Fettkether settling in as Clayton County Recorder

By Audrey Posten 

Times-Register

Josie Fettkether is settling into her new role as Clayton County Recorder. Fettkether was appointed in December by the Clayton County Board of Supervisors to replace the retiring Sue Meyer, who served 39 years in the recorder’s office, first as a deputy and then the elected county recorder. Meyer was most recently re-elected in 2022, putting Fettkether’s appointment until the next general election in November 2026.

Although Meyer leaves big shoes to fill, Fettkether is excited for the opportunity.

“She knew it like the back of her hand and she had all these contacts, but I have a great staff who help me here,” Fettkether said.

Fettkether was born and raised in Volga and graduated from Central in 2015. After obtaining a hospitality degree from Kirkwood Community College, she completed her four-year degree at Upper Iowa University while working and getting involved in Clayton County organizations. She had worked five years at the Clayton County Treasurer’s Office when the recorder position became available.

“I looked at this as an opportunity to grow and help represent the county residents. I want to serve them in the best possible way, and I thought this was an opportunity I should take,” Fettkether said.

Working in the treasurer’s office provided valuable background for the new position.

“It helped me knowing the people of Clayton County and also understanding what each office does. I knew what the recorder’s office did,” Fettkether explained.

While the recorder’s office renews side-by-sides and boats, the treasurer’s office would handle the trailers that haul them. Whereas the treasurer’s office collected property taxes, the recorder’s office records that property.

“I also worked with driver’s licenses, so you get familiar with birth certificates, marriage certificates,” she added.

The Clayton County website describes the recorder’s responsibilities as recording, at length, all instruments of record which may be filed, consisting principally of deeds, mortgages, contracts, assignments, affidavits, releases, condemnation proceedings, veterans’ records, plats, leases and other miscellaneous papers.

The county recorder is the custodian of birth, death and marriage records and issues certified copies of these records. The recorder issues marriage licenses and registration certificates and titles for boats, snowmobiles and off-road vehicles, as well as hunting, fishing and trapping licenses and trout and duck habitat stamps.

“Side-by-sides are renewed every year, so you have to come in here to do that. Boats are every three years. This year, if you own a boat, you have to come in and see us. Make sure they’re in by April 30,” Fettkether said. “We register them, title them.” 

“We also do marriage certificates, birth certificates, death certificates. We record deeds and property records. We also do business trade names, so if you are becoming a business, you have to record that here. We record DD214s for the veterans here too. We have a lot coming in and going out,” Fettkether continued.

Land and marriage records in the Clayton County Recorder’s Office “vault” date back to the 1830s, while birth and death records go back to 1880. The amount of information stored in rows of books is remarkable, Fettkether said.

“If you think about all the survey lines and plats, you still use those from all the way back then,” she remarked.

One of Meyer’s accomplishments as county recorder was digitizing many of the records. Fettkether plans to continue that work.

“We are trying to digitize so people will have access for certain things, like land records. To make it easier for people and us,” she said.

That’s important, noted Fettkether, should the books ever be destroyed. Accessibility also becomes crucial as fewer people learn to read cursive writing.

“I learned cursive writing and know how to read some of it, but I’m afraid, in generations to come, it’s going to be hard for people to do because we just don’t use it anymore,” Fettkether said. “I’m hoping to digitize more stuff because I think that’s the future.” 

An outside company completes large projects, digitizing many books at a time, but Fettkether said the recorder’s office digitizes any new documents directly into its system now. That makes records accessible online to entities like the abstract office.

Another goal Fettkether has is to implement an online renewal system for side-by-sides and boats, similar to what the treasurer’s office has.

“I think that would be good for everyone,” she said.

Most importantly, Fettkether wants to make the Clayton County Recorder’s Office a welcoming, helpful stop for residents.

“I really like working with the residents. Sometimes it’s a challenge figuring out which office they are supposed to be in and what they’re coming for, but hopefully you can help them and get everything completed. We like to be the communicator here and keep it at the local level before they have to go to the state level,” Fettkether said. “We try to make it easier for people to have various ways to get in contact with us.”

Fettkether already plans to run for election in 2026. 

“I would love support from Clayton County residents, and if they have any questions or concerns, they can always give us a call here. I want people to feel welcome to reach out, and if anyone is having issues, I want to be able to help them in any way we can,” she said.