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Poweshiek County, Iowa Public Records

Find the right office in Poweshiek 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 Poweshiek 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.

hhs.iowa.gov
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Local record guide

About public records in Poweshiek County

County profile

Poweshiek County at a glance

State
Iowa
County seat
Montezuma
Population
18,662
Area
586 sq mi
Founded
1843
Cities and towns
2

Poweshiek County offices and records

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

Police Departments. Law enforcement in Poweshiek County is provided by Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office and municipal police departments in cities like Grinnell and Brooklyn.

Law Enforcement & Arrests. Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office, headquartered at 302 East Main Street in Montezuma, Iowa 50171, provides law enforcement services throughout unincorporated areas of Poweshiek County. Poweshiek County Jail, operated by the Sheriff's Office, houses inmates awaiting trial and serving short-term sentences. Arrest records in Poweshiek County are considered public records under Iowa Code Chapter 22, Iowa's Public Records Law. For urgent matters, citizens should call 911; non-emergency calls should be directed to Poweshiek County Communications Center.

Criminal Records. For an authoritative source, see Sheriff of Poweshiek County, Iowa .

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 Poweshiek County

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

From the old mine records

What is on record in Poweshiek County

Old mine sites
2
Past producers, now closed
2
Producing when recorded
2
Worked underground, in the mine records
1
Main minerals
construction sand and gravel
Holes drawn on the old survey maps
5
Shafts and tunnels
0
What they are
quarry, gravel pit, sand pit
Maps surveyed
1979 to 1980

Is an old working under a property here?

The mine records hold 4 mine sites inside the county: 2 past producers, now closed, 2 sites producing when the record was made; the old survey maps add 5 holes drawn inside the county, 0 of them shafts or tunnels. The mineral the records name is construction sand and gravel.

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.

Grinnell Holiday Lake Montezuma Brooklyn Malcom Guernsey Searsboro Deep River Hartwick N 10 miles
Poweshiek 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 Poweshiek County (3 shown, 6 unnamed on the map)

Poweshiek County lies on the edge of 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 Poweshiek County

The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division closed 37 investigations in Poweshiek County since fiscal 2005 and recorded $126,771 in back wages agreed for 193 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
37
Back wages agreed
$126,771
Workers due back wages
193
Civil money penalties
$36,281
Employers on the record
31
EmployerCityCasesBack wagesWorkers
Mid-Iowa Commercial Construction, Inc.Montezuma1$33,1282
Malcom Lumber and Hardware, Inc.Grinnell1$30,07420
Mayflower Homes, Inc.Grinnell2$17,78364
Casa Margarita'sGrinnell1$10,86217
Spring Arbor Living Management, LLCGrinnell1$5,38911
Jay Madi, IncGrinnell3$4,86428
Capital Resources IncBrooklyn1$3,76233
Grinnell Hospitality LLCGrinnell1$2,6830
Country Club Corporation of GrinnellGrinnell1$1,7960
Meladi, IncGrinnell1$2343
Naz & BAY, INC.Grinnell1$2342
Continental Forestry, Inc.Grinnell1$751
Casey's Marketing CompanyGrinnell3$00
St. Francis Manor, Inc.Grinnell2$00
Brooklyn Community Estates, Inc.Brooklyn1$00
Kpaul's, Inc.Grinnell1$00
B & B Flowers INCGrinnell1$00
Campbell Oil Co, Inc.Grinnell1$00
Depot Crossing, L.L.C.Grinnell1$00
Regal Manor of GrinnellGrinnell1$00
Van Wyk Freight Lines, IncGrinnell1$00
Grinnell Markets, Inc.Grinnell1$00
Strand Theatre LLCGrinnell1$00
Scott W. Baumann DDS PCGrinnell1$00
Brooklyn Victor Country ClubBrooklyn1$00

The 25 employers with the most back wages agreed, of 31 on the Poweshiek County record; 9 employers have a page of their own and open from the table, the rest show their whole record here. The 6 more with smaller records are on the Iowa wage theft records page, whose search answers for every employer in the state.

Straight answers

Poweshiek County public-records FAQs

Open only the answer you need.

Where can I find mugshots or booking photos in Poweshiek County, Iowa?

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

How do I get a criminal background check in Poweshiek 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 can I look up sex offenders in Poweshiek 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 Poweshiek 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 Poweshiek County, Iowa?

Deeds and other recorded land documents in Poweshiek County are kept by the Poweshiek 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 Poweshiek 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 Poweshiek 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.