Photo: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 4.0Living in Elbow Lake, MN: what to set up and who to call
Elbow Lake runs its own electric utility, City of Elbow Lake. Tuesday is trash day in Elbow Lake.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Elbow Lake, 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 Elbow Lake.
Power comes from City of Elbow Lake
City of Elbow Lake (City of Elbow Lake - (MN)), a municipal utility, serves all of Elbow Lake.
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Elbow Lake water system
The Elbow Lake water system supplies almost all of Elbow Lake. It draws ground water and serves 1,285 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 7,966 systems serving 1,001–3,300 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan–Dec 2025, was 0.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 6.0 ppb. 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. MN1260003.
3 home internet providers serve Elbow Lake
100% of 586 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 100% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runestone Telephone Association | Fiber, DSL | 100% | 1,000/1,000 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 87% | 100/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 60% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash day in Elbow Lake is Tuesday
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Elbow Lake, from the town’s own site.
This month
- TrashEvery week
Single-stream recycling
All your recyclables go in one bin, no sorting.
- Plastic Bottles (#1-7)
- Brown Paper Bags
- Magazines
- Office Paper and/or junk mail
- Newspapers
- Flattened cardboard, box board, cake, cereal, beer and pop boxes
- Phone books
Elbow Lake Recycling Trailers site
3rd St SE, Elbow Lake, MN
Grant County Recycling Center
310 3rd St SE, Elbow Lake, MN 56531
Yard waste (leaves and grass clippings) disposal site
3rd St SE, Elbow Lake, MN (across the street from the Grant County Highway Department)
From thecityofelbowlake.com, the town’s official site, checked Oct 23, 2026; pages dated 2024-05-30, 2024-07-24, 2026-03-24. Rules change: the town’s page is the last word. .
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Elbow Lake is in West Central Area.
ASchool 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 Jun 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Elbow Lake is in ZIP code 56531
ZIP codes where Elbow Lake residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Elbow Lake | ZIP’s residents in Elbow Lake |
|---|---|---|---|
| 56531 | Elbow Lake, MN | 100% | 62% |
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 Elbow Lake
Who supplies Elbow Lake’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
The Elbow Lake water system (EPA ID MN1260003). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 78% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 0.0 ppb (Jan–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Elbow Lake?
City of Elbow Lake (City of Elbow Lake - (MN)), a municipal utility.
What internet providers serve Elbow Lake?
Runestone Telephone Association, T-Mobile, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Elbow Lake?
56531. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Elbow Lake in?
West Central Area.
How do I register to vote in Elbow Lake?
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 Grant County Courthouse. 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: Elbow Lake’s own website (thecityofelbowlake.com), read Oct 23, 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.