Winter is fast approaching, are you wanting to park your car, and take the bus? If you have never done so it can seem a bit intimidating. Here are a few simple rules to follow for using the Brown County Heartland Express. First of all call our office at 359-2717 or toll free 800-707-2717, Monday through Friday from 8am to 3pm. Our dispatcher will ask for your name, address, telephone number, birthdate, your mobility status, and how you plan to pay for the ride. Then you can let the dispatcher know where you would like to go and what time you would like to be there. We do take reservations up to 2 weeks in advance, and you must schedule the next business day before 3pm. After 3pm we will only honor the ride for medical purposes. The bus operates in New Ulm from 6:15am to 5:45 pm Monday through Friday and on Sunday from 8am to noon. For the rest of Brown County the bus operates from 8am to 4:30pm. Please be ready for the bus 10 minutes before your appointed time. If you are not ready we will wait 3 minutes, after the wait time the bus will move along, as we have to make sure everyone arrives at their destination in time.

We service all of Brown County, and the cost is reasonable, for in town rides 1 token, or $1.50. For any ride out of the city limits it is 2 tokens, or $3.00. Tokens are sold in packs of 10 for $13.00, for a savings of $2.00. Tokens are sold throughout the county at various banks, and grocery stores. The service is funded through MNDot, which is from taxes that are paid through federal, state, and local governments.

Other transit options: We do operate a volunteer driver program, and we are always looking for volunteers to join us in the rewarding program especially in the Comfrey, Hanska, Springfield, and Sleepy Eye area. Call the office if you are interested. Our volunteers will take clients that are able to get into a vehicle. We take them to medical appointments within a 50 mile radius of New Ulm.

There is also TRUE Transit that has multiple pick-ups in New Ulm on Mondays to go to Mankato, please call our office or TRUE Transit at 800-560-1575 to schedule a ride or for more information. There is also Trailblazer Transit that serves Sibley County, and they have a bus that will bring people into New Ulm, if you are interested in using that service call them at 888-743-3828.

So as you can see there are numerous options for using public transit. And in 2017 we provided over 51,000 rides, remember Public Transit is for everyone… Hope to see you on the bus.

Election Update

From the Auditor

Treasurer’s office

The general election is now only a few weeks away and staff is busy gearing up. We are beginning the process of testing all of the election equipment. Plans are also underway for a refresher training for election judges who conduct registrations. We are looking at hosting poll book training for election judges on Oct.23. Any election judge interested in participating in this review should contact the county office to reserve a spot. Phone 233-6616.

For absentee and mail ballot voters, it is time to consider casting your ballot and getting it in the return mail. We are suggesting allowing 5 days for mailing.

In the 2016 election 94 percent of the voters in Mail ballot precincts cast their ballots. We are hoping to increase that percentage for this election in November. Let your vote be your voice!