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Mahaska County, Iowa Public Records

Find the right office in Mahaska County. Court cases, deeds and parcels, sheriff and jail records, vital records and county filings, each linked to the office that keeps them.

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Most requested Mahaska County records

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Official

County court

Iowa Federal Cases

Iowa has two federal trial courts, the Northern District at Cedar Rapids and Sioux City and the Southern District at Des Moines; their case files are searched through PACER.

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Official

Vital records

Iowa Death and Vital Records

Iowa HHS Vital Records issues certified birth, death and marriage records filed since July 1, 1880, by mail, in person or through VitalChek, for a fee per copy.

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Local record guide

About public records in Mahaska County

County profile

Mahaska County at a glance

State
Iowa
County seat
Oskaloosa
Population
22,190
Area
573 sq mi
Founded
1843
Cities and towns
6

Mahaska County offices and records

Sheriff & Law Enforcement. Mahaska County Sheriff's Office is responsible for law enforcement in the unincorporated areas of Mahaska County.

Police Departments. In addition to Mahaska County Sheriff's Office, several municipal police departments operate within Mahaska County, including the Oskaloosa Police Department. These agencies collaborate with the Sheriff's Office on major crimes and regional law enforcement initiatives, making sure of full coverage across Mahaska County.

Law Enforcement & Arrests. Law enforcement in Mahaska County is primarily provided by Mahaska County Sheriff's Office, headquartered at 206 S 2nd Street in Oskaloosa, Iowa 52577. Inmate lookup services are available by calling the jail directly or visiting the Sheriff's Office during business hours; current inmate rosters are maintained at the facility with information on booking dates, charges, and bond amounts.

Arrest Records. They are maintained by the arresting agency, primarily the County Sheriff's Office and municipal police departments.

Abandoned mine records

Old mine workings in Mahaska County

Where the workings are, and the office that holds the mine maps.

From the old mine records

What is on record in Mahaska County

Old mine sites
34
Past producers, now closed
34
Producing when recorded
3
Worked underground, in the mine records
2
Main minerals
crushed stone; construction sand and gravel; Zinc
Holes drawn on the old survey maps
39
Shafts and tunnels
0
What they are
quarry, gravel pit, strip mine, clay pit
Maps surveyed
1965 to 1980

Is an old working under a property here?

The mine records hold 37 mine sites inside the county: 34 past producers, now closed, 3 sites producing when the record was made; the old survey maps add 39 holes drawn inside the county, 0 of them shafts or tunnels. The minerals the records name are crushed stone; construction sand and gravel; Zinc.

A point in either file is a location, not a property line: the sheet shows the opening on the surface, not the rooms under it. The record that shows what runs under a parcel is the mine map. The OSMRE National Mine Map Repository holds scanned underground mine maps and answers requests for a named mine or an area. Coal was mined in Iowa from the 1840s to 1994.

Oskaloosa Fremont New Sharon Beacon Barnes Rose Hill Leighton Keomah N 10 miles
Mahaska County: the boundary from the Census Bureau, and one dot for each old mine or hole on record inside it. The purple dots come off the old survey maps and the darkest of those are shafts and tunnels; the red, green and orange ones are mine records. The small open circles with a name are the towns and the pale shapes around the edge are the neighbouring counties, both from the Census Bureau. Hover a dot for its name.
Iowa mine map and abandoned mine records
Named workings recorded in Mahaska County (23 shown, 53 unnamed on the map)

Mahaska County sits over the Western Region coal field and the coal there is medium and high volatile bituminous, worked underground in many places. The two federal files record a shaft, an adit or a deposit where one was drawn on a survey sheet or catalogued as a site; neither file carries the outline of the workings, so the counts above are not the measure of what was mined under this county. The record that shows it is the mine map, held by Iowa DNR Iowa Coal Mines map and linked below.

Iowa abandoned mine maps ranks every county and town in the state by the workings recorded inside it, names the office that holds the mine maps, and says what to do if the ground moves.

