Steele County

What Steele County does

Steele County, Minnesota is a local government entity providing comprehensive public services to residents of its jurisdiction in southern Minnesota. The county operates through approximately 108 employees organized across multiple departments including Administration, Assessor, Attorney, Community Corrections, Sheriff, Public Health, Environmental Services, Elections, Recorder, GIS, and the Detention Center. Core service offerings include property tax administration and collection, vital records issuance (birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, passports), election administration, building permitting and inspections, court administration, criminal prosecution, detention operations (154-bed capacity), community corrections and probation supervision, public health programs, environmental and recycling services, GIS mapping, veterans services, and highway maintenance.

The county's technology infrastructure includes an ArcGIS-based GIS Hub for geospatial data and parcel mapping, an online building permit system (OneGov), a CivicClerk-powered agenda management portal for board meetings, Everbridge for emergency notifications, and various third-party integrations including VitalChek for vital records, Turnkey Corrections for inmate communications, and ReCollect for recycling tools. The Detention Center is a 58,575-square-foot facility on 18.63 acres, originally constructed at a total project cost of $12.75 million.

Steele County's revenue model is primarily tax-funded, with property tax collection serving as the dominant funding mechanism and transaction-based service fees providing supplementary income. Service fees are established by state statute and county ordinance and include vital records fees ($13-$26), passport application fees ($35 plus State Department fees), building permits, and corrections supervision fees ($200-$400). The county is governed by an elected five-member Board of Commissioners and operates as a political subdivision of the State of Minnesota with no parent organization or private ownership structure.

Name

Steele County

Legal name

Steele County, MN

Website

https://steelecountymn.gov

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Steele County, MN is a local government entity serving residents of southern Minnesota through approximately 108 employees across departments including public safety, courts, property tax administration, vital records, elections, public health, and environmental services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Government Administration

NAICS

Legal Counsel and Prosecution (92213), Courts (922110), Police Protection (92212), Parole Offices and Probation Offices (922150), Offices of Lawyers (54111)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

State/Provincial Licensing, Permitting & Regulatory Administration (Cross-sector) (BPAIABAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Prosecution & District/State Attorney Services (BPAIAFAB), County/District/Local Health Departments (HLAJAAAB), State/Provincial Taxation & Revenue Administration (BPAIABAD), Victim Services & Witness Assistance (Justice System) (BPAIAFAJ)

Keywords

• County government services
• Property tax administration
• Vital records issuance
• Election administration
• Public safety services

Headquarters

HQ city

Owatonna

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Property Tax Collection: Steele County collects property taxes which fund most local government services. The county is responsible for collecting these taxes and distributing the funds to the county, cities, townships, and school districts. Property taxes are determined by property value, use, and levies set by local taxing authorities.
2. Service Fees: The county generates revenue through various service fees including birth certificates ($26 first copy, $19 additional), death certificates ($13 first copy, $6 additional), marriage licenses, passport services, recording fees, building permits, and other government services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Steele County is a county government entity providing essential local public services to residents of Steele County, Minnesota. Its core offerings include property tax assessment and collection, vital records issuance (birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, passports), election administration, building permits and inspections, GIS mapping and parcel data, court administration, law enforcement via the Sheriff's Office and a 154-bed detention center, community corrections and probation supervision, public health programs, environmental services (recycling, septic, landfill), veterans assistance, and criminal prosecution through the County Attorney's Office.

