Their work continues behind the scenes, though, pushing to keep rural Iowa connected and safe. One of the services they provide that is most visible in Webster City is their transportation service.

MIDAS was established in 1974 to help member governments in Calhoun, Hamilton, Humboldt, Pocahontas, Webster and Wright counties. At first they were primarily a planning organization. Their goal was to find solutions that would enhance the quality of life for all who live, work and play in our region. Much of their work is not very visible, with their work in grant funding and administration, community development, housing support and comprehensive planning. But they work to provide transportation and transit services in all six counties.

Shelly Mahan is the Transit Director for all six counties. She is responsible for 41 vehicles in the fleet that serves the area. The Webster City location usually has 8 or 9 vehicles in a range of sizes.

“We are a demand-response system,” Mahan said, “which means people call our office to schedule a ride. The service is open to anyone in those counties who want to use it.”

Mahan encourages people to schedule a ride at least 24 hours in advance.

The Operations office in Fort Dodge is responsible for scheduling the service. The phone number for the MIDAS transit service is 515-573-8145. The buses can be scheduled between 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“We schedule vehicles according to how many people need a ride,” she said.

The service is used by some students, but predominantly used for grocery shopping and medical appointments. The buses pick up their riders at their door, and take them to their destination.

The bus rides are not free, but the cost is minimal: If living in Webster City and the ride is scheduled with 24 hours notice, the cost is $2.50 per ride. If a student is under 18 years old, or a resident over the age of 65, that cost is $2.00 per ride. Without the prior notice, calling the same day will increase the cost of the ride by $1.00.

Rural residents can also use the service, but the charge is $1.50 per mile from the time the bus leaves their site, until it is returned.

In Hamilton county last year, they provided 16,448 rides between July 1 through June 30 2025. That number represents 17% of all the rides in the six counties.

“We have a lot of potential for growth, it seems to be there are requests,” she said, “We just don’t have enough drivers to field their requests.”

Drivers are required to have a Commercial Drivers License — CDL. Midas will pay for the training and will help a driver get through that process.

Mahan has been working for MIDAS in various positions, for just over 20 years. In addition to the MIDAS routes, where the buses are owned by MIDAS, they also contract with the city of Fort Dodge to manage their DART transportation system.

Mahan schedules drivers and the type of vehicle that is best suited for the task. It’s the reason they need 24 hours notice, to coordinate the vehicles to serve each community.

“Prestage would like to do a work shuttle,” she said, “We are looking into that if we can find a driver.”

The work is part-time and because it is on-demand, the hours of work vary. The applications to become a driver are online, but if needed, a paper application can be requested. The website to apply is located at www: //midascogia.net/about_us/part_time_bus_driver.php

Funding for this program is through multiple sources.

“We are a state and federal agency, so we get 5311 funds because we are a small rural agency,” Mahan said,”We go through the Iowa Department of Transportation for a large portion of it, in addition to local community support.”

“The biggest thing, people think public transit isn’t for them, they have to meet some kind of qualification, but public transit is for everyone,” said Mahan, “We are one of the non-emergency medical transportation providers for people who have medicaid.”

The key is letting people know there is a transportation option for them, even in rural Iowa.

“We are out there,” she said, “We will try to keep people independent in their homes so that rural Iowa can thrive.”