Rank: 74
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Koochiching County: incremental increases

Koochiching County ranks 74 (down 7 places) for broadband access out of 87 counties. Koochiching County has been hovering around 73 percent coverage for a while now.  It seems as if the small grant they received last year helped with incremental progress but as of know there are no MN State grant funds coming in 2024 so it doesn’t look optimistic.

• Over the years, Koochiching County (or cities within) has invested $26,000 (total) for matches for 1 successful MN Broadband grants. This is an indicator of local government that is engaged and (literally) invested in better, local broadband.
• Koochiching County will not benefit from a 2024 MN Broadband grant award.
• Koochiching County will not benefit from line extension awards.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $16.9 million 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, Koochiching ranked 78 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Past Grants

• 2023: Koochiching County – Koochiching County International Falls Economic Development – GRANT $77,300
• 2015 – Midcontinent Little Fork Middle Mile – Grant award: $277,448
• Paul Bunyan Communications – North Central Minnesota Fiber Project– GRANT $2,562,916

Checklist:

• Find more articles on broadband in Koochiching. (http://tinyurl.com/gom8mqy)

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)