Septic and excavation contractor serving Laporte, Minnesota and the northern lakes

Who we are

A family-owned septic and dirt-work company in Laporte

Shepard Excavating and Septic Service, LLC is a family-owned contractor based in Laporte, Minnesota. Brian Shepard has run the company since 1997, and when you call, you reach the people whose name is on the truck. The business does two things most contractors split between separate companies: septic work and dirt work.

On the septic side that means routine pumping, inspections, line cleaning, and new mound or conventional systems designed and installed to code. On the dirt side it means basements, foundations, driveways, site prep, land clearing, demolition, and sand and gravel picked up at the pit or delivered to the job. Add snow removal and a Fisher snowplow dealership, and Shepard is the one call that covers a lake property from the first shovel to the last snowfall.

Community roots

Three decades of work in Northern Minnesota lake country

Laporte sits between Bemidji and Walker on the edge of the Chippewa National Forest, in the middle of the lake country Shepard has worked for nearly thirty years. The crew knows what a tight cabin lot on Garfield Lake needs, how a rural driveway holds up through a Northern Minnesota freeze, and which county office handles a new septic permit in Hubbard versus Beltrami County. That local knowledge shows up in the details: a septic design that fits the soil on a lake lot, a driveway that drains, a demolition that is hauled away clean.

The company is licensed to install and maintain septic systems in Hubbard and Beltrami counties and holds MPCA certification as a subsurface sewage treatment system installer. Customers around Laporte, Bemidji, Park Rapids, Walker, Cass Lake, Hackensack, and Longville have relied on that combination of licensing and local experience since 1997, and many of the reviews on this site come from repeat customers who call the same crew year after year.

What we do

Septic, excavating, materials, and winter work under one roof

Because septic, excavating, materials, and winter work all live under one roof in Laporte, property owners skip juggling four contractors for one job. Shepard's services include:

• Septic pumping, inspections, and maintenance, including frozen line steaming and rooter service
• Septic system design and installation (mound and conventional), county permitting, and final inspection
• Excavating for basements, foundations, site prep, grading, and road building
• Land clearing, tree and stump removal for new builds and lake lots
• Demolition of cabins, garages, and small commercial structures, hauled away clean
• Sand, gravel, and aggregate: fill sand, screened topsoil, Class 5, crushed concrete, washed rock, and boulders, picked up at the pit or delivered and spread
• Snow removal for driveways and commercial lots
• Fisher snowplow and salter sales, parts, and service, ordered year-round

Good questions

What Laporte-area customers ask before they call

Most calls to the Laporte shop start with the same handful of questions:

• Is it Shepard or Shepherd Excavating? The family name is Shepard, but plenty of people write Shepherd. Both point to the same business in Laporte, MN.
• How often should a septic tank be pumped? Every two to three years for most Northern Minnesota households. Shepard can put you on a maintenance schedule so you do not have to keep track.
• Are you a licensed septic installer? Yes. MPCA-certified, with more than 20 years installing systems, handling the design, county permits, installation, and final inspection.
• Can you thaw a frozen septic or water line? Yes. The crew steams frozen lines and clears sewer backups with rooter and line-cleaning equipment during business hours.
• How much gravel or fill do I need? Use the free Material Calculator for a cubic-yard estimate before you order, then call for delivery.
• What areas do you serve? Beltrami, Hubbard, and Cass counties, including Bemidji, Laporte, Park Rapids, Walker, Cass Lake, Hackensack, and Longville.

What sets Shepard apart

Licensed septic installation and a Fisher snowplow dealership

Two things set Shepard apart in the Laporte and Bemidji market. The first is the septic license itself. Shepard is an MPCA-certified installer and a licensed installer and maintainer in both Hubbard and Beltrami counties, so a new mound system on a lake lot is designed, permitted, installed, and inspected by one company. The tagline "We're #1 in the #2 business" gets a laugh, but it reflects real specialization, and because the same crew pumps and maintains systems, they see what fails and why before they build yours.

The second is the Fisher snowplow dealership. Shepard stocks v-plows and straight blades sized for half-ton pickups and ATVs, plus salters, and can order plows year-round so customers are ready before the first storm hits Northern Minnesota. Between those two lines, the free online Material Calculator, and a yard full of sand and gravel on County 45, the company offers things a general excavator in the region usually cannot.

How to get started

Working with Shepard: a phone call or a short form

Getting started is a phone call or a short form. Customers in the Laporte area call (218) 224-2754 during business hours, Monday through Friday, 7:00am to 5:00pm, or submit the estimate request form on the contact page with their name, phone, service address, and the service they need. The request lands directly with the office, and the follow-up is a clear estimate and an honest timeline.

Septic pumping and line service are scheduled quickly, often for the next business day. Larger excavation, septic installation, and demolition projects start with a site visit so the crew can look at access, soil, and permit requirements before quoting. Aggregate can be picked up at the yard near Laporte or delivered and spread on site.

Why it matters

Why a licensed local contractor matters on a Northern Minnesota lake lot

Septic and excavation work in Northern Minnesota is not a job for whoever owns a backhoe. Lake lots around Laporte, Walker, and Bemidji sit on mixed soils with high water tables, county setback rules, and a freeze that reaches deep into the ground every winter. A septic system that is undersized or badly sited fails early and can put a lake at risk. A driveway or building pad that is not graded for drainage heaves and washes out. A demolition that leaves debris behind becomes someone else's problem.

Hiring a licensed, insured, local contractor protects the property owner on all of those fronts. For Laporte-area homeowners and cabin owners, that is the difference between a system and a site that last for decades and one that has to be redone.