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A History of Elk River Municipal Utilities: Part I This section was completed for the Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission in 1994 by Charlene K.Roise and Deanne Ziebel Weber,Hess,Roise and Company After many years of waiting and speculation as to when Elk River would wake up to the fact that an up-to-date town must have electricity, the fact that the current is now on seems almost too good to be true. . . . People are satisfied now that the long looked for electric lights and power have really come to stay. Sherburne County Star News,January 27, 1916 Elk River today is much different than the small village that welcomed the first glow of electric lights in the early twentieth century. Population has skyrocketed from 859 in 1910 to 11,143 in 1990. Manufacturing has replaced milling as the primary industry. Four-lane roads link the once quiet, agrarian community with the sprawling metropolis to the southeast. The Elk River power plant was the first in an area that has since become a virtual power corridor of generating facilities. In 1916, the Elk River Power and Light Company, as it was then known, generated hydroelectricity with a single 200-horsepower turbine. Today, Elk River Municipal Utilities purchases nearly all of the 67 million kilowatt hours of electricity it distributes annually. Beginning with a handful of customers, it now serves nearly 5,000 households and businesses in Elk River, Dayton, Big Lake, and Otsego. The following pages describe the Utility's evolution over the past eight decades. Background information for this study has been obtained from a variety of sources. Primary references include minutes of the Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission and the Elk River Village and City Council. The Sherburne County Star News (SCSN)provided reliable and detailed coverage of events from the first plans for power to the present. A collection of clippings and photographs maintained by Evelyn Halter opened new avenues for exploration; unfortunately, few of the articles were dated. Secondary sources, such as The Growth of Sherburne County 1875-1975, edited by Cynthia Seelhammer and Mary Jo Mosher,broadened the historic context in which utility service developed. Last,but not least, were the invaluable insights provided by interviews with people who had been involved with the utility's growth. The authors wish to thank General Manager William Birrenkott and Commissioners James Simpson,James Tralle, and George Zabee for their help and patience during the preparation of this report. Much-appreciated assistance was also provided by Patricia Hemza. 71