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Nebraska County
Howard County, Nebraska
Dannebrog - the Danish Capital of Nebraska - from Dannebrog's extraordinary Danish heritage (the Danish settlers who founded Dannebrog in 1871 - naming it for the Danish national flag - established one of the most culturally cohesive Scandinavian communities in Nebraska, and author Roger Welsch brought Dannebrog national attention through his essays and television appearances celebrating the town's quirky Danish-Nebraskan cultural fusion) to the Loup River's Howard County landscape and St. Paul's role as the agricultural hub for central Nebraska's river valley farming communities.
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Office: Howard County Emergency Management – 612 Indian Street, St. Paul, NE 68873, (308) 754-4933
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: Nebraska Highway 92 and Highway 11 serve St. Paul, the county seat, in central Nebraska, part of the Grand Island metropolitan area
Transit: Limited; primarily auto-dependent – confirm current regional options directly with the county.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Howard County Planning and Zoning Department – 612 Indian Street #2, St. Paul, NE 68873
Services: Issues zoning/building permits and 911 address applications for the county’s villages of Boelus, Cushing, Elba, Farwell, and St. Libory.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Howard County Veterans Service Officer – St. Paul, NE
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: St. Paul Public Library – 1301 Howard Avenue, St. Paul, NE 68873
Services: Historically housed for many years within the Howard County Courthouse alongside the jail, courtroom, and Grand Army of the Republic (Civil War veterans organization) offices.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Howard County, named for Union Civil War General Oliver Otis Howard (the abolitionist “Christian General” who later led the Freedmen’s Bureau), is genuinely the birthplace of two celebrated pieces of Americana. Grover Cleveland Alexander, one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history and a National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee with 373 career wins (third all-time), was born and grew up pitching around Elba and St. Paul before his professional career, and later retired back home to St. Paul; the town honors him every July with the four-day Grover Cleveland Alexander Days festival featuring baseball tournaments, parades, and a car show, and a historical marker stands in his tribute at St. Paul City Park. Howard County is also genuinely the birthplace of Dorothy Lynch dressing, the beloved tangy salad dressing invented by Dorothy Lynch herself in St. Paul and now sold nationwide. The county seat’s own name carries a charming origin story – when townsite founders drew names from a hat, “Athens” was initially chosen but rejected due to a conflicting existing post office, after which U.S. Senator Phineas Hitchcock suggested “St. Paul” to honor the town’s founders, brothers James and Nicholas Paul, who had surveyed much of the state; St. Paul secured the permanent county seat in a close 1874 election against rival Dannebrog, winning 226 to 208
Notes: Howard County’s dual claim to fame – the birthplace of a baseball Hall of Famer and a nationally beloved salad dressing – makes it one of the more distinctively American counties found anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Howard County GIS – accessible via howardcounty.ne.gov
Parcel Search: Howard County Assessor – St. Paul, NE
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Howard County Planning and Zoning Department
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
No dedicated animal shelter confirmed within Howard County, Nebraska – flagged honestly (note: “St. Paul” animal shelters exist in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and Saint Paul, Alberta, Canada, both unrelated jurisdictions – do not confuse them with Howard County, Nebraska’s seat of the same name).
Contact: Howard County Sheriff’s Office, based at the Howard County Courthouse, 612 Indian Street, St. Paul, NE, handles animal-related calls; nearest dedicated shelters are in larger surrounding communities such as Grand Island.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy – dee.nebraska.gov
Notes: Contact your specific municipality directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Howard County’s St. Paul is genuinely the hometown of baseball Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander and the birthplace of Dorothy Lynch salad dressing. No dedicated county animal shelter was confirmed – note that similarly named “St. Paul” animal shelters exist in Minnesota and Alberta, Canada, not Nebraska. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, and library pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Howard County
Howard County is the Danish Capital of Nebraska – Dannebrog’s Danish immigrant heritage and the national attention brought by writer Roger Welsch’s affectionate essays about small-town Nebraska life make this tiny Howard County community one of Nebraska’s most celebrated cultural curiosities.
Dannebrog (population ~300) gained national fame through Roger Welsch’s celebration of its Danish heritage and small-town Nebraska character. St. Paul (the county seat, population ~2,000) serves the county’s agricultural communities.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Howard County Assessor at 612 Indian Street, Suite 4, St. Paul, NE 68873, phone 308-754-4261. NE property assessed at actual value.
Courts & Legal
Howard County District Court at 612 Indian Street, St. Paul, NE 68873, phone 308-754-4343, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
612 Indian St., St. Paul, NE 68873
(308) 754-4343
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Howard County Court, Probate Division (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Howard 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
Howard County Court, Probate Division 612 Indian Street, St. Paul, NE 68873 (308) 754-4192 Howard County is in central Nebraska, seated in St. Paul.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Nebraska adopted the Uniform Probate Code, codified as the Nebraska Probate Code (Neb. Rev. Stat. Chapter 30). In Nebraska, the COUNTY COURT has exclusive original jurisdiction over probate matters.
Small Estate Affidavit (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,125 for personal property; § 30-24,129 for real property) – as of a July 2024 statutory amendment, available when personal property does not exceed $100,000 and real property does not exceed $100,000 (both thresholds raised from $50,000). At least 30 days must have passed since death, and no application or petition for a personal representative may be pending. For personal property, the affiant presents a notarized affidavit directly to the institution holding the property along with a certified death certificate. For real property, the affidavit is filed with the register of deeds in the county where the property is located.
Informal Probate – the most common path for uncontested estates, handled by the county court registrar with minimal judicial involvement.
Formal Probate – required when there’s no will, when a will’s validity is contested, or when there’s disagreement over the personal representative or how assets should be distributed. Handled by a county judge.
Step 2: filing for formal or informal probate
File an application (informal) or petition (formal) with the County Court in the county where the decedent resided.
The court appoints the personal representative and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors and gives direct notice to known creditors, who have a limited window from the date of first publication to file claims.
The personal representative inventories the estate’s assets and completes the required Probate Inventory Worksheet.
The personal representative completes and files any required Nebraska inheritance tax paperwork before the estate can be closed.
After debts, taxes, and expenses are paid, the personal representative distributes the remaining assets and closes the estate.
What it costs
Nebraska does not set statutory percentage-based fees; personal representative and attorney fees are generally based on reasonable compensation for time and services.
UNIQUE TO NEBRASKA: Nebraska is one of only six states with an inheritance tax, collected at the COUNTY level. Transfers to a surviving spouse are exempt; close relatives get reduced rates; more distant relatives and unrelated beneficiaries are taxed at higher rates.
No separate state estate 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
612 Indian St., St. Paul, NE 68873
(308) 754-4455
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
612 Indian St., St. Paul, NE 68873
(308) 754-4343
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
NE DHHS — Howard
(308) 754-4433
Howard County Medical Center
howardcountymedical.org (St. Paul — quality critical access hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Howard County Public Health services coordinated through regional Nebraska public health district.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: St. Paul
Population: 6,300
Area: 569 sq mi
Established: 1871
Tier: 3
Public Records
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