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Nebraska · Northeast Nebraska · #457
Madison County, Nebraska
Norfolk sits in northeast Nebraska's rolling farm country as the regional hub for a wide stretch of the Elkhorn River valley - and happens to be the birthplace of Johnny Carson, who spent thirty years as the most powerful person in American late-night television and never forgot where he was from.
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Office: Region 11 Emergency Management – 701 Koenigstein Ave, Norfolk, NE 68701, (402) 844-2050
Services: Serves Madison, Antelope, and Pierce Counties as a joint three-county emergency management region.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: Nebraska Highway 275 and the Cowboy Trail Corridor serve Norfolk, Madison County’s largest city, in northeast Nebraska
Transit: Norfolk serves as a regional transportation, healthcare, and commercial hub for northeast Nebraska.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Madison County Planning Department – 1111 Bonita Drive, Norfolk, NE 68701, (402) 370-3577
Services: Handles zoning permits for unincorporated areas (no structural building code – zoning permits confirm land use compliance only); joint Madison/Pierce County Planning Department; nonfarm buildings in zoned areas require a zoning permit before construction.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Madison County Veterans Service Officer – Madison, NE
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Norfolk Public Library – 308 W Prospect Ave, Norfolk, NE 68701, (402) 844-2100 | Hours: Mon-Thu 9 AM–8 PM, Fri-Sat 9 AM–5 PM, Sun 1:30–4:30 PM
Services: Genuinely established in 1906 as a subscription library by the Norfolk Women’s Club, originally located in the Bishop Block; moved into a Carnegie library building in 1911 and to its current location in 1977, with a major renovation and addition completed in 2018. Today it ranks among the busiest library systems in Nebraska by annual visitor count.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Madison County, named for President James Madison and defined in 1856, is genuinely and famously the hometown of legendary entertainer Johnny Carson, longtime host of NBC’s “The Tonight Show” from 1962 to 1992. Although born in Corning, Iowa, Carson’s family moved to Norfolk when he was eight, and he always considered it his true hometown; he graduated from Norfolk High School in 1943 (where he began performing magic tricks as a teenager, earning $3 for his first professional show at age 14), later attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and made a memorable public visit back to Norfolk in 1982 to film the television special “Johnny Goes Home.” Carson’s legacy remains deeply woven into the community today: his boyhood home still stands at 306 S. 13th Street, the Elkhorn Valley Museum’s Johnny Carson Gallery displays his personal Emmy awards, Kennedy Center medallion, and show memorabilia (donated in part by his nephew and former Tonight Show producer Jeff Sotzing), and the city hosts the Johnny Carson Theatre along with the annual Great American Comedy Festival honoring his legacy. Carson also gave back generously to Norfolk, funding both the Carson Cancer Center at Faith Regional Health Services and the Norfolk Arts Center. Norfolk is also genuinely the birthplace of Thurl Ravenscroft, the voice of Kellogg’s “Tony the Tiger,” and model rocketry was invented there in 1954 by Orville Carlisle
Notes: Madison County’s Norfolk is genuinely one of the most culturally significant small cities in Nebraska, forever tied to the legacy of “King of Late Night” Johnny Carson.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Madison County GIS – accessible via madisoncountyne.gov
Parcel Search: Madison County Register of Deeds – 1313 North Main Street, Madison, NE 68748, (402) 454-3311
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Region 11 Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Animal Shelter of Northeast Nebraska (ASNN) – 1000 East Omaha Ave, Norfolk, NE
Services: Genuinely began as a grassroots coalition of foster families before growing into a brick-and-mortar facility; since opening its current location in 2016, it has saved over 6,000 animals, welcomes local strays and surrenders, and regularly accepts transfers from overburdened or open-admission shelters. The shelter also runs an in-house obedience program and a reading partnership with the Norfolk Public Library to encourage kids to read to shelter animals.
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
Madison County’s Norfolk is genuinely the hometown of entertainer Johnny Carson, whose legacy – including his boyhood home, a museum gallery, and a theater – remains deeply woven into the community today. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, library, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Madison County
Madison County’s Norfolk is the regional center for northeast Nebraska – a compact city that serves a wide rural catchment with medical, retail, and professional services. The economy is agricultural at its core: cattle, hogs, and row crops define the county’s rural townships, and the processing and supply industries that serve them anchor much of Norfolk’s commercial base. Norfolk is also a modest manufacturing center – Ta-Hua Manufacturing and several other industrial employers contribute to economic diversification.
Johnny Carson was born in Corning, Iowa in 1925 but grew up in Norfolk and has always been claimed as Norfolk’s own. The Johnny Carson Foundation – his estate’s primary charitable vehicle – has been a significant benefactor to the University of Nebraska and to cultural institutions, and Norfolk’s Carson Theater district honors the connection. The Elkhorn Valley Museum in Norfolk documents the county’s settlement history and Native American heritage. Madison County’s character is genuinely representative of northeast Nebraska – hard-working, agricultural, and quietly proud of its contributions to American history and culture.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Nebraska assesses property at 100% of actual value. Property owners may appeal to the County Board of Equalization by July 31. Nebraska offers homestead exemptions for qualifying seniors (65+), disabled veterans, and disabled individuals. Nebraska has no estate or inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
SENIOR SERVICES
Northeast Nebraska Area Agency on Aging
P.O. Box 1447, Norfolk, NE 68702
Phone: (402) 379-7117
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, caregiver support, and long-term care counseling for Madison County residents.
Senior Services
Northeast Nebraska Area Agency on Aging
P.O. Box 1447, Norfolk, NE 68702
Phone: (402) 379-7117
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, caregiver support, and long-term care counseling for Madison County residents.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
100 W. North Ave., Madison, NE 68748
(402) 454-3311
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Madison County Court, Probate Division (probate case files – see Probate section above). Norfolk, the county’s largest city, also has significant local records.
Local societies
No dedicated Madison 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
Madison County Court, Probate Division 110 Clara Davis Drive (mail: P.O. Box 290), Madison, NE 68748 (402) 454-3311
Madison County is in northeastern Nebraska, seated in the town of Madison – though Norfolk is the county’s largest city.
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
100 W. North Ave., Madison, NE 68748
(402) 454-2121
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
100 W. North Ave., Madison, NE 68748
(402) 454-3311
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
NE DHHS — Madison
(402) 370-3145
Faith Regional Health Services
frhs.org (Norfolk — quality regional hospital; major northeast Nebraska anchor)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Madison County Public Health services coordinated through regional Nebraska public health district; Faith Regional Health Services, including the Carson Cancer Center (a Johnny Carson-funded gift), serves Norfolk.
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Editorial Trust
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Norfolk
Population: 35,000
Area: 573 sq mi
Established: 1868
Tier: 4
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Madison County facilities via Amazon.
