In a press call this morning, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Tina Smith promised that the governor's new budget would include "robust funding" for new rural broadband projects, but declined to name an amount.
Smith and DEED conducted to call to answer questions from the Greater Minnesota press about 42 grants announced today by the agency. Via the Winona Daily News, the Associated Press reports in Latest broadband funds to boost internet for 16K households:
More Minnesota households and businesses will get broadband internet access.
Lt. Gov. Tina Smith says the expansion will level the playing field for Minnesota residents. The grants will fund 42 projects spread across every corner of the state.
It's the latest chapter in one of Gov. Mark Dayton's top priorities for his final term in office. More than $66 million in broadband funding since 2014 has helped expand access statewide.
State officials announced the latest round of broadband expansion grants Wednesday to provide access to more than 16,000 households, 2,200 businesses and 71 community organizations. The funding comes from a $34 million appropriation by the Legislature last year.
What does this mean in real terms for rural Minnesotans? At the West Central Tribune, Carolyn Lange provides a snapshot in Kandiyohi County broadband projects win state funding:
Broadband internet service will be expanded in Kandiyohi County thanks to nearly $6 million in state grants that were announced this morning.
Consolidated Telecommunications Co. was awarded a $4.94 million grant to improve serves in New London, Spicer and Willmar and Frontier was awarded a grant of $1.02 million to improve service in rural Kandiyohi County.
The funding pays for up to 50 percent of the cost of developing broadband for improved high-speed internet in communities across the state. . . .
According to the release, the $4.94 million grant to Consolidated Telecommunications Co. will serve 1,439 unserved households, 149 unserved businesses and four community anchor institutions in the New London, Spicer and Willmar areas.
Consolidated Telecommunications Co. will improve broadband service to advance community and economic development.
The total eligible project cost is $9.87 million, with a $4.94 million local match.
The $1.02 million grant to Frontier, Kandiyohi Initiative will serve 1,147 unserved households, seven unserved businesses and seven unserved community anchor institutions in rural Kandiyohi County.
The total eligible project cost is $2.03 million, with $1.01 million local match.
Governor Dayton and Lt. Governor Smith secured the $34 million to expand high-speed internet access during the 2016 Legislative Session, after first proposing a $100 million investment.
We'd love to see more of our neighbors and friends in Greater Minnesota have the sort of internet our household was able to tap after fiber broadband came to rural Big Stone County.
UPDATE: From the Governor's office:
READ MORE about today’s announcement. [Link]
SEE THE LIST of projects that were funded in this round (scroll down). [Link]
SEE THE FULL LIST of projects that have been funded since 2014. [Link]
LEARN MORE about Minnesota’s Border-to-Border Broadband Development Program. [Link]
[End update]
Here's the map of the project's locations:
2017 01 11 Deed Broadband Grant Projects Map posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Scribd
Photo: Just about every industry in greater Minnesota needs the internet, including agriculture.
Please donate! If you enjoy Bluestem's take on the news--and our investigative blogging--please consider throwing some spare change into our paypal account during our January contribution drive. Bluestem relies on reader contributions to continue publishing.
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.
Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email [email protected] as recipient.
Comments