Rank: 58
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

McLeod County: maybe the tide has turned

McLeod County rank stays at 58 for broadband access out of 87 counties. McLeod County has seen steady but incremental improvement in broadband access through the years. They won’t benefit from 2024 grants or Line Extension. That’s disappointing. They need to get going but they retain their yellow ranking.

• Over the years, McLeod County (or cities within) has not invested in matches for any successful MN Broadband grants.
• McLeod County will not benefit a 2024 MN Broadband grant s.
• McLeod County will not benefit from any line extension awards.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $27 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, McLeod ranked 32 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Past Grants:

• 2022: Nuvera Communications, Inc. – Belle Lake and Hutchinson East FTTP – GRANT $1,840,250
• 2022: Mediacom Minnesota LLC – Swan Lake – GRANT $99,156 (Learn more)
• MN State Grants awarded in 2021: Nuvera Communications, Inc. – Hutchinson SE FTTP – GRANT $169,369 This last mile project will serve 42 unserved and five underserved locations in the Hutchinson area of McLeod County.

• Winthrop Telephone Company, Inc. – Bismarck & Transit Township FTTP Project – GRANT $716,000 This last mile project will serve 148 unserved and six underserved locations, including homes, businesses and farms, in Bismarck, Transit and Round Grove townships in Sibley and McLeod counties.

Find more articles on broadband in McLeod County (http://tinyurl.com/hx65gqh)

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)