Waseca County News reports on the County Commission meeting I attended last week…

After schools and businesses shifted even further online during the pandemic, Waseca County is working to help make connecting easier from border to border.

As a rural county, many Waseca County residents have trouble with the internet. To fix this, county staff worked alongside BevComm and submitted a proposal to Minnesota’s Office of Broadband Development to secure broadband for four local townships.

The Waseca County Board of Commissioners held a work session meeting on Tuesday Feb. 6 to talk to Ann Treacy about their plan for broadband development. Treacy, who joined the meeting via Zoom, is a writer for the Blandin Foundation and writes a lot about broadband in Minnesota.

“We know that the decision makers in the Office of Broadband Development read what Ann posts, and it’s important that we get this story out about what Waseca County is doing,” Steve Kraus said at the work session meeting.

More about the project…

Last year, Kraus and Waseca County worked with internet service provider BevComm and submitted a $6 million proposal to the Office of Broadband Development as part of their broadband grant program. The $6 million would support four Waseca County townships with broadband.

This is the office’s 9th grant round, with Waseca County’s proposal in the 8th round being unsuccessful. While Waseca County is facing stiff competition as many other counties in Minnesota have submitted proposals, Kraus and the county are optimistic for this round.