Transportation, Utilities and Communications

Moving goods and services from Kossuth County to major markets is easily achievable with air, rail, highway & high-speed internet service. Local utilities and cooperatives serve the area with gas, electricity and communications. View the table below for more information on the utilities and communications companies that proudly serve our area.

Transportation

Highway Access — With 1,156 square miles of roadway in Kossuth County, moving goods and services to market is easy. 499 square miles are paved roadway. Of the 499 square miles, 470 are farm-to-market roads. Two U.S. highways and a principal state highway crisscross the county.

Alternative Transportation — A unique program supported by the North Iowa Area Council of Governments (NIACOG) provides low-cost bus service within the county. NIACOG's "taxis" operate throughout the county and transport to and from Mason City on weekdays. In addition, NIACOG and the City of Algona operate a weekday taxi service in Algona offering subsidized fares for all riders.

Rail — Three rail lines service Kossuth County

  • North/South Union Pacific — Extends from north of Burt and travels south through Algona onto the switch at Eagle Grove, Iowa. This switch allows freight to travel in any direction with lines to all major Midwestern trade centers.
  • East/West DM & E — Transverses east/west across the northern section of the county to provide freight service to metropolitan trade centers. Services Mason City, Dubuque, Davenport, Ottumwa, Kansas City, MO and Chicago, IL.
  • East/West Union Pacific — Services the southern portion of the county with links to lines running directly to Sioux City, Cedar Rapids, IA and Omaha, NE.

Air

  • Primary air access is available at the Algona Municipal Airport. The facility is rated Class 2 with a 3,960 foot, lighted, concrete runway and a 2,880 foot grass runway. Unicom radio is in use. A full-time manager and FBO is on staff providing fuel service, maintenance and repair. Hangar space is available.
  • Commercial air service is provided within one hour to the south at Fort Dodge, Iowa, and to the east at Mason City, Iowa. Connecting flights are offered to Minneapolis through Northwest Airlink.

Utilities

Five municipal utilities and two rural electric cooperatives are advantageous to Kossuth County residents. Publicly-owned electric service providers offer rates often below those of a private utility and offer local service for repairs with quick response times.

Algona, Bancroft, Swea City, West Bend and Whittemore operate municipal utilities with service territories extending beyond city limits. Both Algona and Bancroft have generation facilities capable of providing full power service to customers at any time.

Other providers include Humboldt County REC, Iowa Lakes REC, Alliant Energy, and Heartland Telecommunications Company. Gas service is provided by Mid American Energy.

Communications

Rural living in Kossuth County means that you are well-connected to the world. Each community has a fiber optics line available for telephone communications, local dial-up connections for Internet access and T1 line capabilities with the following formats available in a limited number of locations:

Hybrid Fiber Coax/Fiber — Algona Municipal Utilities operates a telecommunications utility with fiber optic and high bred fiber optic cable lines extending to all homes and businesses within Algona and its surrounding residential areas. The utility provides digital cable service, telephone, and high-speed Internet (870 MHz bandwidth).

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) — Algona, Bancroft, and West Bend offer connectivity with data-rates from 192 Kbps — 2.3 Mbps.

Wireless — Connections available in the Algona area.

Virtual Private Networking (VPN) — Several local firms offer VPN software and technical support.

Iowa Communications Network (ICN) — Local school districts and Iowa Lakes Community College provide video conferencing and tele-commuting course work.

Tier 2 Connection — Kossuth County is the only Tier 2 Internet provider in northwest Iowa.

Utilities in Kossuth County Iowa

BusinessServicesRegion ServedContactPhoneWebsite
Algona Municipal UtilitiesElectric | Water | CommunicationsAlgona AreaJohn Bilsten
PO Box 10
Algona, IA 50511		515-295-3584netamu.com
Alliant EnergyElectric | GasElectric: Ledyard, Swea City, Lakota, Titonka, Fenton, Lone Rock, Wesley, Seneca, Sexton, St. Benedict
Gas: Ledyard, Swea City, Lakota, Bancroft		719 N 18th Street
Centerville, IA 52544		800-255-4268alliantenergy.com
Bancroft Municipal UtilityWater | Sewer | ElectricBancroft AreaTim Rowlet
105 Ramsey St E
Bancroft, IA 50517
515-885-2382bancroftiowa.com
Burt Municipal UtilitiesElectric | Water | Sewer | GarbageBurt119 Walnut Street
P.O. Box 197
Burt, IA 50522		515-924-3618
Corn Belt Power CooperativeElectricSupplies electricity to nine member cooperativesJim Vermeer
1300 13th Street North
PO Box 508
Humboldt, IA 50548		515-332-2571cbpower.coop
Fenton Coop Telephone CoCommunicationsFentonSteven Longhenry
300 2nd St
Fenton, IA 50539		515-889-2785
Heartland Power CooperativeElectricLakota (rural)
Titonka (rural)
Buffalo Center—Kossuth Co. address residents		Jon Leerar
216 Jackson Street
PO Box 65
Thompson, IA 50478		888-584-9732heartlandpower.com
Midland Power Cooperative CompanyElectricElectric
Southern portions of
Kossuth County		Norm Fandel
1005 E. Lincoln Way
P.O. Box 420
Jefferson, IA 50129		515-386-4111midlandpower.coop
Midland Power Cooperative Company - Humboldt Branch LocationElectricElectric
Southern portions of
Kossuth County		Larry Beilke
1210 13th St. North
Humboldt, IA		515-332-1616midlandpower.coop
Iowa Lakes Electric CoopElectricNorthern Kossuth CountyRick Olesen
President & CEO
702 South 1st Street
Estherville, IA 51334		800-225-4532ilec.coop
ITC Midwest LLCElectricNorthern Kossuth CountyTroy Weary
100 E. Grand Avenue, Ste 230
Des Moines, IA 50309		515-282-5300itc-holdings.com
Lone Rock Cooperative Telephone CoCommunicationsLone RockDan Meyer
215 Maine St
Lone Rock, IA 50559		515-925-3271
MidAmerican Energy CompanyElectric | GasElectric: St. Joseph, Luverne
Gas: Algona, Fenton, Lone Rock, Wesley		666 Grand Ave.
Des Moines, IA 50309		888-427-5632midamericanenergy.com
https://www.midamericanenergy.com/green-advantage
Northern Border PipelineNatural GasNatural Gas Pipeline - Kossuth County13710 FNB Parkway
Omaha, NE 68154		402-492-7300northernborder.com
Northwest CommunicationsCommunicationsWest BendDon Miller
844 Wood St
P.O. Box 186
Havelock, IA 50546		712-776-2612ncn.net
Titonka-Burt CommunicationsCommunicationsBurt & Titonka AreaAaron McCarten
247 Main St N
PO Box 320
Titonka, IA 50480		515-928-2110tbctel.com
Titonka Municipal UtilitiesWater | Sewer | PropaneTitonka011 Main St N
Titonka, IA 50480		515-928-2850titonka.com
West Bend Municipal UtilitesElectric | Water | Sewer | GasWest BendLisa Sewell, City Clerk
David Jergens, City Superintendent
301 S Broadway
West Bend, IA 50597		515-887-2181westbendiowa.com
Whittemore Municipal UtilitiesWater | Electric | Gas | Sewer | Garbage | RecyclingWhittemoreLinda Farrell
Bryan Meyer, City Superintendent
315 4th St
Whittemore, IA 50598		515-884-2265whittemoreiowa.com
Winnebago Cooperative Telecom AssociationCommunicationsBancroft & Lakota704 E. Main St.
Lake Mills, IA 50450		641-592-6105wctatel.com