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Safe Harbor - Helena Township - AldenPhoto: Clerk8751 · CC BY 4.0
The Helena Township handbook

Living in Helena Township, MI: what to set up and who to call

Voting is local here: the Helena Township Clerk registers voters and runs elections, not the county. Most homes in Helena Township have two wired internet choices, Spectrum and 186networks.

I’m new in town

What to set up in Helena Township, 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 Helena Township.

Electricity

Power comes from DTE

DTE (DTE Electric Co.), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Helena Township. Its homes paid an average of 20.2¢ per kWh in 2025, about $126 a month (its average across Michigan, for customers on its standard service). Michigan lets you buy power from another supplier; 0% of DTE’s home customers do, and DTE still delivers it.

Start or move service: www.dteenergy.com · (800) 477-4747

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 Sunset Torch Association

Sunset Torch Association supplies Helena Township: about 0% of residents live in its service area. About 100% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws ground water and serves 84 people in all.

No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 11,392 systems serving <=100 people.

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. MI0006485.

Internet

6 home internet providers serve Helena Township

91% of 968 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 55% can get fiber.

ProviderTechnologyAddressesFastest (Mbps)
SpectrumCable, Fiber66%1,000/1,000
186networksFixed wireless, Fiber57%1,024/1,024
TruestreamFiber38%1,000/1,000
FrontierDSL37%10/1
VerizonFixed wireless11%300/20
T-MobileFixed wireless4%100/20

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

Trash & recycling

We don’t have Helena Township’s trash rules yet

Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Helena Township.

Trash, recycling and bulk pickupNot on fileOpenStreetMap lists no public drop-off in Helena Township 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.

Helena Township kids go to
PK–4Mancelona Elementary Schoolin Mancelona
5–8Mancelona Middle Schoolin Mancelona
9–12Mancelona High Schoolin Mancelona

Helena Township is in Mancelona Public Schools.

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 Nov 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.

ZIP codes & area codes

Helena Township spans 3 ZIP codes

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

ZIPPost office nameShare of Helena TownshipZIP’s residents in Helena Township
49612Alden, MI73%59%
49615Bellaire, MI24%5%
49676Rapid City, MI3%1%

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 Helena Township

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

Sunset Torch Association (EPA ID MI0006485). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 78% of systems its size had none.

Who provides electricity in Helena Township?

DTE (DTE Electric Co.), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 20.2¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).

What internet providers serve Helena Township?

Spectrum, 186networks, Truestream, Frontier, Verizon, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).

What ZIP codes are in Helena Township?

49612 (73%), 49615 (24%), 49676 (3%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.

What school district is Helena Township in?

Mancelona Public Schools.

How do I register to vote in Helena Township?

In Michigan 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 Helena Township Clerk. Check your registration at mvic.sos.state.mi.us.

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 Sep 12, 2025 (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.