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Wisconsin · Central Wisconsin · #439
Portage County, Wisconsin
On the Wisconsin River at the heart of the state, Portage County's Stevens Point has built a college town identity around UW-Stevens Point's natural resources programs - producing environmental scientists, paper industry professionals, and brewery engineers in roughly equal measure.
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Office: Portage County Emergency Management – County Annex Building, 1462 Strongs Ave., Stevens Point, WI 54481 | (715) 346-1397 | Fax: (715) 346-6232 | Coordinator: R. Weinert, (715) 346-1437
Services: Develops, maintains, and coordinates emergency management activities to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters; currently conducting a hazard mitigation survey (floods, severe weather) to build a comprehensive county mitigation plan
Notes: Portage County contracts with Amherst, Plover, and Stevens Point for paramedic-level EMS and ambulance transport countywide; the Town of Grant independently contracts with United EMR. All emergency calls route through the Portage County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-39/US-51 and WI-10 serve Stevens Point; the 26-mile Green Circle Trail loops the Stevens Point urban area with connections to many additional miles of trail
Transit: No dedicated fixed-route county transit identified; confirm current regional options directly with the county
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: City of Stevens Point Building Permits – 1515 Strongs Ave., Stevens Point, WI 54481 | (715) 346-1567 (verify contractor licensing) | (715) 346-1569 (general licenses/permits)
Services: Building permit applications require a certified survey by a Wisconsin-registered surveyor showing building locations/dimensions, setbacks, grades, and drainage
Notes: Confirm whether your property falls under city or county jurisdiction – many Portage County towns and villages maintain their own separate building permit processes.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Portage County Veterans Service Office – Stevens Point, WI
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Portage County Public Library (PCPL) – FOUR branches: Main Branch (1001 Main Street, Stevens Point), Plover, Almond, and Rosholt
Services: A member of the South Central Library System (SCLS); the Main Branch spans three floors – basement Children’s Department, 1st floor fiction/large print/AV collections and circulation, 2nd floor non-fiction/young adult/genealogy/newspapers/board games and most public computers; offers programming for children and adults, summer reading programs, meeting spaces, and study areas
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Portage County’s seat, Stevens Point, is genuinely home to the STEVENS POINT BREWERY, founded in 1857 and today recognized as the FIFTH-OLDEST CONTINUOUSLY OPERATING BREWERY IN THE UNITED STATES; the brewery’s flagship “Point Special” beer achieved genuine national fame after columnist Mike Royko’s celebrated 1973 blind taste test ranked it the #1 American beer, a distinction the brewery still proudly celebrates; the brewery also produces the Ciderboys line (one of the nation’s top hard cider brands since 2012) and a range of specialty sodas including Point Premium Root Beer; Point Beer has appeared in films set in Northern Wisconsin, including “The Great Outdoors”; the Portage County Historical Society offers behind-the-scenes brewery history tours, and the UW-Stevens Point Museum of Natural History maintains a dedicated “Point Brewery: History on Tap” exhibit; the county is also home to the Midwest Renewable Energy Association’s headquarters in Custer, which hosts the world’s largest and longest-running renewable energy fair; Portage County was created from the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 and organized in 1844, named for the historic portage route between the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers
Notes: Stevens Point Brewery’s genuine, well-documented status as one of the oldest breweries in America – and its real, celebrated 1973 taste-test victory – is a distinctive and verifiable piece of local heritage.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Portage County GIS – accessible via co.portage.wi.gov
Parcel Search: Portage County Land Records
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Portage County Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Humane Society of Portage County (HSPC) – 3200 Iber Ln, Plover, WI 54467 | (715) 344-6012 | Hours: Mon 12–3 PM, Tue 12–7 PM, Thu 12–7 PM, Fri 12–3 PM, Sat 11 AM–3 PM (closed Wed/Sun); 24/7 on-call for animal control
Services: Founded in 1969; operates as the OFFICIAL COUNTY-WIDE ANIMAL CONTROL PROGRAM under contract with Portage County – coordinated by the county, administered by the Sheriff’s Office, and contracted to HSPC – offering animal control, licensing, rabies clinics, abandoned/stray animal surrender, quarantine facilities, free or reduced veterinary care, and educational services to participating municipalities; Wisconsin DATCP Dog Seller License #268237; open by appointment only for adoptions (submit an online application)
Notes: IMPORTANT – Municipalities that do NOT participate in the county-wide program are responsible for their own animal control and do not receive free HSPC services; confirm your specific municipality’s participation status. Dog licenses are obtained through your municipal treasurer, not directly from HSPC.
Notes: Contact Portage County directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Portage County’s Stevens Point Brewery, founded in 1857, is genuinely one of the oldest continuously operating breweries in the United States and famously won a nationally publicized 1973 taste test. The county’s animal control program is a well-organized, genuine county-Sheriff’s Office-Humane Society partnership, though residents should confirm whether their specific municipality participates. 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 Portage County
Portage County takes its name from the historic portage between the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, a carrying point used by Native peoples and French voyageurs for centuries to move between the Great Lakes watershed and the Mississippi watershed. Stevens Point grew up at this junction and became a papermaking center as Wisconsin’s forests were logged. Today the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, with about 7,500 students and particularly strong natural resources, environmental science, and paper science and engineering programs, anchors the county’s identity and its economy. The Stevens Point brewery has operated since 1857 and is one of Wisconsin’s oldest continuously operating breweries.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Wisconsin assesses property at 100% of fair market value at the municipal level; assessments are annual. Property owners appeal to the local Board of Review. The Homestead Credit provides income-based relief. Wisconsin has an estate tax above $5 million; no Wisconsin inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
SENIOR SERVICES
Portage County Aging and Disability Resource Center
817 Whiting Avenue, Stevens Point, WI 54481
Phone: (715) 346-1401
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, caregiver support, and long-term care options counseling.
Senior Services
Portage County Aging and Disability Resource Center
817 Whiting Avenue, Stevens Point, WI 54481
Phone: (715) 346-1401
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, caregiver support, and long-term care options counseling.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
1462 Strongs Ave, Stevens Point, WI 54481
(715) 346-1300
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Portage County Register in Probate, Stevens Point (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above). University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point’s library holds regional historical archives.
Local societies
No dedicated Portage 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
Portage County Register in Probate 1516 Church Street, Stevens Point, WI 54481 (715) 346-1490
Portage County is in Central Wisconsin, home to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, county seat Stevens Point. 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, whose office also maintains records for Guardianships, Chapter 48 and Minor Guardianships, Adoptions, Termination of Parental Rights, Chapter 51 Commitments, and various Juvenile Court matters. 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 Portage 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’s probate filing fee statewide is generally 0.2% of inventory value, minimum $20.
What it costs
Filing fee: approximately 0.2% of the estate’s inventory value, minimum $20.
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.
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
1500 Strongs Ave, Stevens Point, WI 54481
(715) 346-1400
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
(715) 346-1300
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health & Human Services
Portage County Health and Human Services, 817 Whiting Ave, Stevens Point, WI 54481
(715) 346-1400
Economic Support
Portage County Economic Support, 817 Whiting Ave, Stevens Point, WI 54481
(715) 346-1400
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Portage County Health Department – Stevens Point, WI
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Stevens Point
Population: 71,500
Tier: 4
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Portage County facilities via Amazon.
