Thanks so much to everyone who came to the Lunch Bunch today. There was no focused topic – we heard about what folks are doing and what questions are coming up. Highlight is funding. Folks are wondering how the various federal, county and state streams of funding are going to work together. Can ARPA (American Recovery Plan Act) funding go to areas that have qualified for RDOF? It seems like maybe. Will state grants come from the state or federal budget? Which and how will folks decide which buckets are the best fit for funding broadband? How can we manage the Emergency Broadband Benefits for households?

So many questions and a lot of educated guesses and some shared resources – also shared from the chat below.. The video is very much like eavesdropping on a conversation but I thought I’d share for folks who want to know.

Chat:

12:31:21 From  Teresa Kittridge  to  Everyone: Home page: www.100ruralwomen.org. Webinar series: https://100ruralwomen.org/projects/breakfastclub/. And our 100 in 100 project: https://100ruralwomen.org/projects/100-in-100/

12:40:27 From  Michelle Marotzke  to  Everyone: michelle.marotzke@mmrdc.org

12:48:12 From  Jennifer Frost  to  Everyone: OBD has listed some resources on EBB on our Digital Inclusion page at this link: https://mn.gov/deed/programs-services/broadband/adoption/

12:57:35 From  Scott Cole-ConnectedMN/Collectivity  to  Everyone: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZU9gj6PVXE8Co8rMVr-8x3PvCeYV4OhR/view?usp=sharing

12:57:58 From  Mary Magnuson (she/her)  to  Everyone: The next infrastructure Lunch Bunch is June 9. Register: https://blandinfoundation-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMucOygqT4oE9z8V1akDGePCae1FdkwYCz0

12:58:39 From  Jennifer Frost  to  Everyone: The grant examples can be found at this site https://mn.gov/deed/programs-services/broadband/maps/recordings.jsp

12:59:56 From  Ashley Schweitzer  to  Everyone: If folks are interested in the ECF funding, Benton has some analysis