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Wisconsin · West-Central Wisconsin · Chippewa River · Leinenkugel's Country
Chippewa County, Wisconsin
Leinenkugel's hometown and Chippewa River's pure water — from the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company's 1867 founding on the Chippewa River (whose spring-fed purity made Chippewa Falls a natural brewing site) to the Chippewa Falls State Forest, Northern Wisconsin State Fairgrounds, and a genuine Wisconsin small city where a nationally beloved craft beer brand preserves its roots in the community that created it.
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Office: Chippewa County Emergency Management – 32 E Spruce Street, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729 | (715) 726-7727 | Fax: (715) 723-6471 | Director: Jason Moses | Hours (Law Enforcement Center): Mon–Thu 7:30 AM–4:30 PM, Fri 7:30–11:30 AM
Services: Handles 911 addressing – a Chippewa County Uniform Address/Driveway Authority Form is required before excavation, construction, or placement of any improvement on unaddressed land; private roadways serving 3+ properties must be named/addressed under Ch. 26-54; sign replacement costs ($35, covering materials/installation) fall to the property owner if a site ID sign is damaged or removed
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-94 skirts the county; US-53 serves Chippewa Falls
Transit: No dedicated fixed-route county transit identified; confirm current regional options directly with the county
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Chippewa County Planning and Zoning Department – Room 009, 711 N Bridge St, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729
Services: Chippewa County Zoning regulates properties within 1,000 feet of a lake or 300 feet of a river/stream; six townships have adopted the Chippewa County Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, requiring a Special Use Permit for non-listed uses (applications available at the City of Chippewa Falls Engineer’s Office); the county also enforces an Animal Feedlot Ordinance with minimum standards for livestock operations
Notes: Confirm whether your property falls under county or a specific municipal building department, as several townships/cities maintain separate permitting.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Chippewa County Veterans Service Office – Chippewa Falls, WI
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Chippewa Falls Public Library – 105 West Central St., Chippewa Falls, WI 54729 | (715) 723-1146 | Email: [email protected] | Hours: Mon/Thu 9 AM–7 PM, Tue/Wed/Fri 9 AM–5:30 PM, Sat 9 AM–1 PM (closed Sun)
Services: Serves both city and county residents; offers wireless printing (via Ricoh Print Cloud), exam proctoring, home delivery, income tax forms, public computers, and checkout WiFi hotspots; regularly hosts community programming including author talks and family events in local parks
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Chippewa County is genuinely and famously home to the JACOB LEINENKUGEL BREWING COMPANY in Chippewa Falls – the SEVENTH-OLDEST BREWERY IN THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES and the oldest continuously operating business in Chippewa Falls, co-founded in May 1867 by Prussian immigrant Jacob Mathias Leinenkugel and John Miller (originally “Spring Brewery”); the brewery has been owned and operated by six generations of the Leinenkugel family, with the current Leinie Lodge visitor center offering historic tours and tastings; the Casper Genealogy & History Research Library, maintained by the county’s Genealogical Society, is named for Bill Casper, a grandson of Jacob Leinenkugel; the county is also home to Mason Shoe, Chippewa Springs Water, and the internationally known computer technology firms Cray Inc. and SGI; the Chippewa County Forest spans roughly 34,500 acres in the northern third of the county, largely continuous glaciated high-relief terrain dotted with lakes, streams, and wetlands
Notes: GENUINELY CURRENT AND SIGNIFICANT – Molson Coors, Leinenkugel’s parent company, announced plans to CEASE PRODUCTION OPERATIONS at the historic Chippewa Falls brewery (effective mid-January per recent reporting); the Leinenkugel family publicly expressed frustration with the decision. Confirm the brewery’s current operational and visitor-tour status directly before referring anyone there, as this is an active, evolving situation that may affect tours, the Leinie Lodge, or related local employment.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Chippewa County GIS – accessible via chippewacountywi.gov
Parcel Search: Chippewa County Land Records
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Chippewa County Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Chippewa Humane Association (CHA), also known as the Howard Gibbs Memorial Animal Shelter – 10501 Cty Hwy S South, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729 (Mailing: PO Box 562) | (715) 861-5748 | Email: [email protected] | Fax: (715) 861-5657
Services: A nonprofit 501(c)(3), no-kill shelter serving Chippewa County and surrounding west-central Wisconsin counties; state-licensed and annually inspected by Wisconsin (Dog Seller/Facility Operator License #267332-DS), with a reported clean inspection record for several consecutive years; no time limits on how long adoptable animals remain available, as long as they stay healthy and well-tempered; also maintains a cat adoption center at the Eau Claire PetSmart
Notes: Hours – Cats: viewing Tue/Thu 12–5 PM, Sat 12–4 PM; Dogs: by appointment only; General office hours Tue–Sat 10 AM–5 PM. Surrenders and strays accepted case-by-case – call or email ahead before bringing an animal; in an emergency if the shelter can’t be reached, contact local police for assistance.
