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Minnesota · Twin Cities Metro Southwest · #447
Carver County, Minnesota
Southwest of Minneapolis along the Minnesota River, Carver County holds Paisley Park - Prince's studio and creative compound in Chanhassen - alongside some of the highest household incomes and best-performing school districts in Minnesota, in a county that has maintained its agricultural character in the face of considerable suburban pressure.
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Office: Carver County Emergency Management – 606 E. 4th Street, Chaska, MN 55318
Services: Handles prevention, preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation, including all-hazard mitigation planning coordination with local communities.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: Minnesota Highways 5 and 41 serve Chaska, the county seat, southwest of Minneapolis
Transit: Carver County Express Library, an SW Transit Station location, provides an additional library access point.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Carver County Land Management – (952) 361-1820, [email protected]
Services: Carver County issues building permits for all 10 townships; permits within city jurisdictions are handled by the respective city. Permits required for structures greater than 200 square feet; townships frequently also require a septic system compliance check (roughly 9 in 10 applications).
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Carver County Veterans Services – 600 E. 4th Street, Chaska, MN 55318
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Carver County Library (Chaska Library) – 4 City Hall Plaza, Chaska, MN 55318, (952) 303-0410 | Administration Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM–5 PM
Services: Chaska Library is located within the City Hall/Chaska Police Station Building at 4th and Pine.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Carver County, established February 20, 1855 and named for 18th-century explorer Jonathan Carver, who traveled from Boston to the Minnesota River and wintered among the Sioux near present-day New Ulm in 1766-67, is genuinely home to one of the most significant sites in American music history: Paisley Park in Chanhassen, the private estate and production complex of musician Prince. Built in 1986 at a cost of roughly $10 million and officially opened in September 1987, the 65,000-square-foot facility contains recording studios, a soundstage, and rehearsal space where Prince recorded most of his biggest hits and hosted artists including James Brown, Neil Young, and Madonna. Following Prince’s death in 2016, Paisley Park opened to the public as a museum, offering tours of the studios, exhibits chronicling films like “Purple Rain,” and Prince’s personal archives. The county seat of Chaska also has genuine brick-making heritage: an abundance of high-quality clay led to brick production beginning in 1857, and by the 1880s Chaska was a thriving brick manufacturing center shipping product by riverboat to St. Paul. Chanhassen is additionally home to the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, one of the largest professional dinner theater complexes in the United States, and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum lies just west of the city
Notes: Carver County’s Paisley Park is genuinely one of the most significant sites in American music history, the actual creative home and now museum of musician Prince.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Carver County GIS – accessible via carvercountymn.gov
Parcel Search: Carver County Property Tax & Elections – 600 E. 4th Street, Chaska, MN 55318, (952) 361-1910
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Carver County Emergency Management
Services: Genuinely founded in 1989, serving as the only animal shelter in southwestern Minnesota and serving Scott, Carver, Dakota, and Hennepin counties and beyond; primarily a foster-based rescue with a cat adoption space at its Chaska Wellness Center, supported by a team of over 200 volunteers and a “Fur Keeps” program that helps low-income families keep pets in their homes.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency – pca.state.mn.us
Notes: Contact your specific municipality directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Carver County’s Chanhassen is genuinely home to Paisley Park, the actual creative estate and now museum of musician Prince, one of the most visited music-history sites in the country. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, library, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Carver County
Carver County is one of the wealthiest suburban counties in Minnesota by median household income, a distinction driven by the composition of its communities. Chanhassen, Eden Prairie-adjacent, and Victoria are among the Twin Cities’ most sought-after addresses for professional and executive families seeking high-performing schools, lake access, and Highway 212 or I-494 commute corridors to Minneapolis employment. The county’s tax base benefits enormously from this affluence, and its school districts – particularly Minnetonka and Eastern Carver County – consistently rank among Minnesota’s top performers.
