Rank: 17
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Polk County: Very close with grant coming in for 2025

Polk County ranks 17 (down three points) for broadband access out of 87 counties.

They have had incremental improvement since we have been tracking; staying about even with last year. They will benefit from $1 million 2024 MN State grant, which might help give them a jump in coverage.

Their coverage and continued efforts keep Polk County in green ranking.

• Over the years, Polk County (or cities within) has not invested in matches for any successful MN Broadband grants.
• Polk County will benefit from a 2024 $1 million MN Broadband grant award that will serve 80 locations.
• Polk County will not benefit from any line extension awards.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $2.5 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, Polk ranked 44 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

2024 Grant:

• County: Polk
  Garden Valley Telephone Co
  Garden Valley Tel – Rural E Grand Forks
  Grant: $1,050,465
  Local Match: $350,15
  Total Budget: $1,400,620
  The Garden Valley Technologies Rural East Grand Forks Low Density project proposed by Garden Valley Technologies (GVT) is a last mile Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) project which will serve 80 total locations. Of the 80 locations, 49 are residential households, 2 businesses, 3 community institutions and 26 farms located in northwest Minnesota. The geography of the project is mostly farm land and encompasses an area in northwest Minnesota that include portions of Northland, Sullivan, and Tabor townships in Polk County. GVT has been providing telecommunications services in northwestern Minnesota since 1906 and has been awarded five previous state grants. Individual residents contributed a $650 match toward the project.

Past Grants

• 2023: Garden Valley Technologies – 2023 Rural Warren SW – GRANT $1,488,322
• 2022: Garden Valley Technologies – Rural Warren East & Rural Oslo – GRANT $1,462,569
• 2016 – HALSTAD TELEPHONE COMPANY KERTSONVILLE AREA – GRANT: $296,665
• 2015 – Halstad Telephone Company – Gentilly Township – Grant award: $424,460
• 2014 – Halstad Telephone Co., Halstad Tract MN 11902500 FTTH Amount $1.65 million
• 2019: Halstad Telephone Company – Rural East Grand Forks Expansion Project – GRANT $440,000

• MN State Grants awarded in 2021: Garden Valley Technologies – Northwest Thief River Falls and Euclid – GRANT $1,640,722 This middle and last mile project will serve 104 unserved and 22 underserved locations in portions of Marshall and Polk counties.

• Halstad Telephone Company – North Fisher Expansion – GRANT $619,000 This last mile project will upgrade approximately 57 unserved and seven underserved locations in portions of Huntsville, Nesbit and Fanny townships in Polk County.
• Wikstrom Telephone Co. Inc. – Wiktel NW MN Broadband 2020 – GRANT $490,997 The last mile project will serve 153 unserved locations in sparsely populated areas in Kittson, Marshall and Polk counties.

Find more articles on broadband in Polk County (http://tinyurl.com/zk8apgm)

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)