Clearwater County District Court Overview
Clearwater County District Court is part of Minnesota's Ninth Judicial District. The District Court is the county's trial court for ordinary state cases, including civil lawsuits, criminal prosecutions, traffic citations, divorce and family matters, juvenile cases, probate estates, guardianships, conservatorships, mental-health matters, and related court orders. The court office is Court Administration, not a separately elected clerk, and the researched court administrator is Carissa Scholz.
The official Minnesota Judicial Branch Clearwater County District Court page lists the courthouse address, phone, fax, office hours, court administrator, calendar link, directions, parking information, and state court access links. The related Clearwater County courthouse history page documents the local court building shown here.
The courthouse source also adds local context, including the current building's 1938 PWA Moderne history and the long use of the same downtown Bagley court site.
Clearwater County District Court Location
Minnesota does not split Clearwater County trial work among county courts, justice courts, or JP courts. The researched local state trial court is one District Court location in Bagley. Municipal agencies such as the Bagley Police Department may issue citations or investigate cases, but the court case record path runs through Minnesota District Court, MCRO, and the Court Payment Center when payment is allowed.
| Court or Office | Role | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clearwater County District Court | Trial court for civil, criminal, family, probate, traffic, juvenile, and mental-health cases | Clearwater County Courthouse, 213 Main Avenue #303, Bagley, MN 56621 | (218) 935-4020 |
| Court Administration | Records, calendars, certified copies, case administration, local access questions | Same courthouse office | Fax (218) 935-6489 |
| Clearwater County Government | County office complex for several records and public-safety offices | 213 Main Ave North, Bagley, MN 56621 | (218) 694-6520 |
| Clearwater County Recorder | Marriage, vital, land, tax-lien, notary, and military-discharge records | 213 Main Ave North, Bagley, MN 56621 | 218.694.6129 |
Business hours for District Court are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The court page states that free public surface-lot parking and free on-street parking are available, which is an important practical difference from many larger Minnesota courthouses.
Clearwater County District Court Hierarchy
Minnesota's court structure has three main levels: Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and District Court. District Court is the trial level. The Supreme Court has seven justices and is the highest state appellate court. The Court of Appeals has 19 judges and provides intermediate review for many District Court appeals. District Courts sit across the state and use county court administrators for day-to-day operations.
The Minnesota Judicial Branch court structure page is the statewide source for this hierarchy and explains why Clearwater County District Court is the correct venue label for local trial cases.
The state hierarchy source also helps distinguish local District Court case access from appellate review and statewide court administration.
State case path: Clearwater County District Court › Minnesota Court of Appeals › Minnesota Supreme Court when further review applies.
District Court and Lower Courts
Clearwater County does not have a separate county court or justice court for state trial-court records. This changes how a records search should be framed. A traffic citation from a sheriff's deputy, Bagley police officer, State Patrol officer, DNR officer, or other authorized agency still becomes a state court or payment-center matter if it is filed or payable through the Judicial Branch system.
| Feature | Clearwater County District Court | County Court | Justice or JP Court |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local status | Active Minnesota trial court for Clearwater County | Not a separate Clearwater County trial court in the research | Not used as a separate Clearwater County case-record court in the research |
| Case types | Civil, criminal, family, traffic, juvenile, probate, mental health | No separate county-court docket identified | No separate JP docket identified |
| Records path | MCRO, court calendar, Court Administration | Not applicable for local District Court records | Not applicable for local District Court records |
| Certified copies | Court Administration in Bagley | Not applicable | Not applicable |
Clearwater County District Court Cases
Clearwater County District Court case categories follow Minnesota District Court records practice. MCRO allows searches in Civil, Criminal, Family, and Probate or Mental Health categories, while traffic matters can be found by citation number or case number when available. Family cases include divorce, custody, child support, parenting time, and related orders. Probate covers estates, personal representative appointments, guardianships, conservatorships, and some mental-health matters that are not fully public online.
Criminal records may include a complaint, charge, first appearance, omnibus hearing, plea, sentencing, probation violation, warrant, and disposition. Civil files can include complaints, answers, motions, affidavits, orders, judgments, settlement documents, and monetary judgment entries. Traffic records are court files for citations or traffic-related charges and are not the same as a driver's license record kept by state driver services.
- Civil cases use CV case coding in sampled Clearwater records.
- Criminal files use CR case coding and may include felony, gross misdemeanor, and misdemeanor matters.
- Family files use FA case coding, including divorce and related family orders.
