EAGLE GROVE — The city of Eagle Grove recently modified its emergency medical service procedures to allow 18-year-olds to drive ambulances.

The Eagle Grove City Council approved the policy at its meeting Oct. 29.

“As long as they have a clean driving record, as well as they pass our training specifications that we have,” Bryce Davis, Eagle Grove city administrator said. “We have had some 18-year-olds in the past, before my time. The policies were changed due to some insurance and maturity reasons going from 18 to 21. But now we are seeing the insurance requirement is no longer there. Our insurance company allows 18-year-olds to drive our vehicles, so we are going back to that method.”

Cities in Wright County have struggled to recruit and retain volunteers for its medical services, according to previous Messenger reports.

In August, voters in the county easily passed a levy declaring EMS essential.

Residents will pay about 67.8 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value to support EMS.

The overall cost of the plan is $586,652 annually.

The additional funding will allow cities within the county to share training and other resources.

There will also likely be one medical director for the county.

The levy is authorized for a period of five years. It will go into effect after July of 2019.