Rank: 36
Code:  Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Houston County: incremental change

Houston County ranks 46 (down 10 places) for broadband access out of 87 counties. Houston has slow incremental growth in broadband over the years. Not much seems to have happened in 2024, but Mayo Clinic Partners with Zipline to bring drone medication delivery to Houston, Jacksonville and Rochester, Minnesota.

With slow progress, Houston County receives a yellow ranking.

• Over the years, Houston County (or cities within) has invested $75,000 (total) for matches for 1 successful MN Broadband grant. This is an indicator of local government that is engaged and (literally) invested in better, local broadband.
• Houston County will not benefit from a 2024 MN Broadband grant.
• Houston County not will benefit from any line extension awards.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $10.5 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, Houston ranked 19 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
• Houston benefitted from ReConnect funding in 2023.

Past Grants:

• 2022: The investment, provided through the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s ReConnect program, will help connect over 6,000 people, 150 businesses, and 680 farms across Freeborn, Morrison, Stearns, Houston, and Todd counties.

• 2019: AcenTek – Rural Houston Exchange FTTH – GRANT $2,895,318

Find more articles on broadband in Houston County. (http://tinyurl.com/zst4kf5)

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)

Rank: 236
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Freeborn County: Slow progress

Freeborn County ranks 36 (down 8 places) for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have seen only very slight improvements over the years. Because of their 2024 MN broadband grant, they retain their yellow ranking with minimal increase in broadband.

• Over the years, Freeborn County (or cities within) has not invested in matches for any successful MN Broadband grants.
• Freeborn County will benefit from a 2024 $1,779,163 MN Broadband grant award that will serve 543 locations.
• Freeborn County will not benefit from any line extension awards.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $12.6 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, Freeborn ranked 52 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

• They also had the unfortunate distinction from Recon Analytics to be named the unhappiest broadband county in the US.

2024 Grant:

• County: Faribault, Freeborn
  Blue Earth Valley Telephone Company Faribault County Fiber Expansion Project – Final Phase
  Grant: $1,779,163
  Local Match: $5,337,488
  Total Budget: $7,116,651
  The Faribault County Fiber Expansion Project – Final Phase project will build an underground fiber network to serve the remaining unserved and underserved locations in Faribault county’s rural Wells and Blue Earth, offering speeds of up to a Gigabit symmetrically with unlimited data. This final phase, last mile project will impact a total of 543 addresses, of which 423 are unserved and 120 are underserved, and includes 205 homes, 59 businesses, and 279 farms. Faribault County EDA has pledged $5,000 toward this project.

Past Grants:

• 2022: ReConnect program, will help connect over 6,000 people, 150 businesses, and 680 farms across Freeborn, Morrison, Stearns, Houston, and Todd counties.

• 2017 – BEVCOMM (Cannon Valley Telephone) – Freeborn Southwest Rural Final – GRANT $122,460
• 2016 – CANNON VALLEY TELECOM, INC. (DBA BEVCOMM) RURAL FREEBORN – GRANT:  $150,700
• 2015 – BEVCOMM Cannon Valley Telecom – Rural Freeborn Fiber-to-the-Premises Project – Grant award: $149,625
• Freeborn is also getting almost $2 million in FCC funding but that is over the next 10 years.
• Winnebago Cooperative Telecom Association – SE Faribault/W Freeborn County FTTP – GRANT $953,842 This last-mile fiber optic project will bring service to 319 unserved locations, including 289 homes, 16 businesses, 11 farms, and three community anchor institutions in the townships of Clark, Foster, Kiester, Seely, Alden, Carlston, Manchester, Mansfield, and Pickerel Lake located in Southeastern Faribault and Western Freeborn counties.

Find more articles on broadband in Freeborn County. (http://tinyurl.com/hw7ptnz)

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)

Rank: 72
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Fillmore County: ReConnect award and a story could put them back on track

Fillmore County ranks 66 (down 6 places) for broadband access out of 87 counties. Fillmore had a nice increase of broadband in 2022 from 56 percent in 2021 to 65 percent coverage but have stayed pretty stagnant since then. But they received a number of MN Broadband grants last year and in 2024, which should mean more connectivity in the future. That is why they retain their yellow ranking.

