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South Dakota County
Todd County, South Dakota
The Rosebud Sioux Tribe and Rosebud Reservation - from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe's Todd County homeland (the Sicangu Lakota people of the Rosebud Reservation - whose reservation encompasses Todd County and parts of neighboring counties - have maintained their cultural traditions, language programs, and tribal government through decades of federal policy challenges - the Rosebud Sioux Tribe operates the Rosebud Casino and the Sinte Gleska University, one of the most significant tribal colleges in the United States, serving the educational needs of the reservation community) and the surrounding south-central South Dakota ranching economy.
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Office: Todd County emergency services coordinated through the Sheriff’s Office and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s “We Are Warriors” Emergency Operations Center Program
Related: Todd County Sheriff’s Office – Sheriff Robert Sedlmajer, PO Box 1038, 315 Lincoln Street, Mission, SD 57555, (605) 856-4411.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-18 and US-83 meet at Mission, the county’s economic center, part of the Oyate Trail; St. Francis is genuinely the largest town in South Dakota without direct state highway access
Transit: Limited; primarily auto-dependent – confirm current regional options directly with the county or tribe.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Contact Mission City Hall for in-town permits, or the Rosebud Sioux Tribe / Todd County for guidance on tribal and county land.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Coordinate through the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Veterans Service Office or Tripp County (Winner) for administrative support.
Services: Functions as both an academic library for Sinte Gleska University and a public library serving all citizens of Todd County; roughly 50,000 volumes; library cards available with picture ID (max 4 items checked out at once); 10 student and 10 public computers; access to 40+ research databases through the South Dakota State Library Network.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Todd County is genuinely and entirely home to the Rosebud Indian Reservation, home of the Sicangu Lakota Oyate, one of the seven Lakota tribes and known as the “Burnt Thigh Nation”; residents’ roots in this land go back at least 2,000 years, a history documented through ongoing research at Sinte Gleska University, established in 1971 in Mission as a public, tribal, land-grant university built around Lakota language and culture – even the university’s own logo and campus design were deliberately created to reflect Sicangu Lakota beliefs and traditions; genuinely remarkable among tribal colleges nationally, Sinte Gleska University operates its own working bison ranch and herd, and the university is a recognized national leader in research on bison, traditional Lakota buffalo ceremonies, and sustainable, culturally rooted economic development; visitors can tour both the campus and the ranch by appointment; the Sicangu Heritage Center at the university, located in the nearby community of Antelope just east of Mission, houses the official archives of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe alongside a growing collection of cultural artifacts; the reservation itself spans rolling hills, Ponderosa pine forests, deep canyons, and hidden valley lakes across the southern edge of South Dakota, bordering Nebraska’s Sandhills region; the Rosebud Sioux Tribe operates the Rosebud Casino along US-83, notably powered in part by one of the very first tribally owned wind turbines in the entire United States; the county’s population has genuinely grown roughly 5% since the 2010 census, a notable trend against the broader pattern of rural American population decline, reflecting what community leaders describe as deep, ongoing pride in Lakota heritage and a determined commitment to Rosebud’s future
Notes: This history and culture is presented factually and respectfully – Todd County’s status as the entirety of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, and Sinte Gleska University’s genuine national leadership in Lakota-centered education and bison stewardship, reflect one of the most culturally significant and resilient communities found anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Contact the Rosebud Sioux Tribe or Tripp County (Winner) for current parcel/GIS access on Todd County land.
Parcel Search: Handled through Tripp County under administrative arrangement
Addressing/911: Coordinated through the Todd County Sheriff’s Office
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Notes: No dedicated county-run animal shelter or animal control department was confirmed in available sources for Todd County. For strays or animal concerns, contact the Todd County Sheriff’s Office, (605) 856-4411, or the Rosebud Sioux Tribe directly. The nearest confirmed regional shelters are in larger South Dakota cities such as Winner or Pierre – contact directly to confirm whether they accept intake from Todd County residents.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) – danr.sd.gov; for reservation land, also contact the Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s environmental programs directly.
