July 31, 2012 • Page 13 shop online at www.missourivalleyshopper.com Introducing Brian Hunhoff Brian Hunhoff has served five years as Yankton County Register of Deeds. He often describes his job as the “county recorder” and says he enjoys the variety of tasks and responsibilities it involves. Now in his second term as Register of Deeds, Hunhoff previously served 10 years on the Yankton County Commission. “Being part of the commission gave me a good working knowledge of the county as a whole, but I had a lot to learn about this office when I became Register of Deeds,” he said. “There is a complex variety of duties and the state laws that govern us keep changing, so there is always more to learn.” Last year, Hunhoff and his staff recorded nearly 5,000 real estate documents that pertain to property in Yankton County. That total included 839 deeds, 922 mortgages, and 1,137 satisfactions. “The state Abstracters’ Board of Examiners has been doing research in our vault this spring and they were very complimentary of our records system,” Hunhoff said. “That is good to hear from people who are experts in the field.” In addition to maintaining a complete library of county real estate records, the Register of Deeds office is the agency designated by the State Department of Health to process and issue vital records requests. In recent years, Hunhoff’s office has been averaging roughly 2,500 birth certificates, 1,000 death certificates, 750 marriage certificates, 200 marriage licenses and 150 burial permits per year. There has been a dramatic increase in vital record requests, due to a new state law that requires people show a certified birth certificate and requires married women to show a certified marriage certificate when they get a driver’s license. Hunhoff said the number of applications for birth and marriage records has tripled since the law came into effect. “It’s not unusual for our staff to be simultaneously helping one or more people at the counter, assisting another customer in the records vault, helping a third person on the phone, and responding to a fourth request in the e-mail,” Hunhoff said. “That’s the way we like it. The busier, the better, as far as we’re concerned.” Some people do not realize how much history is kept in the Register of Deeds vaults. Hunhoff said, “Our land records date back to 1865 (pre-statehood). We have birth records that go back to 1872, marriage records going back to 1874, and death records going back to 1905. We also began keeping burial records in 1950 and we have been recording military discharge records since 1919.” The Register of Deeds’ paper records have previously been backed up on microfilm and compact discs, stored in a secure, climate-controlled location offsite the Yankton County Government Center. Hunhoff continues using CDs and microfilm as two means of records backup, and he has actually added a third backup system by storing his office’s 100-plus years of county history on flash drives as well. The Yankton County Register of Deeds office began making digital images of incoming real estate records in 2003. In the past 18 months, records from the years 1865-2002 have also been scanned and added to the county’s digital library, providing faster public access to those records. “Our regular customers have appreciated that,” Hunhoff said. Hunhoff was pleased to announce the implementation of a new automated computer indexing system in the office’s public vault. This creates more index search stations, and will reduce wear and tear on the old indexes stored in bound volumes. “By utilizing our own staff time to do a lot of the input work, we have been able to get these scanning and indexing projects done at a fraction of the cost it would typically cost a county to do this much modernization of records,” Hunhoff said. “Yankton County taxpayers expect a lot of bang for their buck, and they are getting it here.” Another technological development in Hunhoff’s office is a web page. “If you Google ‘Yankton County Register of Deeds’, it should pop right up at the top of your list of search options,” Hunhoff said. The available information includes: office services; office statistics; answers to frequently asked questions; government links; and application forms for vital records and other documents. “I update the page as needed,” Hunhoff said. “It has generated a fair amount of traffic so far.” Hunhoff notes he had a tough act to follow in former Register of Deeds Lynette Larson. “Lynette and her two deputies – Cathy Lucas and Janet Modereger – were such an outstanding team in that office for over 30 years,” he said. “When they retired, it was my goal to replace them with people who would strive for the tradition of excellence those ladies established.” Hunhoff’s current staff includes chief deputy Mallory Wriedt, along with clerks Jeff Mueller and Matt Balvin. “Mallory, Jeff and Matt are doing a great job for the county,” Hunhoff said. “They are professional, knowledgeable and friendly. 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