Electrical service, which we all accept today as a way of life, was not available to most farmers and ranchers in the early 1930s. Even the smaller communities had no electric service unless they generated their own.
In the spring of 1935, the Council of the Swede Home Church appointed Petrus C. Nelson and Alex Adelson as a committee to see if enough people in Polk County would be interested in organizing a Public Power District. A meeting was held in the Swede Home Church parlor on May 6, 1935, and as a result, a district was organized. Petrus Nelson was elected president of the new district and Agvall S. Torell was elected secretary. Swede Home was chosen as the place of business for the district. Nine directors were
A loan in the amount of $367,500 was approved by the Rural Electrification Administration in October 1936 for the construction of the first lines. In April 1937, Sandberg & Johnson Construction Company was awarded a contract to build lines. Mr. G. E. Ekstrand was employed as Project Superintendent, and in June 1938 the energization of the lines was celebrated. Mrs. Milo Austin had the honor of closing the switch, which started the electricity flowing in the lines.