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Iowa County
Plymouth County, Iowa
Le Mars - the Ice Cream Capital of the World - from Wells Enterprises in Le Mars (the world's largest private label ice cream manufacturer - Wells Enterprises produces Blue Bunny ice cream in Le Mars, with a manufacturing capacity that has earned the city the designation as the Ice Cream Capital of the World - the Ice Cream Capital of the World Visitor Center and the factory's massive production make Le Mars a genuine dairy industry pilgrimage destination) to Plymouth County's significant dairy and hog farming economy in the northwest Iowa Loess Hills.
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Office: Plymouth County Emergency Management – confirm current contact via plymouthcounty.iowa.gov.
Sheriff: Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office – Le Mars, IA. The 4th-largest Iowa county by area (864 square miles), serving roughly 26,000 residents; jurisdiction includes Le Mars, Akron, Brunsville, Craig, Hinton, Kingsley, Merrill, Oyens, Remsen, Westfield, and a small portion of Sioux City.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-75 and IA-3 serve Le Mars, the county seat, on the Floyd River northeast of Sioux City. Plymouth County marks the northernmost start of the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway.
Notes: Plymouth County borders South Dakota in Iowa’s northwest corner.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Plymouth County Courthouse – Le Mars, IA.
Notes: Le Mars is officially designated by the Iowa Legislature as the “Ice Cream Capital of the World,” a title held since 1994. The city is home to Wells Enterprises, Inc., founded by Fred H. Wells Jr. in 1913 and still family-owned – the world’s largest producer of ice cream novelties made at a single location, manufacturing more than 150 million gallons of ice cream annually across roughly 1,000 products under the Blue Bunny brand and others. The Blue Bunny character itself dates to a 1935 “Name That Ice Cream” contest run by the Wells brothers in the Sioux City Journal, with the $25 winning entry naming the mascot. Milk for the plant is sourced from dairy farms within a 70-mile radius of Le Mars, with a fresh tanker truck arriving hourly year-round. The Wells Visitor Center & Ice Cream Parlor, in the historic 1875 George E. Pew building downtown, offers tours, exhibits, and more than 40 ice cream flavors; the city celebrates its identity each June with Ice Cream Days and hosts one of Iowa’s largest county fairs, the Plymouth County Fair, each July.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Plymouth County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via plymouthcounty.iowa.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Le Mars Public Library (Le Mars) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Wells Visitor Center & Ice Cream Parlor, downtown Le Mars’ Alley Art & Historic Murals, and the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway (northern terminus) are the county’s premier heritage and recreational attractions.
Notes: The genuine, legislatively recognized “Ice Cream Capital of the World” title – backed by real, enormous production volume – is among the most distinctive local claims to fame covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Plymouth County Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via plymouthcounty.iowa.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Siouxland Humane Society – serves Plymouth County | (712) 252-2414 ext. 7. Le Mars Police Department also handles local animal control matters, (712) 546-4113.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Plymouth County Environmental Health – confirm current contact via plymouthcounty.iowa.gov.
NOTES: Plymouth County is the seventy-seventh county in Iowa’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, legislatively recognized “Ice Cream Capital of the World” title is among the most distinctive local claims to fame covered anywhere 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 Plymouth County
Plymouth County is northwest Iowa’s Ice Cream Capital – Le Mars’s Wells Enterprises Blue Bunny factory is the world’s largest private label ice cream manufacturer, earning the city a designation that draws visitors to the Ice Cream Capital of the World Visitor Center.
Le Mars (the county seat, population ~10,000) celebrates its ice cream heritage year-round – the Wells Enterprises factory and the visitor center make ice cream the anchor of the city’s identity and tourism economy.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Plymouth County Assessor at 215 4th Avenue SE, Suite 3, Le Mars, IA 51031, phone 712-546-8821. IA assessed at 100% market value with residential rollback.
Courts & Legal
Plymouth County District Court at 215 4th Avenue SE, Le Mars, IA 51031, phone 712-546-8060, 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)
215 4th Ave. SE, Le Mars, IA 51031
(712) 546-3370
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Plymouth County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Le Mars’ status as the “Ice Cream Capital of the World” (Blue Bunny/Wells Enterprises) is a notable local industrial and cultural history topic.
Local societies
No dedicated Plymouth 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
Plymouth County District Court, 3rd Judicial District 215 4th Avenue SE, Le Mars, IA 51031 (712) 546-4215
Plymouth County is in northwestern Iowa; its seat, Le Mars, is the self-proclaimed “Ice Cream Capital of the World,” home to Blue Bunny/Wells Enterprises. The 1902 Plymouth County Courthouse (National Register of Historic Places) is the county’s fourth.
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 Plymouth 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
215 4th Ave. SE, Le Mars, IA 51031
(712) 546-4040
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY AUDITOR (Records, Elections, Finance)
215 4th Ave. SE, Le Mars, IA 51031
(712) 546-4020
ELECTIONS (County Auditor)
215 4th Ave. SE, Le Mars, IA 51031
(712) 546-4020
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Plymouth County Health Dept
(712) 546-4080
Iowa DHHS — Region 3
(800) 338-8366
Iowa Medicaid
(800) 338-8366
Floyd Valley Healthcare (Le Mars)
floydvalleyhealthcare.org (quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Plymouth County Public Health – confirm current contact via plymouthcounty.iowa.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Le Mars
Population: 26,000
Area: 863 sq mi
Established: 1851
Tier: 3
Public Records
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