- Probate or mental-health matters are grouped under PR in MCRO search categories.
- Traffic citations may be searched through MCRO or Minnesota Court Web Payment when payable.
Search Clearwater District Court Records
Online access for many public Clearwater County District Court records starts with MCRO Case Search. Search tabs include Name, Case Number, Citation Number, and Attorney. Name searches can use Person or Business, date-of-birth filters, filed-date filters, case category, case status, and court locations. To stay local, use the court-location controls and select Clearwater County.
The official MCRO Case Search interface is statewide, so selecting the correct county matters when a name is common. MCRO is still not the certified record, and some public courthouse-terminal records may not appear remotely.
The case search interface is best used as a starting point before requesting certified copies from Court Administration.
- Open MCRO Case Search and choose Name, Case Number, Citation Number, or Attorney.
- Enter the available name, case number, citation number, or attorney information.
- Use case category and status filters when the search is too broad.
- Select Clearwater County in the court-location county filter.
- Open the result and review public case details or Register of Actions when available.
- Call Court Administration for certified copies, older records, or files not remotely available.
Clearwater County Court Calendars
Clearwater County District Court publishes a public court calendar through Minnesota court document systems. The sampled daily calendar included party name, hearing location, hearing date, time, judicial officer, hearing type, connection type, and case number. Observed case-number patterns included 15-CR, 15-CV, and 15-FA, with the middle code identifying criminal, civil, or family matters.
Sampled hearing types included Probation Violation Hearing, Sentencing, Contested Omnibus, Pre-trial, Motion Hearing, Review Hearing, Omnibus Hearing, First Appearance, Hearing, and Settlement Conference. Observed judicial officers in the sampled calendar included Eric P. Schieferdecker, Matti R. Adam, and Heidi M. Chandler. Calendars can change, so Court Administration remains the contact for same-day status questions.
| Calendar Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Party Name | The person or entity connected to the scheduled hearing. |
| Hearing Location | Often Court Room 1 in sampled Clearwater calendar data. |
| Judicial Officer | The judge or judicial officer assigned to that hearing entry. |
| Hearing Type | The kind of event, such as sentencing, omnibus, motion, review, or first appearance. |
| Connection Type | Role tied to the hearing, such as defendant, petitioner, or respondent. |
| Case Number | The court file number, such as a 15-CR, 15-CV, or 15-FA format. |
Clearwater District Court Case Flow
A state criminal case usually begins with law enforcement and charging review, then moves into District Court once a complaint, citation, warrant, or other filing opens the court case. The Clearwater County Attorney is the prosecutor for many local offenses and must have probable cause to charge and proof beyond a reasonable doubt to convict. The court file tracks hearings, orders, pleas, dispositions, sentences, and probation events when public.
Criminal flow: Investigation or citation › charge filed › first appearance › omnibus or pretrial hearing › plea or trial › disposition › sentencing › possible appeal.
Civil and family flow: filing › service or notice › response › motions or settlement work › hearing or trial › order or judgment › post-judgment activity or appeal.
Clearwater County Courthouse History
Clearwater County was established in 1903, and the courthouse site was acquired that same year. The first courthouse stood on the same site as the present building and was a two-story frame structure with a small square tower and distinctive roof detail. The current courthouse was under construction in 1938 and is described by the Minnesota Judicial Branch as a PWA Moderne building.
Foss and Company of Fargo designed the courthouse, and Hendenburg and Company built it for $92,606. Research notes describe a three-story, 60-by-100-foot building with a smooth white exterior treatment, green-trimmed windows and doorway, a tall glass entrance, plastered walls, and a courtroom finished in mahogany veneer. These local details help explain why the courthouse remains the physical hub for court administration, sheriff operations, jail mail routing, Recorder work, and other county offices.
Federal Court Is Separate
Federal cases from Clearwater County do not go to Clearwater County District Court and do not appear in MCRO. They belong to the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota when a federal civil or criminal case is filed. The U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota handles federal-question cases, federal criminal prosecutions, civil-rights and constitutional claims, diversity cases, and other federal matters.
The federal homepage is a separate court system source, not a Clearwater County District Court case-search source.
The District of Minnesota clerk's office page lists federal clerk office locations and phone numbers, including Minneapolis and St. Paul locations.
That clerk office information is relevant only when the case is federal, such as a federal prosecution or federal civil lawsuit.
For federal docket and document access, use the District of Minnesota PACER case information page or PACER itself.
PACER is the official public access route for federal dockets, while MCRO is the state District Court route for Clearwater County court cases.