Living in The Lakes, MN: what to set up and who to call
The Lakes has no town government of its own, so Murray County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Tracy Area Public School District. Power in The Lakes comes from Nobles Cooperative Electric, a cooperative utility rather than a private company.
I’m new in town
What to set up in The Lakes, 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 The Lakes.
Power comes from Nobles Cooperative Electric
Nobles Cooperative Electric (Nobles Cooperative Electric), a cooperative utility, serves 85.9% of The Lakes residents.
Start or move service: noblesce.coop · (507) 372-7331
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Red Rock Rural Water System
Red Rock Rural Water System supplies The Lakes: about 37% of residents live in its service area. About 63% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws ground water (EPA lists Windom and Lincoln-Pipestone Rural Water System and Balaton and Saint James as sellers) and serves 5,840 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 80% of the 5,012 systems serving 3,301–10,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2022–Dec 2024, was 2.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 67% 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. MN1170009.
6 home internet providers serve The Lakes
100% of 895 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 44% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodstock Telephone Company | Fixed wireless, Fiber | 73% | 1,000/1,000 |
| Frontier | DSL | 65% | 70/3 |
| Midco | Fixed wireless | 100% | 100/20 |
| GigFire | Fixed wireless | 99% | 150/130 |
| MVTV Wireless | Fixed wireless | 75% | 50/10 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 75% | 300/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have The Lakes’ trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in The Lakes.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Most of The Lakes (85%) is in Tracy Area Public School District; parts are in Murray County Central School District (15%).
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.
No town hall: the county runs things
The Lakes is unincorporated, so Murray County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Jun 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The Lakes spans 4 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where The Lakes residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of The Lakes | ZIP’s residents in The Lakes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 56172 | Slayton, MN | 46% | 9% |
| 56175 | Tracy, MN | 25% | 5% |
| 56132 | Garvin, MN | 22% | 29% |
| 56123 | Currie, MN | 7% | 8% |
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 The Lakes
Who supplies The Lakes’ drinking water, and has it had violations?
Red Rock Rural Water System (EPA ID MN1170009). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 80% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 2.0 ppb (Jan 2022–Dec 2024), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in The Lakes?
Nobles Cooperative Electric (Nobles Cooperative Electric), a cooperative utility.
What internet providers serve The Lakes?
Woodstock Telephone Company, Frontier, Midco, GigFire, MVTV Wireless, Verizon (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in The Lakes?
56172 (46%), 56175 (25%), 56132 (22%), 56123 (7%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is The Lakes in?
Tracy Area Public School District. Parts of the city are in Murray County Central School District.
How do I register to vote in The Lakes?
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 Murray County Elections. 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.