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Water tower Dawson Iowa 8-11-2012Photo: rochelle hartman from La Crosse, WI · CC BY 2.0
The Dawson handbook

Living in Dawson, IA: what to set up and who to call

All of Dawson gets its mail under one ZIP code, 50066. Perry Community School District runs the public schools in Dawson.

I’m new in town

What to set up in Dawson, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.

Home services

Power, water and internet

Who to call to start service at a new address in Dawson.

Electricity

Power comes from MidAmerican Energy

MidAmerican Energy (MidAmerican Energy Co), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Dawson. Its homes paid an average of 11.2¢ per kWh in 2025, about $93 a month (its average across Iowa).

Start or move service: midamericanenergy.com · (888) 427-5632

Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.

Drinking water · reported to EPA

Water comes from Xenia RWD (Des Moines)

Xenia RWD (Des Moines) supplies Dawson: about 53% of residents live in its service area. About 47% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It buys treated surface water (EPA lists Ciww (Dmww) and Warren Water District as sellers) and serves 12,860 people in all.

No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 83% of the 3,525 systems serving 10,001–50,000 people.

Lead, 90th percentile1.7 ppb
015 ppb action level20

The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2024–Dec 2026, was 1.7 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 62% of similar systems’ latest results.

The system’s full record: EPA ECHO report

EPA SDWIS via Envirofacts (violations pulled Oct 9, 2026) and ECHO (lead samples, 2026Q3); service area: EPA Community Water System Service Area Boundaries v3.0. Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. IA2573701.

Internet

Which providers serve Dawson

Data pending · D4

This card will list the home internet providers the FCC’s National Broadband Map shows in Dawson, the share of addresses that can get 100/20 Mbps and the share with fiber, with the map’s “as of” date.

Source to come: FCC Broadband Data Collection.

Trash & recycling

We don’t have Dawson’s trash rules yet

Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Dawson.

Trash, recycling and bulk pickupNot on fileOpenStreetMap lists no public drop-off in Dawson or within 5 miles (as of Oct 9, 2026); map coverage varies by town.
Schools

Where your child goes to school

Public school districts and the school path by grade.

Dawson kids go to
PK–5Perry Elementaryin Perry
6–8Perry Middle Schoolin Perry
9–12Perry High Schoolin Perry

Dawson is in Perry Community School District.

Test scores and every school: see Schools →

U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.

Government & voting

Town hall and registering to vote

Who to call, and how to register.

Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Aug 2026; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.

ZIP codes & area codes

Dawson is in ZIP code 50066

ZIP codes where Dawson residents live, with the share of the town in each.

ZIPPost office nameShare of DawsonZIP’s residents in Dawson
50066Dawson, IA100%49%

Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.

Everyday places

Getting around, the ER and the library

One line each; the subject pages have the rest.

ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.

Questions about living in Dawson

Who supplies Dawson’s drinking water, and has it had violations?

Xenia RWD (Des Moines) (EPA ID IA2573701). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 83% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 1.7 ppb (Jan 2024–Dec 2026), against a 15 ppb action level.

Who provides electricity in Dawson?

MidAmerican Energy (MidAmerican Energy Co), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 11.2¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).

What ZIP codes are in Dawson?

50066. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.

What school district is Dawson in?

Perry Community School District.

How do I register to vote in Dawson?

In Iowa you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before). Elections here are run by the Dallas County Elections Office. Check your registration at sos.iowa.gov.

Sources & dates

Every answer above names its source. Here they are with their dates.

  • Water: EPA SDWIS (Envirofacts, pulled Oct 9, 2026), ECHO SDWA 2026Q3, EPA CWS Service Area Boundaries v3.0.
  • Power: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map Aug 2023); EIA-861 final 2025.
  • Trash: OpenStreetMap, Geofabrik extract of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
  • ZIP codes: Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files; GeoNames postal codes (CC BY 4.0).
  • Schools: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25.
  • Registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024 (read Oct 10, 2026). Official sites and area codes: Wikidata.
  • Election office: FVAP local election office directory (fetched Oct 10, 2026; each record dated), EAC EAVS 2024 jurisdictions; registration and lookup links from vote.gov’s state data, checked Oct 10, 2026.
  • Internet (FCC): pending.