• Over the years, Fillmore County (or cities within) has invested $168,000 (total) for matches for 3 successful MN Broadband grants. This is an indicator of local government that is engaged and (literally) invested in better, local broadband.
• Fillmore County will benefit from three 2024 MN Broadband grant awards:
  $2,567,200 to serve 275 locations,
  $3,164,721 to serve 396 locations in Fillmore, Olmsted and Winona Counties and
  $33,863 to serve 36 locations.
• Fillmore County will not benefit from any line extension awards.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $22.1 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, Fillmore ranked 59 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
• They benefited in 2022 with expansion from Mediacom (in Wykoff) and Harmony (in Harmony).
• In December 2022, Harmony Telephone Company received a Border to Border grant of $1,129,740 to serve 34 unserved households, 22 unserved businesses, and 56 unserved farms in the rural portions of Fillmore County.
• In 2023, Harmony Telephone Company received a grant of $2,991,038 to serve 311 households, businesses, and farms in Fillmore County and a grant of $1,044,436 to 68 households, businesses, and farms in the rural portions of Fillmore County.

2024 Grants:

• County: Fillmore
  Ace Telephone Association Rural Canton
  Grant: $2,567,200
  Local Match: $3,850,800
  Total Budget: $6,418,000
  The Ace Telephone Association project will work to bring broadband services to southeastern Minnesota’s Filmore County, and rural areas around the community of Canton through Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) technology with data rates of up to 1 Gbps (1,000 Mbps) to each subscriber on the network. This project will bring service to 275 locations, 199 unserved and 76 served, consisting of 212 households, 24 businesses, and 39 farms.
• County: Fillmore, Olmsted, Winona
  MiEnergy Cooperative South West Fremont
  Grant: $3,164,721
  Local Match: $4,747,086
  Total Budget: $7,911,807
  The MiEnergy Cooperative project will see built Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) in the rural areas Southwest of Fremont, Minnesota located primarily in Winona and Filmore Counties. This project will provide services to 396 addresses, including 342 unserved and 54 underserved, and bridge the digital divide by offering residents access to essential services such as telemedicine, online education, and remote work opportunities. Funding partner Mabel Cooperative Telephone Company is contributing $2,373,543.
• County: Fillmore
  Mediacom LLC
  Mediacom – Oakhill/Spring Valley
  Grant: $33,863
  Local Match: $79,015
  Total Budget: $112,878
  This broadband grant project is focused on the area of Oak Hill Drive in Spring Valley, MN located in Fillmore County. This project will provide Fiber to the Home (FTTH) broadband service with speeds up to 2,000 Mbps download and 1,000 Mbps upload to a total of 36 households. Since 2019, Mediacom has completed 18 Fiber to the Home broadband grant projects. These broadband grant projects built 257.81 miles of fiber and connected an estimated 4,543 locations.

Past Grants:

• 2023: Harmony Telephone Company – North Fountain Fiber-To-The-Premises GRANT – $2,991,038
• 2023: Harmony Telephone Company – Rural Preston Fiber-To-The-Premises GRANT – $1,044,436
• 2022: Harmony Telephone Company, $1,129,740.00

• 2017 – Rushford Village/Rural Rushford Fiber Build – Grant $2,011,628
• 2017 – Mediacom Minnesota LLC – Fountain 2018 Broadband Build – GRANT $202,125
• 2016 – ACENTEK RURAL LANESBORO FIBER BUILD – GRANT: $1,777,936
• (2020), Harmony Telephone received a USDA ReConnect award to better serve Fillmore County. They received a $2.7 million ReConnect Program loan and a $2.7 million ReConnect Program grant.
• AcenTek – Rural Peterson Exchange FTTH – GRANT $1,492,096 This last mile project will serve 214 unserved households, 18 unserved businesses, 88 unserved farms, and two unserved community anchor institutions as well as 47 underserved households and five underserved businesses in areas of Fillmore and Winona counties. In a funding partnership with the State of Minnesota and Fillmore County EDA, AcenTek will improve these 374 locations’ broadband levels up to 1 Gbps download and 100 Mbps upload.
• MiBroadband, LLC – Rural Preston FTTP – GRANT $1,173,330 The Rural Preston fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) project will serve 231 unserved and 26 underserved locations in the rural portions of southern Fillmore County.

Find more articles on broadband in Fillmore County. (http://tinyurl.com/hxe6jal)

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)

Rank:  57
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Douglas County: Slow improvement but engaged providers

Douglas County ranks 53 (up four places) for broadband access out of 87 counties. Douglas has seen incremental gains up to for several years. Douglas County has historically done well with border to border grants because they have a few providers that are engaged. They continue to make incremental progress but retain their yellow rank until they get closer to goal.

