Douglas County doesn’t look like they’re in position to meet the MN broadband speed goals for either 2022 or 2026 – but they have been known make some great strides. They went from 26 percent access to 100/20 in 2018 to 69 percent access this year.

Douglas County has benefited from a number of MN broadband grants:

• 2017 – Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association – Douglas County: Country Estates FTTH Project – GRANT $101,624
  This last mile project will serve 32 unserved households and 10 unserved businesses in Douglas County near Alexandria. In a funding partnership with the State of Minnesota, Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association will improve broadband service levels to 1Gbps per second down and 1Gbps up, exceeding the 2026 state speed goal. This project will improve this neighborhood’s quality of life, from gaining the ability to perform daily activities such as at-home online homework and telecommuting options, to opening new doors for business development and improved health care.
  

  Green=served Purple=underesrved Red=unserved

• 2017 – Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association – Douglas County: Pospisil Drive FTTH Project – GRANT $54,155
  Serving 18 unserved households and 6 unserved businesses in the Pospisil Drive Development near Alexandria in Douglas County with speeds exceeding the 2026 state speed goal.
• 2016 – GARDONVILLE COOPERATIVE TELEPHONE DOUGLAS COUNTY LAKE LOUISE – GRANT: $68,240
  Serving 28 unserved households and 7 unserved businesses in Douglas County near and around Lake Louise with speeds exceeding the 2026 state speed goal.
• 2016 – RUNESTONE TELEPHONE HOLMES CITY 2 — GRANT: $700,674
  Serving 267 unserved households and 32 unserved businesses in the Holmes City area in Douglas County in northwest central MN with speeds the 2026 state speed goal of 100 Mbps download by 20 Mbps upload.
• 2015 – Runestone Telephone Association – Holmes City
  Grant award: $189,990
  Building broadband infrastructure in Holmes City, in Douglas County, to provide state speed goal broadband service and above to 93 households, 14 businesses and 1 community anchor institution.

Douglas County could benefit from future grants. In 2019, Runestone, Arvig, Charter and Gardonville applied to upgrade service in Douglas. (That doesn’t mean they will get the grant; they have only applied.)

Checklist:

• 100/20 ranking: 56 (up 20 places)
• 25/3 ranking: 36
• Has worked with Blandin: no
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
• Household density: 21.2
• Number of providers: 11

Details:

• Find more articles on broadband in Douglas County. (http://tinyurl.com/jqpohsc)
• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 8, 12
  House: 8B, 12A, 12B
• Find your reps

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. I’m looking at progress toward the 2022 (25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up) and 2026 (100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up) and will code each:

• Red (yikes)
• Yellow (warning)
• Green (good shape)