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Office: Clark County Emergency Management Agency – 111 East Court Street, Suite 110, Kahoka, MO 63445; confirm current phone via clarkcountymo.org. Coordinates with the county’s Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), which unites fire departments, the ambulance district, the health department, the Sheriff’s Office, and Kahoka Police.
Sheriff: Clark County Sheriff’s Office – 518 N Lincoln St, Suite 1, Kahoka, MO 63445 | (660) 727-2911 | Fax: (660) 727-2445 | Email: [email protected]; Sheriff Shawn Webster.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. If the Sheriff’s Office phone lines are ever down (a known past occurrence), contact a neighboring county’s sheriff or the Missouri State Highway Patrol, (660) 385-2132, who can relay by radio.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-136 and MO-81 intersect at Kahoka, the county seat, in Missouri’s extreme northeastern corner.
Notes: Clark County, organized December 16, 1836, is named for William Clark, co-leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and later Governor of Missouri Territory. Roughly 6,500-6,600 residents across 512 square miles. The county is bounded by Iowa to the north, the Des Moines River to the northeast, and the Mississippi River to the east (separating it from Illinois) – making it one of the few Missouri counties bordering three other states’ territory via water and land boundaries. The county seat itself moved between Waterloo, Alexandria, and back to Waterloo before settling permanently in Kahoka in 1872.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Clark County Courthouse – Kahoka, MO 63445; confirm current phone via clarkcountymo.org. (Note: the original 1871 NRHP-listed courthouse was demolished following a 2010 county vote; a replacement structure now serves the county.)
Notes: Kahoka, platted in 1858, is named for the historic Cahokia tribe of the Illiniwek/Illinois Confederacy, who once occupied territory on both sides of the Mississippi River in this region. The Col. Hiram M. Hiller House and Montgomery Opera House are separately NRHP-listed in Kahoka.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Clark County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via clarkcountymo.org.
Federal: VA facilities accessible via the Kirksville VA clinic or Iowa City VA Medical Center (across the state line); confirm current routing.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
H.E. Sever Memorial Branch Library (Northeast Missouri Library Service) – Kahoka, MO 63445 | (660) 727-3262 for homebound book delivery within city limits; part of a shared library system also serving Edina, Lewistown, and LaGrange.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Clark County Historical Society Museum and nearby Mississippi River recreation areas (fishing, boating, wildlife observation) are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine tri-river geography – bordered by the Mississippi, Des Moines, and Fox Rivers – is a distinctive local fact.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Clark County Assessor – confirm current contact via clarkcountymo.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
No dedicated Clark County animal shelter was confirmed – flagged honestly rather than smoothed over. Confirm current options via clarkcountymo.org or the Sheriff’s Office, (660) 727-2911.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Clark County – confirm current contact via clarkcountymo.org.
NOTES: Clark County is the third county in the fourth batch of the Missouri v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine tri-river border geography (Iowa, Des Moines River, and Mississippi River) is a distinctive local fact. 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 Clark County County
Clark County is Missouri’s far northeast corner and Des Moines River agricultural county – the river border with Iowa and the rolling corn and cattle farming landscape define a remote county where Kahoka serves the surrounding farming communities in one of Missouri’s most consistently rural northeast corners.
Kahoka (the county seat, population ~1,900) is Clark County’s governmental hub, a small northeast Missouri agricultural community on US 136 near the Iowa border whose farming economy and courthouse anchor its identity in the northeast Missouri agricultural landscape.
All Services
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Clark County Assessor at 111 E. Court Street, Kahoka, MO 63445, phone 660-727-3283. MO residential assessed at 19% of true value.
Courts & Legal
Clark County Circuit Court at 111 E. Court Street, Kahoka, MO 63445, phone 660-727-3283, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
111 E. Court St., Kahoka, MO 63445
(660) 727-3283
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Clark County Circuit Court, Probate Division (probate case files – see Probate section above).
The 1871 Clark County Courthouse was NRHP-listed in 1983 but was demolished following a 2010 vote.
Local societies
No dedicated Clark 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
Clark County Circuit Court, Probate Division 111 E. Court Street, Suite 210, Kahoka, MO 63445 (660) 727-3292
Clark County was founded December 16, 1836, named for explorer William Clark, in Missouri’s northeastern corner, seated in Kahoka.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Missouri probate is governed by Title XXXI of the Missouri Revised Statutes (Chapters 470-475), the Probate Code.
Small Estate Affidavit (RSMo § 473.097) – available when the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $40,000. A 30-day waiting period after death applies, and only if no application for letters is pending. If the property listed is worth more than $15,000, the clerk must publish a notice to creditors in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. A bond may be required. Once the court issues a certified small estate certificate, the affiant presents it directly to whoever holds the property to collect and distribute assets – avoiding full probate. Typical timeline: about two months to close, versus six months to a year or more for full probate.
Formal Administration – required for larger or more complex estates. A petition for Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without one) is filed with the probate division. After review, the court appoints the personal representative and issues the letters. Missouri offers both supervised and independent administration. Missouri requires an attorney to represent the personal representative in both types of administration.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a petition with the Probate Division of the Circuit Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled.
The court appoints the personal representative and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative publishes a notice to creditors in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, and gives direct notice to known creditors. Creditors have 6 months from the date of first publication to file claims.
Within 30 days of appointment (unless the court extends the deadline), the personal representative files an inventory and appraisement of all estate assets.
After debts are paid and the creditor claim period expires, the personal representative distributes the remaining assets and files a final settlement with the court to close the estate.
What it costs
Missouri sets statutory minimum fees for attorneys and personal representatives based on a percentage of the estate’s value, though additional fees may be allowed for extraordinary services.
Missouri has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates.
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
111 E. Court St., Kahoka, MO 63445
(660) 727-2212
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
111 E. Court St., Kahoka, MO 63445
(660) 727-3283
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Clark County Health Department – 670 N Johnson St, Kahoka, MO | (660) 727-2356.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Kahoka
Population: 6,500
Area: 506 sq mi
Established: 1836
Public Records
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