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Wisconsin · Twin Cities Suburbs · St. Croix River · Minnesota Border
St. Croix County, Wisconsin
Twin Cities' Wisconsin suburbs on the St. Croix — from Hudson's beautifully preserved Victorian riverfront above the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway to New Richmond's growing residential community, River Falls' UW campus, and one of Wisconsin's fastest-growing counties driven by Minneapolis-St. Paul metro residents crossing the river for Wisconsin's lower income taxes and more affordable land.
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St. Croix County's assessment ratio means effective tax rates are low — but incorrect appraisals still cost money. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Office: St. Croix County Emergency Management Division – St. Croix County Government Center, Hudson, WI 54016
Services: Develops and updates the county’s Emergency Operations Plan and Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan (FEMA-approved, enabling eligibility for Hazard Mitigation Assistance grants); assists all 35 local municipalities with municipal emergency planning; the county has several companies handling hazardous chemicals, with materials also transported daily via roadways, railways, and waterways
Notes: St. Croix County 911 Emergency Communications Center – 1101 Carmichael Rd., Hudson, WI 54016 – dispatches all public safety agencies countywide.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-94 crosses the St. Croix River at Hudson, the county seat, connecting Wisconsin to Minnesota; the historic 1913 toll bridge arch (donated 1936) still marks the original river crossing
Transit: No dedicated fixed-route county transit identified; confirm current regional options directly with the county
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: St. Croix County Building Department – 1101 Carmichael Road, Hudson, WI 54016 | (715) 386-4636
Services: Building permits, land use permits, occupancy permits; Conditional Use permits reviewed by the Board of Adjustment; variances for dimensional standard exceptions
Notes: Confirm whether your property falls under county or a specific town/city jurisdiction – many St. Croix County towns (St. Joseph, Stanton, Troy, etc.) maintain their own separate town halls and building permit processes.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: St. Croix County Veterans Service Office – Hudson, WI
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Hudson Area Public Library – 700 First Street, Hudson, WI 54016 | (715) 386-3101 | Hours: Mon–Thu 10 AM–8 PM, Fri 10 AM–6 PM, Sat 10 AM–3 PM, Sun 11 AM–3 PM
Services: A state-of-the-art facility with sweeping St. Croix River views; maintains the Nancy L. Hawkinson History Room focused on Hudson, St. Croix County, and the St. Croix Valley (books, manuscripts, maps, microfilm, newspapers, yearbooks, genealogies, cemetery indexes); runs 451 community programs annually attended by over 15,000 people, well above the Wisconsin average; offers free 24/7 WiFi, an always-open book drop, and 18 public internet terminals
Related: Additional St. Croix County libraries include Glenwood City, Hammond, Hazel Mackin Community Library (Roberts), River Falls, Somerset, Spring Valley, and Woodville Community Library
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: St. Croix County’s Hudson holds a genuinely remarkable place in world literacy history – it is the ORIGINAL BIRTHPLACE OF THE LITTLE FREE LIBRARY MOVEMENT; in 2009, Hudson resident Todd Bol built a small wooden box shaped like a one-room schoolhouse from scrap wood salvaged from his old garage door, as a tribute to his late mother, a schoolteacher and avid reader – he filled it with books and mounted it on a post in his front yard; the idea caught on with neighbors, and Bol partnered with UW-Madison’s Rick Brooks to formalize it as “Little Free Library,” inspired partly by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie’s own library legacy; by the time of Bol’s death in 2018, the movement had grown to over 75,000 registered Little Free Libraries across more than 85-90 countries, and today the nonprofit – headquartered nearby in St. Paul, MN – has over 150,000-200,000 registered book exchanges worldwide, including installations in prisons, hospitals, refugee camps, and remote reindeer-herding communities in Siberia; separately, Hudson is genuinely one of Wisconsin’s fastest-growing communities, situated where the bluffs along the St. Croix River reminded the city’s first mayor, Alfred D. Gray, of his native Hudson River in New York, prompting the 1852 renaming from “Buena Vista”; the historic Octagon House Museum (also called the John S. Moffat House), built in 1855 in the distinctive eight-sided “Octagon Mode” architectural style, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and operated today by the Hudson Area History Connection; the 1900 St. Croix County Courthouse, in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, is also NRHP-listed
