On Monday, Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)  announced 56 investments totaling $190 million to support state efforts to compete in the digital economy.

Connect Minnesota was awarded $2,761,171. According to the Connect Minnesota site…

The additional Recovery Act funding will allow mapping efforts under the SBDD program to continue for three additional years, while the program also focuses on projects that relate to broadband planning activities, such as the identification of barriers to the adoption of broadband service and information technology services.

The Washington Post reports that Minnesota is involved with one funded project…

California, Louisiana, Minnesota, New York, Oregon and Texas: Portland State University. This $3.3 million grant will fund digital literacy and other training tailored to adult learners. The project intends to train approximately 23,000 people, focusing on economically vulnerable populations, to prepare them for careers in the digital economy.

You can find the whole project description on the NTIA ARRA portal.

I’ve updated my list of MN ARRA awards to include these new awards.