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The Spirit Lake handbook

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

Spirit Lake Waterworks reported one health-based violation to EPA in the last five years: a surface water treatment requirement (Surface Water Treatment Rule), beginning Oct 2022. Fiber reaches 100% of addresses in Spirit Lake.

I’m new in town

What to set up in Spirit Lake, 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 Spirit Lake.

Electricity

Power comes from Interstate Power and Light

Interstate Power and Light (Interstate Power and Light Co), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Spirit Lake. Its homes paid an average of 17.8¢ per kWh in 2025, about $131 a month (its average across Iowa).

Start or move service: alliantenergy.com · (319) 786-4411

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 Spirit Lake Waterworks

Spirit Lake Waterworks supplies Spirit Lake: about 96% of residents live in its service area. About 4% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws surface water and serves 6,167 people in all.

1 health-based violation reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026: a surface water treatment requirement (Surface Water Treatment Rule), beginning Oct 2022. 80% of the 5,012 systems serving 3,301–10,000 people had none.

Lead, 90th percentile1.0 ppb
015 ppb action level20

The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 1.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s lower than 57% 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 (EPA’s estimate). Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. IA3070078.

Internet

9 home internet providers serve Spirit Lake

100% of 2,603 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 100% can get fiber.

ProviderTechnologyAddressesFastest (Mbps)
Premier CommunicationsFiber100%1,000/1,000
Mediacom XtreamCable, Fiber100%1,000/50
CenturyLinkDSL58%40/3
GigFireFixed wireless92%150/130
AT&TFixed wireless73%100/20
Federated Rural Electric AssociationFixed wireless70%40/3

FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.

Trash & recycling

Trash day in Spirit Lake depends on your street

Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Spirit Lake, from the town’s own site.

How trash works hereTown pickupTown crews pick up at the curbcityofspiritlake.org
Trash dayBy addressDepends on your address
Drop-offSpirit Lake Green Waste siteHours ↓
Pickup

Your pickup week

Drop-off

Spirit Lake Green Waste site

MTWTFSS
8a
10a
12p
2p
4p
6p
  • Tue3 pm–7 pm
  • Thu3 pm–7 pm
  • Sat9 am–5 pm
  • Sun1 pm–5 pm
Furniture, appliances and bulky itemsCity provides dumpsters and roll-off containers for larger loads, ordered through City Hall at 336-1871

From cityofspiritlake.org, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 2026; pages dated 2016-04-01, 2020-01-29, 2025-07-24. Rules change: the town’s page is the last word. .

Schools

Where your child goes to school

Public school districts and the school path by grade.

Spirit Lake kids go to
PK–4Spirit Lake Elementary SchoolSpirit Lake Community School District
5–8Spirit Lake Middle SchoolSpirit Lake Community School District
9–12Spirit Lake High SchoolSpirit Lake Community School District

Spirit Lake is in Spirit Lake Community School District.

B+School gradeSee 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 Nov 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.

ZIP codes & area codes

Spirit Lake is in ZIP code 51360

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

ZIPPost office nameShare of Spirit LakeZIP’s residents in Spirit Lake
51360Spirit Lake, IA100%64%
Area code712Wikidata

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 Spirit Lake

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

Spirit Lake Waterworks (EPA ID IA3070078). It reported 1 health-based violation to EPA in the five years to October 2026: a surface water treatment requirement (Surface Water Treatment Rule). 80% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 1.0 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.

Who provides electricity in Spirit Lake?

Interstate Power and Light (Interstate Power and Light Co), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 17.8¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).

What internet providers serve Spirit Lake?

Premier Communications, Mediacom Xtream, CenturyLink, GigFire, AT&T, Federated Rural Electric Association (FCC, as of December 2025).

What ZIP codes are in Spirit Lake?

51360. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.

What school district is Spirit Lake in?

Spirit Lake Community School District.

How do I register to vote in Spirit Lake?

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 Dickinson County Auditor. 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: Spirit Lake’s own website (cityofspiritlake.org), read Oct 21, 2026, pickup and drop-off facts extracted and checked against the page they came from.
  • 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 National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.