The most unexpected element of Carver County’s identity is Paisley Park. Prince Rogers Nelson – one of the most significant musical artists of the twentieth century – built his private studio and creative campus in Chanhassen in 1987 and lived there until his death in April 2016. Paisley Park is now a museum and performance venue operated by Graceland Holdings, drawing visitors from around the world to a suburban Carver County address that bears no resemblance to what most people expect to find at the end of a pilgrimage to Prince’s home. The county’s Minnesota River valley, Jonathan Carver Park, and the communities of Waconia and Norwood Young America in the county’s western agricultural reaches provide a counterbalance to the eastern suburb character.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Minnesota assesses property at 100% of market value annually. The homestead classification provides a tiered market value exclusion for owner-occupied primary residences. Property owners may file an April 30 objection; further appeal goes to the Minnesota Tax Court. The Senior Citizen Property Tax Deferral is available for qualifying homeowners 65+ with income at or below $96,000. Minnesota has an estate tax on estates above $3 million; no Minnesota inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
SENIOR SERVICES
Carver County Senior Services
600 East Fourth Street, Chaska, MN 55318
Phone: (952) 361-1232
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, caregiver support, home modification, and long-term care options counseling for Carver County residents.
Senior Services
Carver County Senior Services
600 East Fourth Street, Chaska, MN 55318
Phone: (952) 361-1232
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, caregiver support, home modification, and long-term care options counseling for Carver County residents.
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Carver County District Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Carver 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
Carver County District Court Carver County Justice Center, 604 East 4th Street, Chaska, MN 55318 (952) 361-1420 Carver County is in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, seated in Chaska.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Minnesota follows the Uniform Probate Code, which keeps most estates on a streamlined informal track. Minnesota’s small-estate shortcuts are unusual among states in that they can include real property, not just personal property.
Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property (Minn. Stat. § 524.3-1201) – for personal property only. The entire probate estate – including the contents of any safe deposit box, less liens and encumbrances – must be under $75,000. Joint tenancy property and assets that pass by beneficiary designation (life insurance, transfer-on-death accounts) don’t count toward the threshold. A 30-day waiting period applies after death, and no court filing is required – the affidavit is presented directly to the institution holding the property.
Summary Assignment – can include real property, and is court-based. Covers estates up to $75,000, including real property. A certified copy of the court’s Decree of Distribution is filed in the county real estate records to transfer title.
Summary Administration (Minn. Stat. § 524.3-1203) – the higher-threshold real-property option, covering estates up to $150,000, exclusive of the exempt homestead. The homestead itself is excluded from the value calculation entirely for both Summary Assignment and Summary Administration – Minnesota’s homestead exemption protects the family home from most creditor claims and it descends to the surviving spouse free of most claims against the estate. If closing and distribution follow the terms of a will, a formal probate hearing for the will is still required before a summary decree can issue.
STEP 2: FORMAL/INFORMAL PROBATE (for estates above the thresholds)
File with the District Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled; informal probate is available for most estates, with the personal representative appointed by the Registrar and minimal ongoing court interaction.
The personal representative publishes a creditor notice and directly notifies known creditors, opening a 4-month creditor claim period.
Once the creditor period closes and debts are paid, assets can typically be distributed and the estate closed without returning to court, unless there’s a dispute or a beneficiary requests a formal accounting.
Formal probate – requiring a hearing before a judge – is used in more complicated situations, such as will contests or disputes over the personal representative.
THE 3-YEAR DEADLINE – MORE RESTRICTIVE THAN MOST STATES Informal probate is no longer available after 3 years from the date of death, though formal probate may still be possible in limited circumstances.
What it costs
Small estate procedures can move relatively quickly once the 30-day wait passes. Standard informal probate is largely governed by the 4-month creditor period, so most straightforward estates take at least that long to close.
Minnesota has its own state estate tax, but the exemption threshold is relatively high – $3 million – so most Minnesota families aren’t affected. Rates on the amount above the exemption range from 13% to 16%, applied on a graduated scale; the exemption is not portable between spouses. Minnesota has no state inheritance tax.
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
606 E. 4th St., Chaska, MN 55318
(952) 361-1212
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
600 E. 4th St., Chaska, MN 55318
(952) 361-1910
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MN DHS — Metro Region
(952) 361-1600
Ridgeview Medical Center
ridgeviewmedical.org (Waconia — quality regional hospital; major Carver County anchor)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Carver County Public Health – 600 E 4th St, Chaska, MN 55318, (952) 361-1329 | Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM–4:30 PM
Services: Offers screenings, health education, immunization clinics, and family planning services.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Chaska
Population: 110,000
Area: 357 sq mi
Established: 1855
Tier: 3
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Carver County facilities via Amazon.