Notes: Contact Chippewa County directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Chippewa County’s identity is deeply tied to the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company, the nation’s seventh-oldest brewery – worth noting that its parent company Molson Coors recently announced the end of local production, a genuinely significant and current change to a business woven into six generations of local history. The Chippewa Humane Association maintains a strong, consistently clean state inspection record as the county’s primary no-kill animal shelter. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, brewery, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Chippewa County
Chippewa County’s two most nationally significant contributions are unlikely companions. Leinenkugel’s Brewing Company has produced beer in Chippewa Falls since 1867 – now owned by MillerCoors but retaining its Chippewa Falls identity – and its Summer Shandy and Sunset Wheat varieties have made it one of the most recognized regional brands in the Midwest. Cray Research, founded by Seymour Cray in Chagrin Falls area of Wisconsin (his company’s original operations centered in Chippewa County and Eau Claire), produced the fastest supercomputers in the world through the 1970s, 1980s, and into the 1990s; the company’s engineering culture was rooted in this unlikely Upper Midwest location because Cray himself preferred to work there.
Chippewa County’s economy is manufacturing and agriculture alongside the Eau Claire metro’s educational and healthcare presence. The Chippewa River’s recreation infrastructure provides outdoor access. Wisconsin’s dairy farming heritage is visible in the county’s rural townships.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Wisconsin assesses property at 100% of market value. Property owners may appeal to the Municipal Board of Review annually. Wisconsin has an estate tax above $5 million; no Wisconsin inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Chippewa County Probate Court at 711 N. Bridge Street, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729, phone 715-726-7770, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
711 N Bridge St, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729
(715) 726-7980
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Chippewa County Register in Probate, Chippewa Falls (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Chippewa 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
Chippewa County Register in Probate 711 North Bridge Street, Room 203, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729 (715) 726-7737
Chippewa County is in Northwest Wisconsin, county seat Chippewa Falls. Wisconsin has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code and has NO separate probate court – probate is handled by the CIRCUIT COURT (Probate Division) for the county where the decedent lived, administered day-to-day by that county’s REGISTER IN PROBATE, an appointed position filled by the Circuit Court Judges. Wisconsin runs two main tracks: FORMAL administration, supervised directly by a circuit court judge, and INFORMAL administration, supervised by the Register in Probate without continuous judicial oversight. Informal administration is the default path for most straightforward estates.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Wisconsin Statutes Chapters 851 through 882 govern probate. Wisconsin is also a MARITAL PROPERTY state (similar to community property) – under the Wisconsin Marital Property Act, most assets acquired during marriage are co-owned by both spouses, so a surviving spouse may already own half of all marital property outright; only the decedent’s half passes through the estate.
Transfer by Affidavit (Wis. Stat. §867.03) – available when the decedent’s ENTIRE probate estate (personal property only; real estate is not covered by this shortcut) has a gross value of $50,000 or less. Available 30 days after death to an heir, a trustee of a revocable trust, a beneficiary named in the will, or a guardian of the decedent.
Summary Settlement (Wis. Stat. §867.01) – geared toward estates of $50,000 or less where there is a surviving spouse, domestic partner, or minor children, or where the estate would otherwise be absorbed by allowances and expenses.
Summary Assignment – another shortcut for estates too small to pay debts in full.
Formal or Informal Administration – required for larger or more complex estates. Begins with a Petition for Administration (Form PR-1801) filed with the county Register in Probate to admit the will (if any) and appoint a personal representative. Note: Wisconsin law requires the decedent’s ORIGINAL will be filed with the Register in Probate within 30 days of death, regardless of whether probate is ultimately opened. Formal Administration requires hiring an attorney; other probate proceedings do not, though an attorney with probate experience is often still helpful.
Step 2: filing for administration
File a Petition for Administration (Form PR-1801) with the Chippewa County Register in Probate.
Mail notice of the hearing to all heirs, beneficiaries, and interested parties at least 20 days before the hearing; publish notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county for three successive weeks.
Once appointed, the personal representative inventories assets, and the court (for formal administration) or Register in Probate (for informal) sets a creditor claims deadline – generally 3 to 4 months from the date of the court’s order, with first publication of that notice required within 15 days of the order.
The personal representative pays valid debts and expenses, then distributes remaining assets to heirs/beneficiaries.
File a final accounting with the Circuit Court (Probate) showing all assets received, debts paid, and distributions made; once approved, the estate is closed.
Wisconsin Circuit Courts require attorneys to e-file; pro se (self-represented) filers are encouraged to use the Wisconsin Circuit Court eFiling system as well.
What it costs
Personal representative compensation: presumptive statutory rate of 2% of inventory value (Wis. Stat. §857.05), though the will or the parties can agree to a different amount.
Filing fees, publication costs, and (for real estate transfers under the small-estate process) an Affidavit of Heirship and Affidavit of Service, notarized and filed with the court.
Typical timeline: simple estates 6-12 months; complex or contested estates 18 months or longer.
Wisconsin does NOT impose a state estate tax or inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax may apply, with a $15,000,000 per-person exemption for 2026 – meaning the vast majority of Wisconsin estates owe nothing.
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
711 N Bridge St, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729
(715) 726-7701
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
(715) 726-7980
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health & Human Services
Chippewa County Health and Human Services, 711 N Bridge St, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729
(715) 726-7900
Economic Support Office
Chippewa County Economic Support Office, 711 N Bridge St, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729
(715) 726-7840
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Chippewa County Health Department
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
Notes: County resource list also points residents to Great Rivers 2-1-1 for broader community assistance referrals.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Chippewa Falls
Population: 66,000
Tier: 4
Public Records
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