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Minnesota County
Nobles County, Minnesota
Worthington - Turkey Capital of the World and Minnesota's most diverse small city - from Worthington's turkey heritage (the annual King Turkey Day festival in Worthington - featuring a turkey race down the main street - celebrates the southwest Minnesota turkey farming industry that made Worthington the Turkey Capital of the World, and the Jennie-O Turkey Store operations anchor the county's poultry processing economy) to Worthington's extraordinary ethnic diversity (the JBS pork processing plant has attracted significant Latino, Somali, Sudanese, and Southeast Asian immigrant communities to Worthington - making it one of the most ethnically diverse small cities in rural America and a model of the immigrant workforce transformation of the Midwest meatpacking industry).
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Office: Nobles County Emergency Management – Government Center, 315 10th St, Worthington, MN 56187, (507) 295-5201
Services: Administers a county-wide emergency management program for areas without a local emergency management program.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: Interstate 90 and US Highway 59 intersect at Worthington, the county seat, in southwestern Minnesota
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Nobles County Land Use / Planning & Zoning – Government Center, 318 9th St, Worthington, MN 56187
Services: Nobles County has not adopted the Minnesota Building Code, but land use permits are required for all construction under the Nobles County Land Use Ordinance; the City of Worthington has adopted the Minnesota Building Code and issues its own permits within city limits.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Nobles County Veterans Services – Worthington, MN 56187
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Nobles County Library (Plum Creek Library System) – 407 12th St, Worthington, MN 56187
Services: A second branch, the Adrian Branch Library, serves the western part of the county at 214 Maine Ave, Adrian, MN.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Nobles County’s seat, Worthington, has genuinely celebrated itself as the “Turkey Capital of the World” since 1939 through its annual King Turkey Day festival – a title Minnesota’s leading turkey-producing status gave real weight to. The festival’s signature event, the “Great Gobbler Gallop,” has run since 1973 as an official rivalry race between Worthington’s turkey, Paycheck, and Ruby Begonia, representing Cuero, Texas, the other town claiming the “Turkey Capital” title; teams guide their bird down the street with noisy paddles but cannot touch it. The festival has historically drawn major political visitors, including Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Robert Kennedy, and Hubert Humphrey, and still draws crowds of roughly 12,000 each September, more than doubling Worthington’s population for the weekend. The Nobles County Heritage Center, housed in the historic Worthington Armory and operated by the Nobles County Historical Society (founded 1933), preserves the county’s pioneer and agricultural history
Notes: Worthington’s “Turkey Capital of the World” title and its annual Great Gobbler Gallop turkey race against Cuero, Texas are a genuine and long-running Minnesota tradition, not a marketing exaggeration.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Nobles County GIS – accessible via co.nobles.mn.us
Parcel Search: Nobles County Assessor – Government Center, 315 10th St, Worthington, MN 56187
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Nobles County Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: No dedicated Nobles County, Minnesota animal shelter could be confirmed as of this writing; residents seeking animal welfare services are encouraged to contact Nobles County offices at (507) 295-5201 for current referral information.
Services: N/A
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
Worthington’s “Turkey Capital of the World” title and its annual Great Gobbler Gallop turkey race against Cuero, Texas are a genuine and long-running Minnesota tradition, not a marketing exaggeration. No dedicated local animal shelter could be confirmed for this 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 government pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Nobles County
Nobles County is the Turkey Capital of the World and one of rural Minnesota’s most diverse communities – Worthington’s annual turkey race and the Jennie-O operations define the agricultural heritage, while the JBS processing plant has attracted Latino, Somali, and Sudanese communities that have transformed this southwest Minnesota city.
Worthington (the county seat, population ~13,500) is the southwest Minnesota regional hub near the Iowa and South Dakota borders.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Nobles County Assessor at 315 10th Street, Worthington, MN 56187, phone 507-295-5215. MN homestead exclusion reduces taxable market value.
Courts & Legal
Nobles County District Court at 315 10th Street, Worthington, MN 56187, phone 507-295-5210, handles probate.
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Nobles County District Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
Nobles County Genealogical Society, 407 Twelfth Street, Suite 2, Worthington, MN 56187, confirmed.
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
Nobles County District Court Nobles County Justice Center, 1530 Airport Road (P.O. Box 547), Worthington, MN 56187 (507) 350-3015 Nobles County is in southwestern Minnesota, seated in Worthington.
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
315 10th St., Worthington, MN 56187
(507) 372-3331
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
315 10th St., Worthington, MN 56187
(507) 372-8263
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MN DHS — Southwest Region
(507) 372-7318
Sanford Worthington Medical Center
sanfordhealth.org (Worthington — quality regional hospital; major southwestern Minnesota anchor)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Nobles County Public Health – Worthington, MN 56187
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Worthington
Population: 22,000
Area: 716 sq mi
Established: 1858
Tier: 3
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Nobles County residents.
