Green=served Purple=underesrved Red=unserved

Rank (from 100/20 megabits per second): 34
Code: Red

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.

Wilkin County: hovering around 68 percent

Policymakers in Wilkin seem to recognize the need for broadband. They have benefited from a MN Border to Border grant in the past. Unusually, their broadband coverage has actually slipped over the year, which may speak to the need for better mapping more than an actual change in coverage. To get better broadband, the community would need to organize and engage.

Broadband Access:

Computer Access:

What we learned in the past:

Wilkin has benefited from a state broadband grant:

• 2017 – Advantenon – Rural Grant, Stevens and Wilkin Counties – Grant $316,554

Update from 2020:

Policymakers, including Wilkin County Commissioner Chairperson Dennis Larson, discuss the exacerbated need for broadband during a pandemic.

Checklist:

• Find more articles on broadband in Wilkin County (http://tinyurl.com/zh64v29)

• 100/20 Mbps ranking: 34 (down from 20)
• Has worked with Blandin: no
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
• Household density: 3.6

Details:

• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 12
  House: 12A
• 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)