Rank: 14
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

county	25/3	253 rank	100/20	10020 rank	Gig	gig rank	Providers
Polk	98.93	16	98.7	14	58.52	46	11

Polk County: Very close

Polk County’s broadband coverage remains steady at almost 99 percent. It’s that proximity that helps them retain their Green status.

At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 37 locations in Polk County. However, all the locations will get a satellite, which does not qualify as served in the MN statute.

There is still Line Extension funding yet to be distributed, which helps connect handfuls of  houses just beyond existing infrastructure. (Polk has not benefitted from earlier Line Extension awards. So that strategy may be worth considering.) There have been changes with local and national broadband providers, which also leads to uncertainty.

	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
100/20 (2026 goal)	98.7	97.6	97.79	95.24	91.72	91.76	88.35	85.39	80.89
25/3 (2022 goal)	98.93	97.85	97.83	95.25	93.02	93.09	93.11	93	90.78

Possible BEAD support

The Minnesota BEAD Final Proposal has not yet been approved so the information below is subject to change; it includes the number of locations by county specifying provider and broadband type. (Learn more.)

Locations in Polk: 37
The locations will get satellite.

County	Amazon Kuiper Commercial Services LLC	Space Exploration Technologies Corp.	Locations         Grand Total	County
Technology Type	Low Earth Orbit Satellite	Low Earth Orbit Satellite
Polk	35	2	37	Polk

Local Government Match for State Broadband Grants:

Over the years, many local governments (County, Municipal, Tribal) have invested in broadband deployment. This year, I have tracked how much local investment has been used to match MN State Grants. Local governments invest in other ways too, but this was one number I could realistically find and quantify investment by county, which means investment in that county, whether by county, cities or other local government entity.

In Polk 0 was invested over the years.

No New Posts from 2025

Highlights from Past Reports

• 2023 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.

Past Grant:

• Garden Valley Telephone Co – Garden Valley Tel – Rural E Grand Forks
  Grant: $1,050,465, Local Match: $350,150, Total Budget: $1,400,620
• 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 come from the 

• Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2025 – tracking wireline access.
• The FCC National Broadband Maps, reflecting data updated November 28, 2025 – tracking fixed wireless access.

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)