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Kansas County
Sherman County, Kansas
Giant Van Gogh Sunflower and I-70 wheat country - from Goodland's giant Van Gogh sunflower painting (a three-story reproduction of Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" mounted on an easel stands as Goodland's most distinctive landmark - an unlikely art installation in the middle of the Kansas wheat plains that has made the city one of the most quirky and memorable I-70 stops in the state) to Sherman County's position as one of Kansas's premier wheat-producing counties (the county's high plains terrain and reliable dryland farming conditions support consistent winter wheat production that makes it a significant contributor to Kansas's identity as the breadbasket of the nation).
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Office: Sherman County Emergency Management – coordinated through the Sheriff’s Office and Clerk’s Office, 812/813 Broadway, Goodland, KS 67735 | Clerk (785) 890-4806.
Sheriff: Sherman County Sheriff’s Office – 813½ Broadway, Goodland, KS 67735 | (785) 890-4835; Sheriff Chad Mann. Jail capacity approximately 50 inmates. Fingerprinting available Mon-Fri, same hours as office (8 AM-5 PM Mountain Time – Sherman County observes Mountain Time).
Northwest Kansas Ambulance Service (NWKSAS) provides 911 EMS response for Sherman County and the cities of Goodland, Edson, Ruleton, Caruso, and Kanarado, with five ALS-capable ambulances.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-70 and US-24 serve Goodland, the county seat, in far northwestern Kansas near the Colorado border.
Notes: Sherman County was created by the Kansas Legislature in 1873, organized September 20, 1886, named for Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman. The county observes Mountain Time, unlike most of Kansas.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Sherman County Courthouse – Goodland, KS.
Notes: Goodland is home to “The Big Easel,” a genuinely striking roadside landmark and the World’s Largest Easel. Erected in 2001 by Canadian artist Cameron Cross, the 80-foot steel easel weighing roughly 40,000 pounds holds a hand-painted 24-by-32-foot reproduction of Vincent van Gogh’s “Three Sunflowers in a Vase” – the first in van Gogh’s famous series of sunflower paintings created in Arles, France, 1888-89. It is the third of Cross’s planned “Big Easel Project” installations (following Altona, Canada, 1998, and Emerald, Australia, 1999), part of an ambition to erect all seven of van Gogh’s sunflower paintings on giant easels across seven countries; Goodland’s remains the only one in the United States and was chosen for the town’s connection to sunflower agriculture – Kansas being the official “Sunflower State.” Standing in Pioneer Park just off I-70, the easel was repainted and restored by Cross himself in 2012. Nearby, the Land and Sky Scenic Byway also passes Mount Sunflower, the highest point in Kansas.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Sherman County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via shermancountyks.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Goodland Public Library (Goodland) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Big Easel (Pioneer Park) and the nearby Mount Sunflower – the highest natural point in Kansas – are the county’s premier and most photographed attractions.
Notes: The genuine, record-holding status of the World’s Largest Easel is among the most delightful roadside landmarks covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Sherman County Appraiser’s Office – confirm current contact via shermancountyks.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Goodland Animal Control – 204 W. 11th Street, Goodland, KS 67735.
Northwest Kansas Animal Shelter – Mailing: PO Box 128, Goodland, KS 67735 | (785) 899-6464. Founded 1990 by concerned citizens; operates a foster-care network and strives to be a no-kill shelter, licensed by the Kansas Animal Health Department.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Sherman County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via shermancountyks.gov.
NOTES: Sherman County is the first county in the fifteenth Kansas Round 3 batch, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, record-holding status of the World’s Largest Easel is among the most delightful roadside landmarks covered anywhere in this project. Note: Sherman County observes Mountain Time. 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 Sherman County
Sherman County is northwest Kansas’s giant Van Gogh sunflower and I-70 wheat corridor county – the unexpected three-story art installation and the county’s exceptional wheat production define a high plains border county where Goodland serves travelers on I-70 and farm communities across the Colorado-Kansas border region.
Goodland (the county seat, population ~4,400) is Sherman County’s governmental and commercial hub, a northwest Kansas city at the I-70/US 24 junction near the Colorado border.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Sherman County Appraiser at 813 Broadway, Goodland, KS 67735, phone 785-890-4817.
Courts & Legal
Sherman County District Court at 813 Broadway, Goodland, KS 67735, phone 785-890-4800, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
813 Broadway, Goodland, KS 67735
(785) 890-4800
DISTRICT COURT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
813 Broadway, Goodland, KS 67735
(785) 890-4840
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
813 Broadway, Goodland, KS 67735
(785) 890-4800
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Sherman County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Sherman 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
Sherman County District Court, 15th Judicial District 813 Broadway Avenue, Room 201, Goodland, KS 67735 (785) 890-4850 Sherman County is in far northwestern Kansas, seated in Goodland.
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 Sherman 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
813 Broadway, Goodland, KS 67735
(785) 899-4820
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
813 Broadway, Goodland, KS 67735
(785) 890-4800
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
813 Broadway, Goodland, KS 67735
(785) 890-4800
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Sherman County Health Dept
(785) 890-4888
KS DCF — Northwest Region
(785) 626-3254
KS Medicaid (KanCare)
(800) 792-4884
Goodland Regional Medical Center
goodlandregional.com (quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Sherman County Health Department – confirm current contact via shermancountyks.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Goodland
Population: 5,900
Area: 1,056 sq mi
Established: 1873
Tier: 4
Public Records
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