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OttertailPhoto: Own work · CC BY-SA 3.0
The Otter Tail Township handbook

Living in Otter Tail Township, MN: what to set up and who to call

Most mail in Otter Tail Township goes to 56571 (77% of residents), one of 3 ZIP codes in town. The closest ER is Perham Health, 12.6 miles away.

I’m new in town

What to set up in Otter Tail 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 Otter Tail Township.

Electricity

Power comes from Otter Tail Power

Otter Tail Power (Otter Tail Power Co), an investor-owned utility, serves 67.8% of Otter Tail Township 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.

Drinking water · reported to EPA

Water comes from Ottertail water system

The Ottertail water system supplies Otter Tail Township: about 8% of residents live in its service area. About 92% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It buys treated ground water (EPA lists Henning as seller) and serves 694 people in all.

No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 5,327 systems serving 501–1,000 people.

Lead, 90th percentile0.0 ppb
015 ppb action level20

The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2022–Dec 2024, was 0.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 1.0 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. MN1560032.

Internet

5 home internet providers serve Otter Tail Township

76% of 863 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 13% can get fiber.

ProviderTechnologyAddressesFastest (Mbps)
ARVIGDSL, Cable, Fiber94%1,000/50
CenturyLinkDSL3%80/10
T-MobileFixed wireless57%100/20
AT&TFixed wireless5%25/3
VerizonFixed wireless4%25/6

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

Trash & recycling

We don’t have Otter Tail Township’s trash rules yet

Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Otter Tail Township.

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

Otter Tail Township kids go to
PK–62 schoolsDepends on your address
7–122 schoolsDepends on your address

Most of Otter Tail Township (72%) is in Henning Public School District; parts are in Perham-Dent Public School District (26%) and Battle Lake Public School District (2%).

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 Jun 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.

ZIP codes & area codes

Otter Tail Township spans 3 ZIP codes

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

ZIPPost office nameShare of Otter Tail TownshipZIP’s residents in Otter Tail Township
56571Ottertail, MN77%24%
56515Battle Lake, MN18%4%
56576Richville, MN4%3%

A few homes fall in 56551.

Area code218Wikidata

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 Otter Tail Township

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

The Ottertail water system (EPA ID MN1560032). 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 2022–Dec 2024), against a 15 ppb action level.

Who provides electricity in Otter Tail Township?

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 Otter Tail Township?

ARVIG, CenturyLink, T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon (FCC, as of December 2025).

What ZIP codes are in Otter Tail Township?

56571 (77%), 56515 (18%), 56576 (4%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.

What school district is Otter Tail Township in?

Henning Public School District. Parts of the city are in Perham-Dent Public School District and Battle Lake Public School District.

How do I register to vote in Otter Tail 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 Otter Tail County Government Services 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: 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 National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.