I am doing the annual look at broadband in each county – based on maps from the Office of Broadband Development and news gathered from the last year.
Morrison County broadband ranking increased from 66 to 59. Looking at the rates of improvement, it appears as if Morrison is playing for the long game. All of the improvement has been in the 100/20 speeds.
Good news is that Benton Cooperative got a state grant of $765,000 to improve access, mostly in Benton County, but Buckman Township in Morrison will see improvements too. It is the second grant to improve access in that area.
Morrison County is part of the Resilient Region and has been included in their research and Blandin Broadband Community (BBC) activities…
Research unveiled at the conference found that, combined, Cass, Crow Wing, Morrison, Todd and Wadena counties could see more than $78.6 million in economic benefits over 15 years if broadband access and use improved. Tech expert Robert Gallardo, assistant director at the Purdue Center for Regional Development, produced profiles of all Minnesota counties using his Digital Divide Index.
And activity is happening on the ground to increase adoption, for example the library is hopping.
Info on Access:
| Speeds | % served 2017 | % served 2018 |
| 25/3 | 74.13 | 71.08 |
| 100/20 | 28.83 | 42.74 |
The speeds reflect the Minnesota speed goals:
- 25 Mbps down and 3 up by 2022
- 100 Mbps down and 20 up by 2026
Current ranking for 100/20 access: 59
- Find more articles on broadband in Morrison County (http://tinyurl.com/hxkk5ur)
- There is a matrix of Minnesota broadband adoption projects.
- Districts: CD 8Senate: 9, 15House: 09B, 15B
Blandin on Broadband 