Green=served Purple=underesrved Red=unserved

Rank (from 100/20 megabits per second): 35
Code: Yellow

Annually, Blandin Foundation pulls together data from the Minnesota Office of Broadband Development and broadband news to gauge progress toward the state broadband goals (25 megabits per second download/3 Mbps upload by 2022 and 100 Mbps/20 Mbps by 2026). Leaders can use this information to improve broadband access and use in their communities. To see how the state is doing overall, or to compare counties, visit the Blandin Foundation interactive map. Or check out past years’ reports: 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Kittson County: incremental increases

Kittson County has seen small increases in access over the last three years. So, while on a slow path, they are on a path to better broadband. Also, they are set to benefit from Wikstrom’s 2019 Border to Border funded project.

Broadband Access:

Computer Access:

What we learned in the past:

Kittson has benefited from three state broadband grants:

• 2017 – Wikstrom Telephone – Wiktel NW MN Broadband – GRANT $1,307,785
• 2016 – WIKSTROM TELEPHONE COMPANY WIKTEL NW MN – GRANT: $950,823
• 2014 – Wikstrom Telephone, Kittson, Marshall, Roseau Broadband Extension – Award $425,000

And they are getting almost $2 million in FCC funding but that is over the next 10 years.

Update from 2020:

Kittson County will benefit from Wikstrom Telephone’s 2019 Border to Border project:

• 2019 Wikstrom Telephone – Wiktel NW MN Broadband Project – GRANT $1,151,526
  This last mile project will upgrade approximately 316 unserved locations in areas of Kittson, Marshall, Lake of the Woods, Pennington, and Roseau Counties. In a funding partnership with the State of Minnesota, Wikstrom Telephone will improve broadband service levels up to 1 Gbps download and 1 Gbps upload, exceeding the 2022 and 2026 state speed goals. This project will provide service to an area with 1.6 subscribers per route mile of cable, in some cases extending from routes placed under the 2016 and 2017 Border to Border State Grant program. Broadband service is the key to economic development, successful education services for children, and allows at-home health care monitoring in this remote area.
• Total eligible cost is $2,558,946
• Local match is $1,407,420

Checklist:

• Find more articles on broadband in Kittson. (https://bit.ly/2kcNnpz)

• 100/20 Mbps ranking: 35 (up 8)
• Has worked with Blandin: no
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
• Household density: 1.8

Details:

• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 01
  House: 01A
• 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)