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Kansas County
Ottawa County, Kansas
Minneapolis and Smoky Hills Solomon River valley - from Minneapolis's position as the hub of Ottawa County's agricultural economy to the Smoky Hills terrain (Ottawa County sits in the scenic Smoky Hills region of north-central Kansas where limestone outcroppings, cedar canyons, and the Solomon River valley create a more varied landscape than the surrounding plains - the county's rolling hills and river corridor support wheat, sorghum, and cattle operations that define this north-central Kansas agricultural community).
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Office: Ottawa County Emergency Management – 307 N. Concord, Minneapolis, KS 67467. Coordinates outdoor tornado sirens across Minneapolis and surrounding towns; sirens sound a solid three-minute blast with no “all clear” tone – a second three-minute blast signals a new tornado sighting.
Sheriff: Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office – 312 N. Ottawa, Minneapolis, KS 67467 | (785) 392-2157 | Jail Admin (785) 392-3625 | Fax (785) 392-3659. 911 Communications, co-located with the 60-bed Detention Center (opened December 1996) behind the courthouse, dispatches for Minneapolis PD, Delphos PD, Minneapolis/Bennington EMS, and 11 county fire districts. Covers roughly 720 square miles including Minneapolis, Delphos, Culver, Tescott, Bennington, Ada, Wells, Niles, and Verdi.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-81 and K-106 serve Minneapolis, the county seat, in north-central Kansas along the Solomon River.
Notes: Ottawa County was established February 27, 1860, named for the Odawa (Ottawa) tribe. Minneapolis, platted in 1866 and named for Minneapolis, Minnesota, was incorporated in 1871.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Ottawa County Courthouse – Minneapolis, KS.
Notes: Just southwest of Minneapolis, Ottawa County is home to Rock City, a genuinely rare and remarkable geological formation designated a National Natural Landmark in 1976. Within a patch of prairie roughly 500 meters long, Rock City contains around 200 giant spherical sandstone concretions – some up to 20 feet in diameter – formed from Dakota sandstone deposited along a Cretaceous-era inland sea roughly 100 million years ago and later cemented into hard, boulder-like spheres by mineral-rich groundwater. Geologists consider the site globally unique: nowhere else on Earth are so many concretions of this size found concentrated in one place. A Native American legend recorded in local newspapers as early as 1898 described the boulders as Thunderbird eggs. Nearby, the Minneapolis Archeological Site – a prehistoric village and the type site for the Smoky Hill archaeological phase – is separately listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Ottawa County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via ottawacounty.org.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Minneapolis Public Library (Minneapolis) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Rock City (National Natural Landmark, open May 1-September 1, small admission fee) is the county’s premier and most scientifically distinctive attraction, alongside the Minneapolis Archeological Site.
Notes: The genuine, globally unique concentration of giant sandstone concretions at Rock City is among the most scientifically remarkable natural features covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Ottawa County Appraiser’s Office – confirm current contact via ottawacounty.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
⚠️ No confirmed dedicated Ottawa County animal shelter was found in current sourcing. Ottawa County Animal Clinic (private veterinary practice) operates in Minneapolis. Residents should contact the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office, (785) 392-2157, for current animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Ottawa County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via ottawacounty.org.
NOTES: Ottawa County is the second county in the twelfth Kansas Round 3 batch, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, globally unique concentration of giant sandstone concretions at Rock City is among the most scientifically remarkable natural features covered 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 Ottawa County
Ottawa County is north-central Kansas’s Smoky Hills and Solomon River agricultural county – wheat and cattle farming across the rolling limestone hills define a county where Minneapolis provides governmental services to surrounding farm communities in the scenic Smoky Hills region between Salina and Concordia.
Minneapolis (the county seat, population ~2,000) is Ottawa County’s governmental and commercial hub, a north-central Kansas Smoky Hills town on the Solomon River.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Ottawa County Appraiser at 307 N. Concord Street, Minneapolis, KS 67467, phone 785-392-3200.
Courts & Legal
Ottawa County District Court at 307 N. Concord Street, Minneapolis, KS 67467, phone 785-392-2825, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
307 N. Concord, Minneapolis, KS 67467
(785) 392-2279
DISTRICT COURT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
307 N. Concord, Minneapolis, KS 67467
(785) 392-3205
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
307 N. Concord, Minneapolis, KS 67467
(785) 392-2279
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Ottawa County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Ottawa 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
Ottawa County District Court, 28th Judicial District 307 North Concord Street, Minneapolis, KS 67467 (785) 392-2917 Ottawa County is in north-central Kansas, seated in Minneapolis (named for Minneapolis, Minnesota).
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 Ottawa 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
307 N. Concord, Minneapolis, KS 67467
(785) 392-2165
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
307 N. Concord, Minneapolis, KS 67467
(785) 392-2279
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
307 N. Concord, Minneapolis, KS 67467
(785) 392-2279
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Ottawa County Health Dept
(785) 392-2125
KS DCF — North Central Region
(785) 263-3600
KS Medicaid (KanCare)
(800) 792-4884
Ottawa County Health Center
(785) 392-2122
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Ottawa County Health Department – confirm current contact via ottawacounty.org.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Minneapolis
Population: 5,900
Area: 721 sq mi
Established: 1860
Tier: 4
Public Records
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