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South Dakota County
Turner County, South Dakota
Turner County's extraordinary agricultural productivity and southeast South Dakota farming heritage - from Turner County's position in one of South Dakota's most productive agricultural zones (the deep, fertile soils of southeast South Dakota's glaciated till plain make Turner County one of the most productive corn, soybean, and small grain counties in the state - the county's agricultural output per acre is among the highest in South Dakota, and the farming families who have worked this land for 140 years represent the backbone of Great Plains agricultural culture) to the county's small-town community character preserved in Parker, Marion, and Hurley.
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Office: Turner County Emergency Management – 400 S Main, Box 461, Parker, SD 57053 | (605) 297-6000
Services: Hazard assessment, disaster response planning, and emergency response training coordination with public safety officials
Related: Turner County Sheriff – Dan Glover, 100 S Main, Box 580, Parker, SD 57053, (605) 297-3225.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: SD-19 and SD-44 serve Parker, the county seat, about 30 minutes from Sioux Falls in the Sioux Falls metropolitan area
Transit: Limited; primarily auto-dependent – confirm current regional options directly with the county.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Turner County Planning and Zoning Department – 300 N Main, PO Box 309, Parker, SD 57053 | (605) 297-3024
Services: Permitting and zoning for rural areas of the county
Notes: Cities, including Parker, are responsible for their own separate planning and zoning.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Turner County Veterans Services – Turner County Courthouse, Parker, SD
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Parker Public Library – 290 N Main, Parker, SD 57053 | (605) 297-5552
Services: WiFi and LAN internet, books, DVDs, audiobooks, South Dakota Titles to Go ebook program, story time, and a summer reading program.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Turner County is genuinely home to the oldest county fair anywhere in South Dakota – the Turner County Fair, first held in 1880, just nine years after the Dakota Territorial legislature created the county and named it for lawmaker John Turner; the fair moved from farm to farm around Parker in its earliest years (one year even relocating to Swan Lake) before the Works Progress Administration helped build the county’s present-day fairgrounds during the Great Depression; today, locals affectionately call it “the best four days of summer,” drawing tens of thousands of visitors to Parker each August; that same Depression-era WPA program is also responsible for one of the county’s most distinctive and lesser-known landmarks – a genuinely remarkable collection of 158 hand-built stone bridges, arches, and culverts scattered across the Turner County countryside, largely credited to local stonemason Lars Mogensen, several of which have since been individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places; the county seat, Parker, was itself established in 1879 and takes its name from the maiden name of a local railroad official’s wife – one of many South Dakota towns whose names trace directly back to the railroad companies that built them; visitors can also explore an impressive local fossil collection and enjoy the county’s celebration of Danish cultural heritage, reflecting the diverse immigrant communities that settled the area
Notes: Turner County’s genuine, well-documented distinction as home to both South Dakota’s oldest county fair and 158 handcrafted Depression-era stone bridges makes for one of the more surprising and photogenic rural heritage combinations found anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Turner County GIS – accessible via turner.sdcounties.org
Parcel Search: Turner County Register of Deeds – Parker, SD
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Turner County Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Notes: No dedicated county-run animal shelter or animal control department was confirmed in available sources for Turner County. For strays or animal concerns, contact the Turner County Sheriff’s Office, (605) 297-3225. The nearest confirmed regional shelters are in larger South Dakota cities such as Sioux Falls (Sioux Falls Area Humane Society) – contact directly to confirm whether they accept intake from Turner County residents.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) – danr.sd.gov
Notes: Contact your specific municipality directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details. The Miller, Peterson, and Plucker Waterfowl Production Areas, along with Mud Lake and Swan Lake, provide natural recreation areas within the county.
NOTES
Turner County’s seat, Parker, is genuinely home to South Dakota’s oldest county fair (since 1880) and 158 hand-built Depression-era stone bridges scattered across the countryside. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, library, and courthouse pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Turner County
Turner County is southeast South Dakota’s agricultural heartland – the fertile glaciated till plain produces exceptional corn and soybean yields on land that farming families have cultivated for 140 years in the region’s most productive agricultural corridor.
Parker (the county seat, population ~1,000) serves the county’s agricultural communities in the James River plain between Sioux Falls and Yankton.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Turner County Director of Equalization at 200 E. 4th Street, Parker, SD 57053, phone 605-297-3153. SD residential owner-occupied exemptions apply.
Courts & Legal
Turner County Circuit Court at 200 E. 4th Street, Parker, SD 57053, phone 605-297-3153, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF COURTS
400 South Main St, Parker, SD 57053
(605) 297-4361
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Turner County Clerk of Courts, Parker (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Turner 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, Turner County PO Box 446, 210 N. Main, Suite 101, Parker, SD 57053 (605) 297-3115
Turner County was established in 1871, named for Dakota Territory official John W. Turner, in southeastern South Dakota, seated in Parker.
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.
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 in Turner County, 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).
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 with Turner County 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
400 South Main St, Parker, SD 57053
(605) 297-3121
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
AUDITOR (ELECTIONS)
400 South Main St, Parker, SD 57053
(605) 297-3133
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Public Health
400 South Main St, Parker, SD 57053
(605) 297-3133
Social Services
400 South Main St, Parker, SD 57053
(605) 297-3133
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Turner County Public Health Nursing Service – Parker, SD
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Parker
Population: 8,700
Established: 1871
Tier: 3
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Turner County residents.