Disclaimer: The mine information here is for general information only. Old mine records can be incomplete, outdated or wrong, and finding nothing here does not mean there is nothing there. Check with the mine map office named here before you rely on it, and have a qualified engineer look at any ground you are worried about. PublicRecordCenter.com assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors, omissions, or consequences arising from the use of this information.

Labor Department file

Wage and hour cases in Mahaska County

The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division closed 25 investigations in Mahaska County since fiscal 2005 and recorded $158,501 in back wages agreed for 101 workers. The county is the one the Census Bureau puts each employer's ZIP code in. Snapshot of April 22, 2026; a case here is a finding by the Division, not a court judgment.

Investigations closed
25
Back wages agreed
$158,501
Workers due back wages
101
Civil money penalties
$31,606
Employers on the record
21
EmployerCityCasesBack wagesWorkers
Mi Ranchito, IncOskaloosa1$115,97135
TJA ConstructionOskaloosa2$10,68420
Van Den Broek Concrete, Inc.New Sharon1$7,51711
C.B. Liquor, Inc.Oskaloosa1$7,1347
McGriff CorporationNew Sharon1$6,8217
Smokey Row Oskaloosa, IncOskaloosa2$3,4327
Family Dental Practice, PCOskaloosa1$2,5022
Wigg's, Inc.Oskaloosa1$1,8324
Imagination Creations, IncOskaloosa1$1,0493
Shree Yogi, INCOskaloosa1$6252
J. Myers Trucking, L.L.C.Oskaloosa1$4361
Parkway Communities, LLCOskaloosa1$3701
Talk Shop, Inc.Oskaloosa1$1281
Crystal Properties, IncOskaloosa5$00
Oskaloosa Motors LLCOskaloosa1$00
National RP Support, Inc.New Sharon1$00
Country Life Health CareOskaloosa1$00
Northern States Franchises, IncOskaloosa1$00
Mauer Supply, IncOskaloosa1$00
Thomas J. bowie, DDSOskaloosa1$00
D & S Siding, Inc.Oskaloosa1$00

Every employer on the Mahaska County record, by back wages agreed; 6 employers have a page of their own and open from the table, the rest show their whole record in this row. The Iowa wage theft records page ranks the whole state.

Straight answers

Mahaska County public-records FAQs

Open only the answer you need.

Where to find mugshots or booking photos in Mahaska County, Iowa?

Booking photos are kept by the agency that made the arrest, such as the Mahaska County Sheriff or a city police department in Mahaska County. Ask that agency for its record.

How to get a criminal background check in Mahaska County, Iowa?

The Iowa criminal history record comes from the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Investigation. Name based request by mail, fax, email or in person with first name, last name and exact date of birth; the online request site is down for an upgrade and phone requests are not taken. Fee: $15 per last name.

How to look up sex offenders in Mahaska County, Iowa?

Search the Iowa Sex Offender Registry, or every state at once on the National Sex Offender Public Website run by the U.S. Department of Justice.

How do I register to vote in Mahaska County, Iowa?

Register with the county auditor or through the Iowa Secretary of State. You can also register online with the state online registration. Pre registration closes 15 days before the election; you may also register and vote on election day at the polling place for your address with proof of identity and residence.

How do I look up property records in Mahaska County, Iowa?

Deeds and other recorded land documents in Mahaska County are kept by the Mahaska County recorder. Property values are set by the local assessor, and tax bills come from the county treasurer. Source: official state page.

How do I get a birth or death certificate in Mahaska County, Iowa?

Certified birth and death certificates for Iowa come from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Health Statistics. County Recorders can issue certified copies of all Iowa births from 1986 to the present and of deaths and marriages from 1954 to the present; earlier records come from the county where the event occurred. By mail or in person at Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Health Statistics, Lucas State Office Building, 1st Floor, 321 E. 12th Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0075, at a County Recorder, or online through VitalChek, the only authorized third party vendor. Fee: $20.00 for each certified copy.

How do I find business license records in Mahaska County, Iowa?

Business entity filings are searched with the Iowa Secretary of State. Iowa does not have a general business license; licensing depends on the nature of the business or occupation.

Same county

Cities, towns and neighboring counties

Use the city page when a record was created by a municipal police department or city office; use the county page for courts, deeds, vital records and jail custody.