Lake Carlos State Park WPA/Rustic Style Historic District · Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 3.0Living in Carlos Township, MN: what to set up and who to call
Power in Carlos Township comes from Runestone Electric Assn, a cooperative utility rather than a private company. Alexandria Public School District runs the public schools in Carlos Township.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Carlos Township, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.
Power, water and internet
Who to call to start service at a new address in Carlos Township.
Power comes from Runestone Electric Assn
Runestone Electric Assn (Runestone Electric Assn), a cooperative utility, serves 67.3% of Carlos Township residents. Its homes paid an average of 14.8¢ per kWh in 2025, about $176 a month (its average across Minnesota).
Start or move service: runestoneelectric.com · (320) 762-1121
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Alexandria water system
The Alexandria water system supplies Carlos Township: about 3% of residents live in its service area. About 97% 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 15,000 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.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 0.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. Results below detection are reported as 0, so 0 doesn’t mean no lead at any tap.
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. MN1210001.
Which providers serve Carlos Township
This card will list the home internet providers the FCC’s National Broadband Map shows in Carlos Township, 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.
We don’t have Carlos Township’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Carlos Township.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Carlos Township is in Alexandria Public School District.
A−School gradeSee Schools →U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.
Town hall and registering to vote
Who to call, and how to register.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Sep 2026; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Carlos Township spans 3 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Carlos Township residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Carlos Township | ZIP’s residents in Carlos Township |
|---|---|---|---|
| 56308 | Alexandria, MN | 74% | 6% |
| 56319 | Carlos, MN | 23% | 39% |
| 56355 | Nelson, MN | 2% | 8% |
A few homes fall in 56354.
Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.
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 Carlos Township
Who supplies Carlos Township’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
The Alexandria water system (EPA ID MN1210001). 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 0.0 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Carlos Township?
Runestone Electric Assn (Runestone Electric Assn), a cooperative utility. Its homes paid about 14.8¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What ZIP codes are in Carlos Township?
56308 (74%), 56319 (23%), 56355 (2%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Carlos Township in?
Alexandria Public School District.
How do I register to vote in Carlos Township?
In Minnesota you can register online until 21 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (received 21 days before). Elections here are run by the Douglas County Auditor/Treasurer. Check your registration at mnvotes.sos.state.mn.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 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.