Notes: Hudson’s genuine, well-documented status as the birthplace of the worldwide Little Free Library movement – now present in prisons, hospitals, and remote communities across nearly 90 countries – is an extraordinary and heartwarming piece of local heritage.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: St. Croix County GIS – accessible via sccwi.gov
Parcel Search: St. Croix County Land Records
Addressing/911: Coordinated through St. Croix County Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Companion Animal Care & Control (CACC) – serving the Hudson area | Details via hudsonwi.gov/176/Animal-Control
Services: Handles impound and stray hold for the Hudson area; after the stray hold period expires, animals are transferred to licensed rescue or shelter partners for adoption – CACC does not adopt directly to the public; feral cats are referred to community Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs rather than shelter intake
Related: St. Croix Animal Friends (SCAF) – PO Box 1169, Hudson, WI 54016 – a nonprofit working to build a permanent Humane Society Adoption and Education Center for St. Croix County, currently operating without a physical shelter facility; also, Dedicated Animal Control Services (D.A.C.S.), (715) 377-5141, provides 24/7 animal control response across Polk, St. Croix, Pierce, and Dunn Counties.
Notes: Confirm current service arrangements directly, as St. Croix County’s animal welfare landscape involves multiple overlapping organizations rather than a single centralized county shelter.
Notes: Contact St. Croix County directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
St. Croix County’s Hudson holds a genuinely remarkable place in world history as the literal birthplace of the Little Free Library movement – a simple front-yard tribute that grew into a worldwide literacy phenomenon spanning nearly 90 countries. 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 St. Croix County
St. Croix County’s Hudson occupies one of the most genuinely beautiful small-city settings in the Upper Midwest – perched on bluffs above the St. Croix River where the river widens into Lake St. Croix, the historic downtown looks directly across to Minnesota. The tax differential between Wisconsin and Minnesota – Wisconsin has lower income taxes for many earners – has made St. Croix County attractive to Twin Cities workers who cross the river to live in Wisconsin while working in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro.
The St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, which protects the wild and scenic river corridor from its Minnesota headwaters to the Mississippi confluence, provides extraordinary outdoor recreation and natural area access. The county’s dairy and agricultural character persists in its inland townships. Wisconsin’s estate tax above $5 million applies; no Wisconsin inheritance tax.
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.
Recommended
St. Croix County Board of Review appeal. Twin Cities growth pressure driving consistent appreciation in Hudson and New Richmond. No WI inheritance tax. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Courts & Legal
St. Croix County Probate Court at 1101 Carmichael Road, Hudson, WI 54016, phone 715-386-4605, handles probate.
Senior Services
Western Wisconsin Area Agency on Aging
2220 Alpine Road, Eau Claire, WI 54703
Phone: (715) 836-4105
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
1101 Carmichael Rd, Hudson, WI 54016
(715) 386-4658
Genealogy
County-level record sources
St. Croix County Register in Probate, Hudson (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated St. Croix 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
St. Croix County Register in Probate 1101 Carmichael Road, Suite 2242, Hudson, WI 54016 (715) 386-4618
St. Croix County is in West Central Wisconsin along the St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers, part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, county seat Hudson. 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 coordinates the judicial duties of the juvenile court. 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. Probate case and adult guardianship case eFiling is mandatory for mandatory eFiling users in St. Croix County.
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 St. Croix 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
1875 Ranger Dr, Hudson, WI 54016
(715) 386-4770
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
(715) 386-4658
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Public Health
St. Croix County Public Health, 1752 Deerfield Dr, Baldwin, WI 54002
(715) 246-8340
Health & Human Services
St. Croix County Health and Human Services, 1101 Carmichael Rd, Hudson, WI 54016
(715) 386-4600
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: St. Croix County Health Department – Hudson, WI
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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