• Over the years, Douglas County (or cities within) has invested $72,400 (total) for matches for 1 successful MN Broadband grant. This is an indicator of local government that is engaged and (literally) invested in better, local broadband.
• Douglas County will benefit from a 2024 $223,521 MN Broadband grant award that will serve 52 locations.
• Douglas County will benefit from 9 line extension awards (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $39 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, Douglas ranked 15 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

2024 Grants:

• County: Douglas
  Gardonville Cooperative Telephone
  Gardonville – Douglas Cty
  Grant: $223,521
  Local Match: $223,522
  Total Budget: $447,043
  Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association, a non-profit cooperative since 1943 and based in Brandon, MN, will build fiber to 5 non-contiguous areas across Douglas County to include parts of La Grand Township, Hudson Township, and Alexandria Township. This project will improve broadband speeds up to 1 Gbps and will serve 52 locations, primarily households and home based businesses. With 30% of Alexandria Public School District’s students lacking broadband at home, the project will help more students access the wide array of online learning opportunities, thereby providing more tools for the schools to bridge the achievement gaps they struggle to eliminate.

Past Grants:

• Gardonville Cooperative Telephone – Buckskin – GRANT $857,013
• 2023 Gardonville Cooperative Telephone – Carlos – GRANT $665,950
• 2022: Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association, $1,212,337.50
• 2022: ReConnect Tekstar Communications $12,602,274

• 2017 – Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association – Douglas County: Country Estates FTTH Project – GRANT $101,624
• 2017 – Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association – Douglas County: Pospisil Drive FTTH Project – GRANT $54,155
• 2016 – GARDONVILLE COOPERATIVE TELEPHONE DOUGLAS COUNTY LAKE LOUISE – GRANT: $68,240
• 2016 – RUNESTONE TELEPHONE HOLMES CITY 2 — GRANT: $700,674
• 2015 – Runestone Telephone Association – Holmes City – Grant award: $189,990
• 2019: Charter Communications – Lake Carlos Project – GRANT $74,540
• 2019: Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association – Krohnfeldt Drive FTTH Project – GRANT $42,921
• 2019: Runestone Telecom Association – South Alexandria Project – GRANT $1,760,423
• Arvig (Tekstar Communications, Inc.) – Lake Osakis, Sauk Lake & Smith Lake Project – GRANT $486,458 This middle and last mile project will upgrade approximately 230 unserved and 39 underserved locations in Todd and Douglas counties.
• Charter Communications (Spectrum) – West Lake Carlos – GRANT $24,450
  This middle and last mile project will serve approximately 42 unserved households on the west side of Lake Carlos in Douglas County.
• Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association – Douglas County – County Road 34 FTTH Project – GRANT $1,551,370 This last mile project will serve 71 unserved and 544 underserved locations in Ida and Carlos townships in Douglas County.
• Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association – Douglas County – Hazel Hill Road FTTH Project – GRANT $692,929 This middle and last mile project will serve 212 unserved households, 79 unserved businesses and one unserved farm in Alexandria Township in Douglas County.
• Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association – Douglas County – Town Hall Road FTTH Project – GRANT $90,251 This last mile project will serve 46 unserved and 3 underserved locations in La Grand Township in Douglas County

Find more articles on broadband in Douglas County. (http://tinyurl.com/jqpohsc)

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)

Rank:  39
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Dodge County: steady progress has stalled

Dodge County ranks 30 (down 9 places) for access to broadband at 100 Mbps down and 20 up. Dodge County had seen slow but steady increase in access since 2020 but that seemed to stall in the last year. Dodge will retain its yellow ranking.

• Over the years, Dodge County (or cities within) has not invested in matches for any successful MN Broadband grants.
• Dodge County will not benefit from a recent MN Broadband grant.
• Dodge County will not benefit from line extension awards.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $8.4 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, Dodge ranked 9 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
• In 2023, KM Telecom got almost $2 million in a Border to Border grant to serve towns in Olmsted and Dodge Counties.

Past Grants:

• 2023: KM Telecom – Rural Byron & Salem Corners Fiber Build – GRANT $1,931,046
• 2021: KMTelecom – Rock Dell Northwest Fiber Build – GRANT $385,173
• 2021: KMTelecom – Rock Dell Southwest Fiber Build – GRANT $404,709

• 2017 – KMTelecom – Rural Kasson Fiber Build – GRANT $606,108
• 2016 – KMTELECOM RURAL MANTORVILLE – GRANT: $764,663

Checklist:

• Find more articles on broadband in Dodge County. (http://tinyurl.com/znpmlfr)

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)