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The Prior Township handbook

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

Power in Prior Township comes from Traverse Electric Coop, a cooperative utility rather than a private company. The nearest library is Wilmot Public Library, 15.2 miles away.

I’m new in town

What to set up in Prior 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 Prior Township.

Electricity

Power comes from Traverse Electric Coop

Traverse Electric Coop (Traverse Electric Coop, Inc), a cooperative utility, serves 54.0% of Prior Township residents.

Start or move service: traverseelectric.com · (320) 563-8616

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 Lismore Colony water system

The Lismore Colony water system supplies Prior Township: about 44% of residents live in its service area. About 56% 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 125 people in all.

No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 77% of the 15,074 systems serving 101–500 people.

Lead, 90th percentile2.0 ppb
015 ppb action level20

The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 2.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 70% 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. MN1060010.

Internet

4 home internet providers serve Prior Township

100% of 241 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 100% can get fiber.

ProviderTechnologyAddressesFastest (Mbps)
FederatedTelephoneCooperativeFiber100%1,000/1,000
VerizonFixed wireless12%300/20
T-MobileFixed wireless4%25/3
GigFireFixed wireless2%150/130

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

Trash & recycling

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

Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Prior Township.

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

Prior Township kids go to
K–8Lismore Colony ElementaryClinton-Graceville-Beardsley
9–12Lismore Colony Senior High SchoolClinton-Graceville-Beardsley

Most of Prior Township (77%) is in Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley; parts are in Ortonville Public Schools (23%).

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

Prior Township spans 3 ZIP codes

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

ZIPPost office nameShare of Prior TownshipZIP’s residents in Prior Township
56225Clinton, MN62%21%
56278Ortonville, MN33%3%
56240Graceville, MN5%2%

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 Prior Township

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

The Lismore Colony water system (EPA ID MN1060010). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 77% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 2.0 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.

Who provides electricity in Prior Township?

Traverse Electric Coop (Traverse Electric Coop, Inc), a cooperative utility.

What internet providers serve Prior Township?

FederatedTelephoneCooperative, Verizon, T-Mobile, GigFire (FCC, as of December 2025).

What ZIP codes are in Prior Township?

56225 (62%), 56278 (33%), 56240 (5%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.

What school district is Prior Township in?

Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley. Parts of the city are in Ortonville Public Schools.

How do I register to vote in Prior 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 Big Stone County Auditor. 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.