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Office: Kiowa County Emergency Management – coordinated through the Sheriff’s Office, Greensburg, KS. Full-time Emergency Manager position (upgraded from part-time following the county’s tornado experience).
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. Kiowa County has invested significantly in emergency preparedness capability since 2007, becoming NIMS-compliant and building out formal emergency operations planning.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-183 and US-54 serve Greensburg, the county seat, in south-central Kansas.
Notes: Kiowa County was established February 26, 1867, named for the Kiowa tribe.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Kiowa County Courthouse – Greensburg, KS (construction began 1920; renovated with new windows and roof after 2007 tornado damage).
Notes: On the evening of May 4, 2007, an EF5 tornado – the first storm rated EF5 after the retirement of the original Fujita scale – struck Greensburg directly, tracking 28.8 miles and reaching 1.7 miles wide at its peak. The storm killed eleven residents, injured 63, and destroyed or damaged 95% of the city’s structures, with over $250 million in losses. In the years since, Greensburg has become internationally recognized for its deliberate choice to rebuild as one of the greenest towns in America: its new hospital, city hall, and school achieved the highest LEED certification level, and the city now draws 100% of its electricity from a small wind farm. This history is presented here with care, given the real loss of life involved, while also honoring the genuine resilience the community has shown since. Greensburg is also home to the world’s largest hand-dug well – the historic 1887 “Big Well,” 32 feet wide and 109 feet deep, dug entirely by hand over nearly two years and now housed within the award-winning Big Well Museum, one of the official 8 Wonders of Kansas. Kiowa County soil also contains numerous fragments of the ancient Brenham meteorite, which fell more than 10,000 years ago.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Kiowa County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via kiowacountyks.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Kiowa County Library (Greensburg) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Big Well Museum and its associated meteorite exhibits are the county’s premier attraction, alongside Greensburg’s showcase of energy-efficient “green” rebuilding.
Notes: Greensburg’s resilience story and the genuine engineering marvel of the Big Well are presented here with care and pride, respectively, given the community’s real history.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Kiowa County Appraiser’s Office – confirm current contact via kiowacountyks.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
⚠️ No confirmed dedicated Kiowa County animal shelter was found in current sourcing. Local volunteer pet-foster contacts are listed via the Kiowa County community website (livekiowacountyks.com); residents should also contact the Kiowa County Sheriff’s Office, (620) 723-2182, for animal control matters.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Kiowa County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via kiowacountyks.gov.
NOTES: Kiowa County is the third county in the eighth Kansas Round 3 batch, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. Greensburg’s resilience story and the genuine engineering marvel of the Big Well are presented here with care and pride, respectively, given the community’s real history. ⚠️ 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 Kiowa County County
Kiowa County is south-central Kansas’s tornado-rebuilt green city and Big Well county – Greensburg’s extraordinary decision after 2007’s EF5 tornado to rebuild as America’s most sustainable small city and the world’s largest hand-dug well define a community whose resilience and innovation have made it one of Kansas’s most inspirational stories.
Greensburg (the county seat, population ~700) is Kiowa County’s governmental hub on US 54, a south-central Kansas community whose green rebuilding legacy, Big Well museum, and Red Hills proximity anchor its remarkable identity.
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Kiowa County Appraiser at 211 E. Florida Avenue, Greensburg, KS 67054, phone 620-723-2162. KS assessed at 11.5% of appraised value.
Courts & Legal
Kiowa County District Court at 211 E. Florida Avenue, Greensburg, KS 67054, phone 620-723-2598, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
211 W. Kansas Ave., Greensburg, KS 67054
(620) 723-3366
DISTRICT COURT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
211 W. Kansas Ave., Greensburg, KS 67054
(620) 723-2982
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
211 W. Kansas Ave., Greensburg, KS 67054
(620) 723-3366
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Kiowa County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The Big Well Museum and Greensburg’s post-tornado rebuilding story are significant local historical resources.
Local societies
No dedicated Kiowa 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
Kiowa County District Court 211 East Florida Avenue, Greensburg, KS 67054 (620) 723-3317
Kiowa County was founded February 26, 1867, named for the Kiowa tribe. Its seat, Greensburg, is home to the world’s largest hand-dug well (the Big Well). A devastating EF5 tornado struck Greensburg on May 4, 2007, and the county courthouse was rebuilt in 2009.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Kansas has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code, maintaining its own statutory framework under the Kansas Probate Code (K.S.A. Chapter 59). Kansas offers several tracks depending on estate size and complexity:
Small Estate Affidavit – for estates where the total value of probate property, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $75,000 (raised from $40,000 effective July 1, 2023), available under K.S.A. 59-1507b. This transfers personal property only. If the decedent left a will, it must still be filed with the probate court even though it isn’t being formally probated.
Simplified Administration – under the Kansas Simplified Estates Act (K.S.A. 59-3201 et seq.), the most common route for straightforward estates.
Formal Probate – supervised or unsupervised administration through the District Court for larger or more complex estates.
A will must be filed for probate within 6 months of death, or it may not be admitted, forcing the estate into intestate distribution.
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 Kiowa County District Court.
The court admits the will (if any) and appoints the personal representative.
Notice to creditors is published per court order; creditors have a defined window to file claims.
The personal representative inventories assets, pays valid debts and expenses, and – under unsupervised administration – acts with reduced court check-ins.
Without a surviving spouse or children, Kansas intestate succession law (K.S.A. 59-501 et seq.) determines which blood relatives inherit.
After debts are paid, the personal representative distributes assets and files a final accounting; the court closes the estate upon approval.
What it costs
Court costs may be remitted for small estates under recent statutory changes.
Executor/administrator and attorney fees are generally reasonable-fee based rather than a fixed statutory percentage.
Typical timelines: Small Estate Affidavit can proceed relatively quickly; formal probate commonly takes several months to over a year.
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
211 W. Kansas Ave., Greensburg, KS 67054
(620) 723-3316
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
211 W. Kansas Ave., Greensburg, KS 67054
(620) 723-3366
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
211 W. Kansas Ave., Greensburg, KS 67054
(620) 723-3366
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Kiowa County Memorial Hospital – 721 W. Kansas Avenue, Greensburg, KS 67054 | (620) 723-3341 | Email: [email protected]. Rebuilt as the first hospital in the United States to achieve carbon neutrality (2010). 24/7 Emergency Care and Ambulance Services; Lab/Radiology Mon-Fri 8 AM-5 PM.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Greensburg
Population: 2,400
Area: 723 sq mi
Established: 1886
Public Records
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