Living in Ghent, MN: what to set up and who to call
Trash goes out on Wednesdays in Ghent, collected by Sweetman Sanitation. For a library card, the closest branch is Minneota Public Library, 5.8 miles out.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Ghent, 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 Ghent.
Power comes from Otter Tail Power
Otter Tail Power (Otter Tail Power Co), an investor-owned utility, serves 81.6% of Ghent residents. Its homes paid an average of 11.3¢ per kWh in 2025, about $102 a month (its average across Minnesota).
Start or move service: ottertail.com · (866) 410-8780
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Lincoln-Pipestone Rural Water System
Lincoln-Pipestone Rural Water System supplies Ghent: about 50% of residents live in its service area. About 50% 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 Osceola Rural Water System-North and Dawson and Adrian and Canby and Brookings-Deuel Rural Water System as sellers) and serves 13,644 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 3.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 79% 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. MN1410007.
6 home internet providers serve Ghent
100% of 200 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 0% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midco | Cable, Fixed wireless | 100% | 2,000/350 |
| Frontier | DSL | 74% | 115/7 |
| GigFire | Fixed wireless | 100% | 150/130 |
| MVTV Wireless | Fixed wireless | 46% | 100/20 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 14% | 25/6 |
| Woodstock Telephone Company | Fixed wireless | 6% | 50/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash day in Ghent is Wednesday
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Ghent, from the town’s own site.
This month
- TrashEvery week
- RecyclingEvery other week, Wed · which week: ghentmn.gov
Lyon County Recycling
504 Fairgrounds Road, Marshall, MN 56258
From ghentmn.gov, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 2026. 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.
Most of Ghent (74%) is in Marshall Public School District; parts are in Minneota Public School District (26%).
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.
Town hall and registering to vote
Who to call, and how to register.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Aug 2015; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ghent is in ZIP code 56239
ZIP codes where Ghent residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Ghent | ZIP’s residents in Ghent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 56239 | Ghent, MN | 100% | 68% |
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 Ghent
Who supplies Ghent’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Lincoln-Pipestone Rural Water System (EPA ID MN1410007). 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 3.0 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Ghent?
Otter Tail Power (Otter Tail Power Co), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 11.3¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Ghent?
Midco, Frontier, GigFire, MVTV Wireless, Verizon, Woodstock Telephone Company (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Ghent?
56239. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Ghent in?
Marshall Public School District. Parts of the city are in Minneota Public School District.
How do I register to vote in Ghent?
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 Lyon County Government Center. 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: Ghent’s own website (ghentmn.gov), 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.