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Minnesota County
Lincoln County, Minnesota
Lake Benton - Minnesota's wind energy pioneer and the Buffalo Ridge - from Lake Benton's wind energy significance (the Buffalo Ridge in Lincoln County - the highest terrain in southwestern Minnesota - catches the consistent prairie winds that made Lincoln County and the surrounding area one of the first large-scale wind energy development zones in the United States in the 1990s - the wind turbines of the Coteau des Prairies have made Lincoln County a pioneer in renewable energy production, and Lake Benton hosts the Wind on the Wires interpretive center celebrating the region's wind heritage) and Lake Benton's beautiful prairie lake setting.
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Office: Lincoln County Emergency Management – PO Box 79, 319 N Rebecca St, Ivanhoe, MN 56142, (507) 694-1463
Services: Coordinates community education, hazard awareness, and disaster response with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US Highway 14 and Minnesota Highway 19 serve Ivanhoe, the county seat, in southwestern Minnesota
Transit: Lincoln County lies along the Buffalo Ridge, a prominent geological formation stretching roughly 60 miles through southwestern Minnesota.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Lincoln County Environmental Office – 221 North Wallace Avenue, PO Box 66, Ivanhoe, MN 56142, (507) 694-1344
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Lincoln County Veterans Services – Ivanhoe, MN 56142
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Ivanhoe Public Library (Plum Creek Library System) – 401 N. Harold St, Ivanhoe, MN 56142, (507) 694-1555
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Lincoln County, named for Abraham Lincoln, is genuinely known as home to the “Windpower Capital of the Midwest” – the city of Lake Benton and the surrounding Buffalo Ridge, a roughly 60-mile-long glacial moraine stretching from northwestern Iowa through southwestern Minnesota into South Dakota, whose steady 15-18 mph average winds made it one of the earliest and most significant commercial wind-energy development sites in the United States. Following a 1994 Minnesota legislative mandate for wind power development, Kenetech Windpower erected the first 73 turbines on Buffalo Ridge that same year; subsequent phases through the late 1990s and 2000s added hundreds more turbines from developers including Zond Energy Systems and Xcel Energy, and more than 450 turbines now line the ridge within Lincoln County alone. The county seat, Ivanhoe – platted in 1901 and named for Sir Walter Scott’s novel – is genuinely Minnesota’s least populous county seat, with a population of roughly 560
Notes: Lincoln County’s Buffalo Ridge corridor around Lake Benton is a genuine pioneering U.S. wind-energy site, proudly known as the “Windpower Capital of the Midwest” since the mid-1990s.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Lincoln County GIS – accessible via co.lincoln.mn.us
Parcel Search: Lincoln County Assessor – Ivanhoe, MN 56142
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: No dedicated Lincoln County, Minnesota animal shelter or humane society could be confirmed as of this writing; residents seeking animal welfare services are encouraged to contact the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office at (507) 694-1664 for current referral information.
Services: N/A
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency – pca.state.mn.us
Notes: Lincoln County Landfill/Transfer Site & Reuse Center – 1962 270th Street, Ivanhoe, MN 56142, (507) 694-1773 | Hours: Mon 1–4 PM, Wed 8 AM–4 PM, Sat 8 AM–12 PM.
NOTES
Lincoln County’s Buffalo Ridge corridor around Lake Benton is a genuine pioneering U.S. wind-energy site, proudly known as the “Windpower Capital of the Midwest” since the mid-1990s. No dedicated local animal shelter could be confirmed for this small, rural county as of this writing; this should be flagged for follow-up rather than filled with an inaccurate placeholder. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, library, and county pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Lincoln County
Lincoln County is Minnesota’s wind energy pioneer – the Buffalo Ridge’s consistent prairie winds made Lincoln County one of the first large-scale wind energy development zones in the US in the 1990s, and the turbine-dotted Coteau des Prairies landscape defines a county at the forefront of Minnesota’s renewable energy transition.
Ivanhoe (the county seat, population ~500) and Lake Benton (population ~700) serve Lincoln County’s farming and wind energy communities near the South Dakota border.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Lincoln County Assessor at 319 N. Rebecca Street, Ivanhoe, MN 56142, phone 507-694-1529. MN homestead exclusion reduces taxable market value.
Courts & Legal
Lincoln County District Court at 319 N. Rebecca Street, Ivanhoe, MN 56142, phone 507-694-1529, handles probate.
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Lincoln County District Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Lincoln 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
Lincoln County District Court Lincoln County Government Center, 319 N. Rebecca Street, Ivanhoe, MN 56142 (507) 680-7005
Lincoln County was founded March 6, 1873, named for Abraham Lincoln, in southwestern Minnesota, seated in Ivanhoe – since 1902, Minnesota’s least populous county seat.
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
319 N. Harold St., Ivanhoe, MN 56142
(507) 694-1441
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
319 N. Harold St., Ivanhoe, MN 56142
(507) 694-1529
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Southwest Health and Human Services (Lincoln County) – Ivanhoe, MN 56142
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Ivanhoe
Population: 5,500
Area: 537 sq mi
Established: 1873
Tier: 3
Public Records
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