A quick update on the Sibley County Commissioners’ vote from earlier today thanks to KEYC in Mankato…

Sibley County Commissioners voted to move forward with a multimillion–dollar fiber optic broadband project that would bring faster Internet to Renville and Sibley Counties and even individual farms in the area….

The proposed fiber–optic system would be publicly owned, but privately run and connect every home, farm and business in the area to high speed Internet.

Sibley County EDA Tim Dolan says, “Each person has the choice to either opt in or out.”

The involved communities would sell around $70 million in revenue bonds to build the network, which will be paid off with user fees.

Dolan says, “We’ve gone over the 55% mark that are interested in the project which when we do our cash flows and projections gives us profitability for all 30 years.”