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Minnesota County
Swift County, Minnesota
Benson's Chippewa River valley and Lac qui Parle wildlife heritage - from the Chippewa River's Swift County corridor (the Chippewa River flowing through Swift County's productive agricultural landscape drains the west-central Minnesota prairie into the Minnesota River - the river valley's fertile soils and the surrounding prairie farmland produce corn, soybeans, and small grain in a traditional Midwestern agricultural community) and the proximity to Lac qui Parle Wildlife Management Area (one of the most significant waterfowl staging areas in the Central Flyway, where hundreds of thousands of Canada geese and ducks concentrate each fall migration).
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Office: Swift County Emergency Management – (320) 843-3544 | swiftcounty.gov
Services: Alert system via MN Alert, Swift County Alert, and NOAA Weather Radio; FEMA Region 5. Swift County is a west-central Minnesota county (population ~9,500) with a largely agricultural economy, facing severe winter storms and flooding along the Chippewa and Pomme de Terre Rivers.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-12 (east-west through Benson, connecting the Twin Cities to the east and South Dakota to the west) and US-59 (north-south through Benson, connecting Willmar to the south and Wheaton to the north); Benson, the county seat, is about 120 miles west of Minneapolis
Transit: Limited and primarily auto-dependent; Swift County Transit serves local needs.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Swift County Zoning/Planning – Benson, MN 56215, (320) 843-3811
Services: Swift County’s economy is centered on agriculture and wind energy development, with modest residential development; building and zoning permits are handled through the county courthouse.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Swift County Veterans Services – Benson, MN 56215
Notes: Minneapolis VA Health Care System is the nearest full-service VA facility for the county’s small veteran population.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Swift County Library (Pioneerland Library System) – Benson, MN 56215
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Swift County is home to Monson Lake State Park, one of Minnesota’s smaller and more peaceful state parks, offering swimming, camping, and good walleye and bass fishing on Monson Lake. The park also carries a difficult piece of history – the surrounding area was the site of an 1862 U.S.-Dakota War attack. The Chippewa River offers fishing and canoeing through the county’s agricultural landscape, and the surrounding prairie pothole country makes Swift County a strong destination for pheasant and waterfowl hunting. The Swift County Wind Farm, one of west-central Minnesota’s significant wind energy developments, is also a visible feature of the modern landscape
Notes: Monson Lake State Park offers peaceful prairie-lake recreation alongside a documented, difficult chapter of the 1862 U.S.-Dakota War.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Swift County Maps and GIS – accessible via swiftcounty.gov/gis, including interactive parcel maps and document maps
Parcel Search: Swift County Assessor – Benson, MN 56215
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Swift County Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Humane Society of Swift County – 211 11th Street North, Benson, MN 56215, (320) 808-3497
Services: A small, largely volunteer-run nonprofit shelter serving Benson, Appleton, Kerkhoven, and the surrounding Swift County area, operating primarily through a network of foster homes.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency – pca.state.mn.us
Notes: Chippewa River and Pomme de Terre River watershed management, agricultural runoff and tile drainage nutrient management, wind energy environmental review, and prairie pothole wetland management are the county’s main environmental focus areas.
NOTES
Monson Lake State Park offers peaceful prairie-lake recreation alongside a documented, difficult chapter of the 1862 U.S.-Dakota War. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Swift County
Swift County is west-central Minnesota’s Chippewa River agricultural valley near one of the Central Flyway’s premier waterfowl staging areas – the Lac qui Parle WMA’s autumn goose concentrations are one of the Midwest’s most spectacular wildlife events, and the surrounding farmland sustains a traditional grain and livestock economy.
Benson (the county seat, population ~3,200) serves Swift County’s agricultural communities between Willmar and the South Dakota border.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Swift County Assessor at 301 14th Street N., Benson, MN 56215, phone 320-843-3544. MN homestead exclusion reduces taxable market value.
Courts & Legal
Swift County District Court at 301 14th Street N., Benson, MN 56215, phone 320-843-2744, handles probate.
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Swift County District Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Swift 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
Swift County District Court 301 14th Street North, Benson, MN 56215 (320) 843-2744 Swift County is in west-central Minnesota, seated in Benson.
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
301 14th St. N., Benson, MN 56215
(320) 843-2195
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
301 14th St. N., Benson, MN 56215
(320) 843-3544
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Countryside Public Health (serving Swift County) – Benson, MN 56215
Hospital: Swift County-Benson Health Services – Benson, MN, (320) 843-4232, a critical access hospital serving this rural county.
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