Wabasha New EV Charger

A vehicle pulled up to the new EV charger in Wabasha this week, plugged in, scanned a phone app, and charged up.

Thanks to several volunteers, Wabasha finally got what many other towns in our area, including Pepin, Lake City, Red Wing, Winona and Hastings have - a charging station for electric vehicles.

According to the Wabasha County Herald, volunteers including Preston Cook, Scott Lien, Mary Funk and others who were aware of the need got the ball rolling and with  the team of volunteers behind her, Mary agreed to take leadership of the project.

She applied for a grant through the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation and the project was awarded $5,000. With a combination of grants and donations, the $15,000 needed to complete the project was obtained.

The charging station is strategically located in the downtown area – under the bridge across from Heritage Park.

Payment for the service can be made by a mobile app or by credit card. There are two ports so that two vehicles can be charged at one time.

Although the charger was secured by an all-volunteer effort, the city will receive a percentage of the charging fee each time a vehicle plugs in.

Pictured above (L to R): WKACF Board members Bob Mann, Bree Jewson, Mary Funk (EV project lead), Caroline Gregerson (City Administrator), and Board members Rick Vaplon and Tyler Grabau.