Rank: 23
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Kittson County: upgrading rank to green

Kittson County ranks 23 (again) for broadband access out of 87 counties. But same ranking doesn’t mean no progress; coverage has continued to increase. Looks like Kittson was awarded MN gran money in 2023, which helped with the increase. Kittson got another grant for 2024, which should get them even closer.

Their ranking has gone from yellow to green

• Over the years, Kittson County (or cities within) has not invested in matches for any successful MN Broadband grants.
• Kittson County will benefit from a 2024 $3,066,630 MN Broadband grant award that will serve 263 locations.
• Kittson County will benefit from 1 line extension awards (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $534,000 to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
• In 2022, Kittson ranked 67 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Broadband Access:

2024 Grants:

• County: Kittson
  Wikstrom Telephone Co, Inc.
  Wiktel – NW MN Broadband RD9
  Grant: $3,066,630
  Local Match: $1,022,210
  Total Budget: $4,088,840
  Wiktel will deploy fiber to 263 customers in remote areas in Lake of the Woods, Kittson & Marshall counties, all part of far Northwestern Minnesota, passing 263 locations, many of which are businesses and community anchor institutions. The speed improvements will be from no service in some areas to Gigabit speeds. Wikstrom began providing Internet services in 1996 for local schools and libraries and since have installed DSL broadband service to over 2500 customers, and fiber to over 5000 customers. Many school children in the project do not have access to broadband for their school work, relying on time at the library or the few buses that have wifi capability. Cellular coverage is particularly spotty in rural areas, limiting alternatives.

Past Grants:

• 2023: Wikstrom Telephone Company – Wiktel NW MN Broadband 2023 – GRANT $2,531,488
• 2022: Wikstrom Telephone Co. Inc, $665,699.00 (serving Beltrami, Kittson, Lake of the Woods and Marshall)

• 2017 – Wikstrom Telephone – Wiktel NW MN Broadband – GRANT $1,307,785
• 2016 – WIKSTROM TELEPHONE COMPANY WIKTEL NW MN – GRANT: $950,823
• 2014 – Wikstrom Telephone, Kittson, Marshall, Roseau Broadband Extension – Award $425,000
• 2019 Wikstrom Telephone – Wiktel NW MN Broadband Project – GRANT $1,151,526

Find more articles on broadband in Kittson. (https://bit.ly/2kcNnpz)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2024. Red dots represent locations unserved locations. Above I have tracked wireline access because that is the Minnesota definition of broadband. The info below includes wired and wireless. BEAD includes fixed wireless connections as served locations. (I wrote more on the distinction between the two last year, which may be if interest in the numbers range greatly for your county.)

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)