaffolding in 1915 during construction.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-29 and US-34 serve Glenwood, the county seat, in southwestern Iowa along the Loess Hills and Missouri River, part of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro area.
Notes: Mills County was formed in 1851, named for Major Frederick Mills of Burlington, a Yale graduate killed at the 1847 Battle of Churubusco during the Mexican-American War. The area’s first permanent settlement was Rushville, founded in 1846 by persecuted Mormon settlers; Glenwood was originally called Coonsville, after founding physician Dr. Liberius Coons, before being renamed in 1853.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Mills County Courthouse – 418 E. Sharp Street, Glenwood, IA (built 1958-1959, architect B.H. Backlund and Associates; the second courthouse building in county history, replacing an 1857 Georgian Colonial structure).
Notes: Glenwood is home to a long-running state institution originally established in 1866 as a Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home, converted in 1876 into the Iowa Asylum (later Institution) for Feeble-Minded Children, and eventually renamed the Glenwood State Hospital-School and then the Glenwood Resource Center. In recent years the facility drew federal Department of Justice scrutiny over resident treatment and safety; Iowa’s governor announced its closure, which was completed in 2024. Separately, the community of Tabor, which lies partly in Mills County, was a documented and historically significant Underground Railroad station before the Civil War.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Mills County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via millscountyiowa.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Glenwood Public Library (Glenwood) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Mills County Museum in Glenwood, the Loess Hills scenic terrain, and the historic Tabor Underground Railroad site are the county’s premier heritage attractions.
Notes: The genuine, documented Underground Railroad history at Tabor is among the standout historical facts covered in this project; Glenwood’s long institutional history is presented here factually as public record.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Mills County Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via millscountyiowa.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Loess Hills Humane Society (Lied Animal Shelter) – 21600 221st Street South, Glenwood, IA 51534 | (712) 227-3565. Hooves & Paws Rescue of the Heartland – 27821 US Route 34, Glenwood, IA 51534 | (712) 527-3721. No-kill rescue for horses, donkeys, mules, dogs, and puppies serving Mills County and the broader Iowa/Nebraska region.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Mills County Environmental Health – confirm current contact via millscountyiowa.gov.
NOTES: Mills County is the sixty-sixth county in Iowa’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, documented Underground Railroad history at Tabor is among the standout historical facts 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 Mills County
Mills County is southwest Iowa’s Missouri River bluffs county – the scenic Loess Hills terrain and proximity to the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area define a county that balances rural Iowa agricultural traditions with suburban commuter growth along the Missouri River corridor.
Glenwood (the county seat, population ~5,200) serves as the governmental and commercial center of Mills County, providing county services to communities along the Missouri River valley in the Iowa-Nebraska border region.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Mills County Assessor at 418 Sharp Street, Glenwood, IA 51534, phone 712-527-4880. IA assessed at 100% market value with residential rollback.
Courts & Legal
Mills County District Court at 418 Sharp Street, Glenwood, IA 51534, phone 712-527-4248, 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)
418 Sharp St., Glenwood, IA 51534
(712) 527-4154
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Mills County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Mills 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
Mills County District Court, 4th Judicial District 418 Sharp Street, Glenwood, IA 51534 (712) 527-4880
Mills County was formed in 1851, named for Major Frederick Mills of Burlington, killed in the Mexican-American War.
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 Mills 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
418 Sharp St., Glenwood, IA 51534
(712) 527-4871
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY AUDITOR (Records, Elections, Finance)
418 Sharp St., Glenwood, IA 51534
(712) 527-4460
ELECTIONS (County Auditor)
418 Sharp St., Glenwood, IA 51534
(712) 527-4460
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Mills County Health Dept
(712) 527-4880
Iowa DHHS — Region 4
(800) 338-8366
Iowa Medicaid
(800) 338-8366
CHI Health Missouri Valley
chihealth.com (Missouri Valley — adjacent Harrison County)
Alegent Creighton (Omaha, NE)
alegent.com (serves the county via Omaha metro)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Mills County Public Health – 403 Railroad Avenue, Glenwood, IA 51534.
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