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Michigan County
Clinton County, Michigan
St. Johns and Michigan peppermint capital - from St. Johns' distinction as the Peppermint Capital of the World (Clinton County was once the leading peppermint and spearmint producing region in the United States - the flat, well-drained soils and favorable climate of the mid-Michigan basin created ideal conditions for mint farming, and the annual Mint Festival in St. Johns celebrates this distinctive agricultural heritage that gave the county an unusual national identity) to Clinton County's growing Lansing metro suburban character (the county's proximity to Michigan's capital city along US 27 has driven steady residential growth as Lansing metro residents seek more rural settings while maintaining access to state government employment and Michigan State University).
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Office: Clinton County Office of Emergency Management – 100 E. State Street G300, St. Johns, MI 48879 | Email: [email protected]; Emergency Manager Tom Helms, Deputy Emergency Manager Rob Wooten; operates the Clinton County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) with 12 Emergency Support Function leaders.
Sheriff: Clinton County Sheriff’s Office – 1347 E Townsend Road, St. Johns, MI 48879 | (989) 224-5200; Sheriff Dush (born in Lansing, raised in St. Johns; joined the department in 2001, appointed Sheriff May 1, 2022).
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-127 and M-21 serve St. Johns, the county seat, roughly 18 miles north of Lansing, Michigan’s capital, and part of the Lansing-East Lansing metropolitan area.
Notes: St. Johns was conceived in late 1853 as a station for the Detroit and Milwaukee Railway, settled by mid-1854, and named for Michigan Auditor-General John Swegles’s scouting party; incorporated as a village in 1857 and as a city in 1904.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Clinton County Courthouse – St. Johns, MI 48879.
Notes: St. Johns is genuinely nicknamed the “Mint Capital of the World” – Clinton County ranks first in Michigan for total mint production, and in the early 1900s the region supplied nearly 90% of the world’s mint exports. The Crosby Mint Farm, established in 1912, remains one of the oldest continuously family-run mint farms in the United States, and the county is still home to more than 50 active mint farms today. St. Johns has celebrated this heritage with the annual St. Johns Mint Festival since 1985, held the second weekend of August at the Clinton County Fairgrounds (moving downtown starting in 2026 for its 40th-plus anniversary).
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Clinton County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via clinton-county.org.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current St. Johns-area public library address/phone via clinton-county.org.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The St. Johns Mint Festival, downtown St. Johns’s historic buildings and murals, and Clinton County’s extensive mint and general farmland are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine “Mint Capital of the World” distinction is one of the most distinctive agricultural-heritage facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Clinton County Equalization Office – confirm current contact via clinton-county.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Clinton County Animal Control Shelter – 1337 E Townsend Road, St. Johns, MI 48879 | (989) 224-5116; established under 1972 Michigan legislation authorizing county-wide animal control agencies; enforces the state Dog Law Act.
Clinton County Humane Society (CCHS/CCILHS) – a nonprofit working alongside county animal control and rescue organizations to place adoptable animals; confirm current phone via ccilhs.org.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Clinton County – confirm current contact via clinton-county.org.
NOTES: Clinton County is the seventh and final county in the third batch of the Michigan v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine “Mint Capital of the World” distinction is one of the most distinctive agricultural-heritage facts 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 Clinton County
Clinton County is mid-Michigan’s peppermint capital and Lansing northern suburb county – the mint farming heritage that made St. Johns a global flavor industry hub and the county’s growing character as a Lansing-MSU commuter community define a county at the intersection of Michigan’s agricultural traditions and expanding capital city metro.
St. Johns (the county seat, population ~8,000) is Clinton County’s governmental and commercial hub, a mid-Michigan city whose Mint Festival and agricultural character anchor the county identity between Lansing and Saginaw.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Clinton County Assessor at 100 E. State Street, St. Johns, MI 48879, phone 989-224-5120. MI assessed at 50% of true cash value.
Courts & Legal
Clinton County Probate Court at 100 E. State Street, St. Johns, MI 48879, phone 989-224-5140, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
100 E. State St., St. Johns, MI 48879
(989) 224-5140
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Clinton County Probate Court (estate/probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Clinton 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
Clinton County Probate Court Clinton County Courthouse, 100 E. State Street, St. Johns, MI 48879 Clinton County is in south-central Michigan, seated in St. Johns.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Michigan probate is governed by the Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC), MCL 700.1101 et seq.
Transfer by Affidavit (Small Estate Affidavit) – under MCL 700.3982/700.3983, available when the estate’s gross value (after funeral and burial expenses) doesn’t exceed a threshold that’s adjusted annually for inflation (roughly $50,000-$53,000 in recent years). No real estate can be involved. At least 28 days must pass after death before this affidavit can be used. The affidavit isn’t filed with the court; it’s presented directly to whoever holds the asset (a bank, for instance), along with a death certificate.
Petition and Order for Assignment (PC 556) – a small estate process for estates at or below the same statutory threshold, but this one CAN include real property. An heir or the person who paid the funeral bill files this petition with the probate court; the judge reviews and signs the order, and there’s a filing fee plus a statutory inventory fee based on estate value.
Informal Probate – the standard track for most estates above the small-estate threshold. Filed using Application for Informal Probate and/or Appointment of Personal Representative (PC 558); the court issues Letters of Authority (PC 573) to the personal representative without a hearing when the application is straightforward.
Formal/Supervised Administration – required when the will is contested, there’s a dispute over who should serve as personal representative, or the estate needs ongoing court supervision.
Step 2: filing for probate
Gather the death certificate, the will (if any), and an inventory of the decedent’s assets to determine which path fits.
File the appropriate petition or application with the Probate Court in the county where the decedent lived.
For informal probate, the court reviews the application and issues Letters of Authority appointing the personal representative, typically without a hearing.
The personal representative gathers and inventories assets, notifies and pays valid creditors, and – no earlier than 12 months after appointment – files a Sworn Closing Statement (PC 584) for informal probate, or a Petition for Complete Settlement (PC 585) followed by a court Order of Complete Settlement (PC 586) for formal administration.
What it costs
Michigan probate generally runs 7 to 18 months and costs roughly 3% to 7% of the estate’s value in typical cases.
Filing fees vary by petition type; a statutory inventory fee, set by MCL 600.871, is calculated based on the estate’s total value and applies to most probate filings.
Michigan does not require an attorney for probate, though many people use one for anything beyond a very simple estate.
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
1347 E. Sturgis St., St. Johns, MI 48879
(989) 224-5200
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
100 E. State St., St. Johns, MI 48879
(989) 224-5140
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MI DHHS — South Central Region
(989) 224-3200
Sparrow Clinton Hospital
sparrow.org (St. Johns — quality community hospital; Sparrow Health affiliate)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Clinton County Health Department – confirm current phone via clinton-county.org.
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Editorial Trust
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: St. Johns
Population: 80,000
Area: 572 sq mi
Established: 1831
Tier: 2
Public Records
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