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RIDES warns of operating deficits and lost Medicaid trips; asks county for continued support
Summary
RIDES representatives told Dickinson County supervisors the transit provider is operating in deficit due to lost Medicaid/broker trips, lower federal funding and post‑COVID recovery issues, and said dialysis trips and school transports are priorities as service cuts are considered.
Representatives from RIDES presented an annual update to Dickinson County supervisors, described service highlights and warned the program faces a budget shortfall that could force service reductions without additional support.
Miss Voss (Speaker 4) told the board RIDES provides thousands of complimentary trips annually — including transports for Okoboji and Spirit Lake school systems to after‑school programs — and connects residents to employment, medical appointments and other services. She said program staff have documented ridership and that partnerships with schools and the Y are important to maintain service.
On funding, Miss Voss said several changes reduced revenue: restructuring of mental‑health transportation funding moved trips to facilities, COVID reduced operating patterns and federal support has declined. She also said a change in brokered Medicaid transportation — noting MTM acquired Access to Care — has dramatically cut trips RIDES previously received: "what used to be our Medicaid funding … has all but dried up," she said, adding that the organization once ran "10 to 12 and sometimes as much as 15 special trips a day" and now could be down to "5 a week."
Miss Voss said RIDES is considering options such as consolidating routes, cutting days or reducing hours and emphasized that dialysis runs would be the last service cut because they are a lifeline for some riders. She also described localized driver shortages in western counties and asked supervisors to refer potential drivers.
Board members asked for specific funding numbers; Miss Voss said she would follow up with county staff and deferred a precise dollar figure to a colleague (Hugh). No formal funding vote occurred at this meeting.
