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Iowa County
Poweshiek County, Iowa
Grinnell College and the prairie restoration movement - from Grinnell College (one of the most selective and financially generous liberal arts colleges in the United States - Grinnell's endowment-per-student ratio ranks among the highest of any American college, enabling its no-loan financial aid policy and attracting students from across the country and world to a small Iowa prairie town) to the Grinnell College Prairie (one of Iowa's finest reconstructed prairie ecosystems on the college's restored prairie preserve - part of the broader Iowa prairie restoration movement that has reclaimed native tallgrass prairie on former agricultural land).
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Office: Poweshiek County Emergency Management – Public Safety Center, 4802 Barnes City Road, Montezuma, IA.
Sheriff: Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office – Courthouse, 302 E. Main Street, 1st Floor, Montezuma, IA 50171 | (641) 623-5128; Sheriff Matt Maschmann.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-80 crosses Poweshiek County between Des Moines and Iowa City; US-6 and US-63 also serve the county. Montezuma, the county seat, is near-centrally located in the county’s southern tier of townships; Grinnell is the county’s largest city.
Notes: Poweshiek County was formed in 1843, named for Meskwaki (Fox) Chief Poweshiek, who signed the treaty ending the Black Hawk War; his name has been interpreted in treaties as meaning “the Roused Bear” or “the Shedding Bear.” Montezuma was selected as county seat in 1848 and has remained the sole county seat since.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Poweshiek County Courthouse – 302 E. Main Street, Montezuma, IA (built 1856-1859, replacing an 1850 original; National Register of Historic Places). Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4 PM.
Notes: Poweshiek County is home to Grinnell College, a nationally renowned small liberal arts college. The town of Grinnell was founded in 1854 by Josiah Bushnell Grinnell and fellow New England abolitionists, giving the community a distinct cultural and educational character that persists today; the college itself was chartered in 1846. The arrival of the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad (later the Rock Island) in 1862 transformed the county’s agricultural economy, which remains centered on corn, soybeans, and livestock.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Poweshiek County Veterans Affairs Commission – 1025 Main Street (Lincoln Savings Bank), Grinnell, IA 50112 | (641) 236-5722.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Montezuma Public Library and Drake Community Library (Grinnell) – confirm current addresses/phones via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Grinnell College and its historic downtown, plus Holiday Lake, Lake Ponderosa, and Diamond Lake, are the county’s premier cultural and recreational attractions.
Notes: The genuine abolitionist founding of Grinnell – a town built around a college with deep 19th-century social-reform roots – is among the standout local histories covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Poweshiek County Assessor’s Office – 302 E. Main Street, Montezuma, IA 50171 | (641) 623-5445.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Poweshiek Animal League Shelter (PALS) – 4167 20th Street, Grinnell, IA 50112 | (641) 236-4288 | Email: [email protected].
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Poweshiek County Sanitarian & Zoning – Courthouse, 302 E. Main Street, Montezuma, IA 50171.
NOTES: Poweshiek County is the eighty-second county in Iowa’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine abolitionist founding of Grinnell is among the standout local histories 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 Poweshiek County
Poweshiek County is central Iowa’s elite liberal arts college county – Grinnell College’s extraordinary financial resources, no-loan aid policy, and academic reputation make it one of America’s most remarkable small colleges in one of America’s most unexpected small-college towns.
Grinnell (population ~9,000) is defined by the college – the institution’s endowment, student body diversity, and intellectual culture give a small Iowa prairie town a cosmopolitan character found nowhere else in rural Iowa.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Poweshiek County Assessor at 302 E. Main Street, Suite 3, Montezuma, IA 50171, phone 641-623-5531. IA assessed at 100% market value with residential rollback.
Courts & Legal
Poweshiek County District Court at 302 E. Main Street, Montezuma, IA 50171, phone 641-623-3014, 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)
302 E. Main St., Montezuma, IA 50171
(641) 623-3192
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Poweshiek County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Grinnell College Archives, Grinnell, holds significant regional historical materials.
Local societies
No dedicated Poweshiek 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
Poweshiek County District Court, 6th Judicial District 302 East Main Street, P.O. Box 57, Montezuma, IA 50171 (641) 623-5644
Poweshiek County is home to Grinnell College, a nationally recognized liberal arts institution in the city of Grinnell.
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 Poweshiek 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
302 E. Main St., Montezuma, IA 50171
(641) 623-3880
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY AUDITOR (Records, Elections, Finance)
302 E. Main St., Montezuma, IA 50171
(641) 623-3292
ELECTIONS (County Auditor)
302 E. Main St., Montezuma, IA 50171
(641) 623-3292
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Poweshiek County Health Dept
(641) 623-3292
Iowa DHHS — Region 5
(800) 338-8366
Iowa Medicaid
(800) 338-8366
Grinnell Regional Medical Center
grmc.us (Grinnell — quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Poweshiek County Public Health – confirm current contact via poweshiekcountyiowa.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Montezuma
Population: 18,500
Area: 585 sq mi
Established: 1843
Tier: 3
Public Records
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