County Board Approves New District to Keep Ambulance Service in Pelican Rapids Area

Pelican Rapids EMS SSD information session. (OTC)

Pelican Rapids, MN – The Otter Tail County Board of Commissioners voted to create a Subordinate Service District (SSD) to help keep ambulance services in the Pelican Rapids area at its meeting on Tuesday, November 3.

State law allows the creation of a subordinate service district to provide and finance various services for the area’s residents. The district the board created includes the county area currently served by Ringdahl Ambulance’s Pelican Rapids primary service area (PSA) license.

“Our goal is simple. When someone in the Pelican Rapids area calls 911, we want an ambulance to show up,” said Commissioner Wayne Johnson of District 2. “This district gives us the tools to make that happen. We heard from a lot of residents, and we will keep listening as we work out the costs.”

With the district created, the county will now be able to:

Apply to the state for the PSA license.
Seek bids from ambulance service providers through a competitive bidding process.
Develop a budget and formula to generate revenue to support the service, through property taxes or an assessed parcel fee, with input from residents.
Explore forming an advisory board for the district.

Ambulance services will not change right away. Ringdahl Ambulance is expected to continue operations in the area until its license expires at the end of March 2027.