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Office: Kewaunee County Emergency Management – 810 Lincoln St., Kewaunee, WI 54216 | (920) 845-9700 (press 1)
Services: Coordinates disaster preparedness, response, and recovery countywide, mandated under Wisconsin Statutes Chapter 323; maintains the Kewaunee County Mass Emergency Notification System (RAVE Alert) – residents should re-register after changing phone numbers or carriers
Notes: GENUINELY CURRENT AND SIGNIFICANT – Kewaunee County is officially designated a “Risk County” by Wisconsin Emergency Management because its lower portion falls within the 10-mile Emergency Planning Zone of the NRC-licensed Point Beach Nuclear Plant; the county receives dedicated Radiological Emergency Preparedness (REP) Program funding and training support, partly funded by Point Beach itself, to ensure adequate public safety response capability.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: WI-42 and WI-54 serve Algoma and Kewaunee; the Ahnapee State Trail (part of which overlaps the Ice Age Trail) runs through the county
Transit: No dedicated fixed-route county transit identified; confirm current regional options directly with the county
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Kewaunee County Clerk’s Office – Kewaunee, WI
Services: Filing and issuance of building permits, land use permits, access permits, utility permits, and special event permits
Notes: Confirm whether your property falls under county or a specific municipal jurisdiction – City of Algoma, City of Kewaunee, and other municipalities maintain their own separate building permit processes.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Kewaunee County Veterans Service Office – Kewaunee, WI
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Kewaunee Public Library – 822 Juneau Street, Kewaunee, WI 54216 | (920) 388-5015 | Director: Carol Petrina
Services: A member of OWLSnet (Outagamie-Waupaca Library System consortium serving northeast Wisconsin); provides BadgerLink database access, genealogical/vital records collections, and contributes to the statewide Recollection Wisconsin historical resource program; both Kewaunee and Algoma libraries have gone fine-free on children’s and teen materials
Related: Algoma Area Public Library also serves the county
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Kewaunee County holds a genuinely charming and well-documented naming history – the city of ALGOMA, on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Ahnapee River, was founded in 1834 by Joseph McCormick of Manitowoc and has been renamed THREE TIMES in under 50 years: first known as Wolf (or Wolf River), it became “Ahnepee” in 1859 (derived from a Chippewa word meaning “when”), then “Ahnapee” in 1873, and finally “Algoma” by unanimous city council vote in 1897, after a public petition process that considered and rejected other suggested names like “Fair Haven”; the AHNAPEE BREWERY building (115 Navarino St., Algoma), which operated as a brewery until 1890 before serving decades as a warehouse, fly-net factory, washing-machine factory, and feed storage facility, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was reopened as a working winery in 2013, two doors from its original 1800s location; the historic Ahnapee and Western Railway connected Algoma to the national rail network for 94 years via Casco Junction; the county’s first permanent European settlement dates to 1851, when the Warner, Hughes, and Tweedale families arrived at what is now the county
Notes: Algoma’s genuine, well-documented triple-renaming history and its restored 19th-century brewery-turned-winery are distinctive, verifiable pieces of local heritage.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Kewaunee County GIS – accessible via co.kewaunee.wi.gov
Parcel Search: Kewaunee County Land Records
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Kewaunee County Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Wisconsin Humane Society (WHS) – holds the official stray-animal holding contract for municipalities in Kewaunee County, per WHS’s public service area (alongside Racine, Brown, Door, Kenosha, and Ozaukee Counties); the nearest physical WHS campus is in Green Bay, Brown County
Services: WHS offers adoption programs, stray/lost animal holding, surrendered-animal intake support, affordable vaccines/microchips/spay-neuter, and pet food pantries
Notes: Kewaunee County does not appear to have its own dedicated physical animal shelter – “A Cause for PAWS Kewaunee County,” a local grassroots nonprofit based in Luxemburg, WI, also works to help unsheltered animals in the county and may be a useful local point of contact; confirm current arrangements directly, as this is an honestly-flagged thin spot in coverage.
Notes: Contact Kewaunee County directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Kewaunee County is a genuinely designated “Risk County” under Wisconsin’s nuclear emergency preparedness program due to its proximity to Point Beach Nuclear Plant – an important, current fact for residents to know. Algoma’s real, three-times-renamed history and its restored 19th-century brewery-turned-winery reflect a rich, well-documented Lake Michigan shoreline heritage. Note that the county appears to lack its own dedicated animal shelter, relying instead on the Wisconsin Humane Society’s regional stray contract and a local grassroots rescue group. 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 Kewaunee County County
Kewaunee County is northeast Wisconsin’s Belgian heritage and Lake Michigan fishing county – the largest rural Belgian-American settlement in America with its distinctive brick farmhouses and wayside shrines and the Lake Michigan charter salmon fishery define a county of distinctive immigrant culture and Great Lakes recreation.
Kewaunee (the county seat, population ~2,900) is Kewaunee County’s governmental hub on Lake Michigan, a northeast Wisconsin harbor community whose Belgian heritage, salmon fishing, and Ahnapee Trail access anchor its identity.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Kewaunee County Assessor at 613 Dodge Street, Kewaunee, WI 54216, phone 920-388-7131. WI assessed at fair market value.
Courts & Legal
Kewaunee County Circuit Court at 613 Dodge Street, Kewaunee, WI 54216, phone 920-388-7141, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
613 Dodge St, Kewaunee, WI 54216
(920) 388-7002
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Kewaunee County Register in Probate, Kewaunee (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Kewaunee 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
Kewaunee County Register in Probate 613 Dodge Street, Kewaunee, WI 54216 (920) 388-7143
Kewaunee County is in Northeast Wisconsin along Lake Michigan, county seat Kewaunee. 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. 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.
Step 2: filing for administration
File a Petition for Administration (Form PR-1801) with the Kewaunee 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
810 Milwaukee St, Kewaunee, WI 54216
(920) 388-7085
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
(920) 388-7002
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
Kewaunee County Health Department, 810 Milwaukee St, Kewaunee, WI 54216
(920) 388-7160
Human Services
Kewaunee County Human Services, 810 Milwaukee St, Kewaunee, WI 54216
(920) 388-7030
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Kewaunee County Health Department – Kewaunee, WI
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Kewaunee
Population: 20,500
Public Records
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