The electrical cooperative MiEnergy hopes to win grant funding for rural broadband expansion projects in Winona County and is pitching the County Board on supporting that effort. MiEnergy President Brian Krambeer gave an initial presentation to the County Board last month on his company’s expansion goals, beginning south of St. Charles. …
According to MiEnergy, over 3,100 Winona County households have no internet service or sub-broadband speeds. These areas are also the hardest to reach. Many of them are very rural, with few households to justify the cost of extending fiber optic lines, and others are located in rocky valleys or ridges that make excavation a challenge. “We average less than four members per mile of line,” Krambeer said.
More on the upcoming request…
MiEnergy has not yet submitted a specific request to the county, County Administrator Maureen Holte said. However, in his presentation, Krambeer suggested two ideas as examples: The county might contribute a $2 million grant toward the project or a $10 million deferred loan.
The county has made significant contributions to other broadband expansions projects by HBC. However, the largest ones came from federal relief funds the county received during the pandemic, which are no longer available. To help leverage a $560,000 state grant, the county gave HBC $100,000 toward a $1.7 million project around Cedar Valley and Whitewater State Park in 2017. In 2020, the county dedicated $982,000 from the federal CARES Act funding toward an HBC expansion effort near Rollingstone, Nodine, and St. Charles. Finally, in 2022, the county used $2.6 million in federal aid to back HBC extending internet around the Arches, Saratoga, Lamoille, and Elba areas.
County Board member Marcia Ward encouraged county staff and her fellow board members to consider what funding the county could dedicate toward MiEnergy’s project. “Many communities have done this years ago, and we’ve fallen behind a lot of communities,” she said.
According to Krambeer, Winona County ranked 15th in the state for broadband access in 2018 but dropped to 39th last year as a result of other counties expanding their networks.