PALO ALTO COUNTY, IOWA COUNTY CLERK/RECORDER DATABASE
Legal disputes, including contracts, real estate, personal injuries, child custody, support, and visitation, among other significant matters, are all handled by the courts. Additionally, courts decide if traffic, criminal, or juvenile laws have been broken, and if so, what punishments should be applied.
In these matters, petitions, pleadings, orders, etc., are filed with the clerk of court, who keeps track of the docket. The docket was manually maintained until October 31, 1996. The Clerk of Court’s office started electronically docketing this information on November 1, 1996.
RECORDS SEARCH AND PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST
Fill out the Public Information Request form to obtain records in Palo Alto County from the Iowa Department of Health. The County accepts Public Information Requests in any legible format; this form is intended to be a guide to help accelerate your request more efficiently.
Iowa Department of Public Health
Bureau of Health Statistics
Lucas State Office Building, 1st Floor
321 E. 12th Street
Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0075
One can also obtain public records from the Recorder’s office. To obtain public records, please use the following information:
Palo Alto County Recorder
Courthouse
1010 Broadway, PO Box 248
Emmetsburg, IA 50536
Phone: 712-852-3701
Fax: 712-852-3704
Email: [email protected]
Staff
Susan Ruppert, Recorder
LaDonna Wildeman, Deputy
Jane Wentzel, Clerk
STATISTICS: CRIME, BIRTH, DEATH, PROPERTY, MARRIAGE, DIVORCE
Palo Alto County Birth, Death Records
Births (2007): 118
Per 1,000 population: 12.5
Deaths (2007): 138
Per 1,000 population: 14.6
Infant Deaths (2007): 1
Per 1,000 population: 8.5
Palo Alto County Criminal Records
Violent Crimes (2008): 9
Murder and non-negligent manslaughter: 0
Forcible rape: 1
Robbery: 0
Aggravated Assault: 8
Property Crimes (2008): 58
Burglary: 30
Larceny-Theft: 28
Motor Vehicle Theft: 0
Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with mortgages in 2019: $1,328 (1.2%) Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with no mortgage in 2019: $1,497 (1.3%)
1,923 spouses (1,905 opposite-sex spouses), 256 unmarried partners, (249 opposite-sex unmarried partners)
HOUSING
Total HU (Housing Units) 4,503 (100%)
Owner Occupied HU 2,782 (61.8%)
Renter Occupied HU 995 (22.1%)
Vacant Housing Units 726 (16.1%)
Median Home Value $131,698
Average Home Value $166,095
Housing Affordability Index 187