The Alexandria Echo Press reports…

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, held a Zoom call with superintendents from west central Minnesota to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on their students and school systems Tuesday, Feb. 16.

Klobuchar said that Minnesota will receive around $30 billion, which will be distributed across the state. The Senate will be processing the bill more in depth next week with the goal of implementing it by mid-March.

This funding package will help schools take the next steps in improving classroom safety and COVID-19 response efforts, so she wanted to hear how local education leaders around the state believe the dollars should be spent.

The funding is designed to help in a number of ways but Klobuchar mentioned that there may be more coming for broadband…

Klobuchar said she’s finding the silver lining in the possibility of more federal funding for broadband internet access and support for teachers, even beyond the pandemic.

“I just feel more hope about this than I have in the past,” she said.