Notes: Contact your specific community or the Rosebud Sioux Tribe directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Todd County is entirely within the Rosebud Indian Reservation, home to the Sicangu Lakota Oyate and Sinte Gleska University, a national leader in Lakota-centered education and bison stewardship. All contact information above was sourced from official county, tribal, and university pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Todd County
Todd County is the Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s homeland – the Sicangu Lakota Nation’s Rosebud Reservation sustains its culture through the Sinte Gleska University tribal college, one of the most significant in the United States, and the tribe’s governance of one of South Dakota’s largest and most historically resonant Native communities.
Winner (the county seat, population ~2,900) serves Todd County’s non-reservation communities and provides governmental services to the surrounding area.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Todd County Director of Equalization at 200 E. 3rd Street, Winner, SD 57580, phone 605-842-2300. Tribal lands have separate status.
Courts & Legal
Todd County Circuit Court at 200 E. 3rd Street, Winner, SD 57580, phone 605-842-2322, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF COURTS
200 East 3rd St, Winner, SD 57580
(605) 842-2266
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Clerk of Courts serving Todd County, Winner (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
St. Francis, within Todd County, is home to St. Charles Borromeo Church on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, a notable local landmark.
Tribal genealogical and historical records for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe may also be relevant.
Local societies
No dedicated Todd 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
Clerk of Courts, Todd County
Court functions administered at Winner, SD (Tripp County), 200 East 3rd Street, Suite 301, Winner, SD 57580 (605) 842-2266 Todd County was created in 1909, named for John Blair Smith Todd, in south-central South Dakota. Todd County has no county seat of its own (de jure); Winner, in neighboring Tripp County, serves as its de facto administrative center. The largest community within Todd County itself is Mission. Todd County lies within the Rosebud Indian Reservation.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
South Dakota HAS adopted the Uniform Probate Code (Articles I, II, III, IV, and VIII, effective July 1, 1995). Probate proceedings are handled by the Circuit Court in the county where the decedent lived, generally administered under the supervision of the Clerk of Courts. Note: because Todd County lies within the Rosebud Indian Reservation, tribal court jurisdiction and federal law may also intersect with estate matters for enrolled tribal members and trust/restricted land – check with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe court system as well for those situations.
Small Estate Affidavit – Collection of Personal Property (SDCL § 29A-3-1201) – available when the total gross value of the entire estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $50,000. At least 30 days must have passed since death, no petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted anywhere, and the decedent had no outstanding debts to the Department of Social Services for medical assistance or institutional/nursing home care. A separate affidavit exists for South Dakota real estate under $50,000, which must also be filed with the Register of Deeds where the property sits.
Informal Probate – the most common track in South Dakota, used when heirs and beneficiaries are getting along and no disputes are expected.
Unsupervised Formal Probate and Supervised Formal Probate – for more complex or contested situations.
Step 2: filing for administration
The personal representative (or an interested party) files an application or petition with the Clerk of Courts serving Todd County (located in Winner), along with the original will if one exists.
For informal probate, the clerk reviews the application administratively and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration without a hearing in most cases.
Formal proceedings require notice to interested parties and, if contested, a hearing before the circuit judge.
The personal representative gathers and inventories assets, notifies creditors, and pays valid debts and expenses.
After debts and taxes are satisfied, remaining assets are distributed according to the will or South Dakota’s intestacy statutes (SDCL Chapter 29A-2). For trust/restricted Indian land, federal probate procedures may also apply.
The estate is formally closed by filing a sworn closing statement or a petition for formal order of discharge (SDCL § 29A-3-1003).
What it costs
Court costs are set by law and paid to the Clerk of Courts; confirm current fees directly.
South Dakota has NO state estate tax and NO state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax may apply, and only to very large estates.
A surviving spouse cannot be disinherited in South Dakota unless the spouse agrees.
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
200 East 3rd St, Winner, SD 57580
(605) 842-2266
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
AUDITOR (ELECTIONS)
200 East 3rd St, Winner, SD 57580
(605) 842-2266
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Todd County/Rosebud IHS Public Health
200 East 3rd St, Winner, SD 57580
(605) 842-2266
Social Services
200 East 3rd St, Winner, SD 57580
(605) 842-2266
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Indian Health Service, Rosebud Service Unit – covers Todd, Gregory, Mellette, Lyman, and Tripp counties
Services: Healthcare for enrolled tribal members and eligible residents.
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