Product overview

Steele County, Minnesota is a local government entity offering a comprehensive portfolio of public services through its various departments. The county provides essential administrative services including vital records (birth/death certificates, marriage licenses, passports), property tax and assessment services, GIS mapping, and election administration. Public safety services include court administration, detention center operations, community corrections, and the county attorney's office for criminal prosecution. Environmental services encompass recycling, septic system permitting, and landfill operations. Additional services include public health, veterans affairs, highway maintenance, and the Four Seasons Centre event venue. The county uses integrated technology platforms including ArcGIS for geospatial services, CivicClerk for agenda management, Everbridge for emergency notifications, and various third-party services for specific functions like VitalChek for vital records, Turnkey Corrections for inmate communications, and ReCollect for recycling tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Birth Certificate Services Issuance of birth certificates for any individual born in the State of Minnesota, available through the Recorder's Office; first copy $26, additional copies $19 each, nonrefundable and due at time of application.
• Death Certificate Services Processing of death certificate requests for deaths occurring in any Minnesota county during or after 1908; first copy $13, additional copies $6 each.
• Marriage Services Marriage license issuance, ceremonies, and certificate services provided through the Recorder's Office to residents and couples marrying in Steele County.
• Passport Services Passport application acceptance and photo services offered through the Recorder's Office, with a $35 application fee, $20 photo fee, and $35.90 express mail option in addition to U.S. State Department fees.
• Property Tax Services Property tax payment processing, assessment searches, truth-in-taxation administration, tax forfeited properties handling, and tax information parcel data for residents and property owners.
• Assessor Services Property valuation and classification for all taxable real and personal property in Steele County, including homestead eligibility determination and Board of Appeal and Equalization processes.
• GIS Services Geographic Information System providing geospatial information, tax parcel data, maps, web mapping applications, and NG-911 data support to county departments, outside agencies, and the public.
• Election Services Administration of federal, state, and local elections including voter registration, candidate filing, election-night results tabulation, election judge training, and campaign finance reporting.
• Building Permits and Inspections Administration of the State Building Code through issuance of construction permits and inspections in rural areas of the county and by contract for the cities of Blooming Prairie, Ellendale, and Medford.
• Court Administration Services Administration of the Steele County District Court (Third Judicial District) including court hearings, traffic fee processing, juror information, and coordination with the County Attorney's Office and Community Corrections.
• Detention Center 154-bed rated county detention facility housing pre-sentence and sentenced detainees (male and female), including those from other counties and state and federal agencies; offers inmate programs, work release, professional visiting, and public fingerprinting.
• Community Corrections Probation supervision, investigative reports, field supervision, and case management for juvenile delinquency and adult criminal matters, plus the Steele/Waseca Drug Court program; supervision fees range from $200 (misdemeanor) to $400 (felony) per case.
• County Attorney Services

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

Feature2 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Brown County, Minnesota: Southern Minnesota county of comparable size and rural-agricultural character offering the same statutory set of county services including property tax, sheriff, court, and public health.
• Goodhue County, Minnesota: Southeastern Minnesota county operating parallel county-government functions — property assessment, vital records, detention, community corrections, and GIS — under the same Minnesota statutes.
• Rice County, Minnesota: Adjacent southern Minnesota county of comparable population and economic profile. Provides the same suite of property tax, vital records, court, sheriff, corrections, and public health services through a parallel county-government structure.
• Waseca County, Minnesota: Neighboring county that already partners with Steele County on the joint Drug Court program. Highly comparable in service portfolio, scale, and rural southern Minnesota operating context.
• Mower County, Minnesota: Comparable rural Minnesota county providing equivalent tax administration, public safety, court, and community corrections services to a similar population base.
• Dodge County, Minnesota: Adjacent rural county providing the same property tax, vital records, court, sheriff, and public health functions. Operates under identical Minnesota county-government statutes with similar population base.
• Blue Earth County, Minnesota: Southern Minnesota county anchored by Mankato, operating the same county-government service mix including property assessment, detention, community corrections, GIS, and public health with similar scale and statutory framework.
• Freeborn County, Minnesota: Southern Minnesota county of similar scale offering the standard county-government service portfolio including detention, corrections, vital records, and property assessment under the same statutory regime.

Broad incumbents

• Olmsted County, Minnesota: Larger Minnesota county anchored by Rochester, providing the same service portfolio but at greater scale and with more specialized capacity. Useful as a broader incumbent peer within the same statutory framework.
• Dakota County, Minnesota: Suburban Twin Cities county that delivers the same statutory county services (property tax, courts, sheriff, corrections, GIS, public health) at substantially larger scale. Serves as an upper-bound incumbent peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/tweet
• Facebookfacebook.com/sharer.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/steele-county

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Steele County