Rank: 38
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

County	25/3 (% covered)	25/3 rank	100/20 (% covered)	100/20 rank	Gig (% covered)	Gig rank
Winona	89.7	46	89.19	38	26.66	66

Winona County: Rank goes from Yellow to Green

Winona County’s broadband coverage has gone up incrementally this year. Subsequently, they 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 1,463 locations in Winona County. The locations will get a satellite connection, 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. (Winona has benefitted from earlier Line Extension awards. So that seems hopeful for them as well.)

Statewide, there have been changes with local and national broadband providers, which also leads to uncertainty.

	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
100/20 (2026 goal)	89.19	85.33	85.62	87.59	87.47	86.43	86.31	81.17
25/3 (2022 goal)	89.7	87.55	88.88	91.65	88.09	86.58	86.48	92.13

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 Winona: 1,463
The locations include satellite connections.

County	Amazon Kuiper Commercial Services LLC	Space Exploration Technologies Corp.	Locations         Grand Total	County
Technology Type	Low Earth Orbit Satellite	Low Earth Orbit Satellite
Winona	952	182	1,463	Winona

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 Aitkin 0 was invested over the years.

New Posts from 2025:

• Winona County providers received $472,220 in the first three rounds of Line Extension awards

• Government shutdown disrupts telehealth at Winona Health
• HBC Continues Flight Fiber Expansion in Winona, MN
• Winona County has 2,100 homes that are underserved or unserved
• More info on MiEnergy’s ReConnect broadband funding in Fillmore and Winona counties

Highlights from Past Reports

• 2023 estimates indicated that it would cost $23 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, Winona ranked 20 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Winona County has been focused on broadband for years; they were part of the Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities (MIRC) starting in 2010, a Blandin-led and federal (ARRA) funded broadband adoption project.

Past Grant:

• County: Fillmore, Olmsted, Winona – MiEnergy Cooperative South West Fremont
  Grant: $3,164,721, Local Match: $4,747,086, Total Budget: $7,911,807

• 2022: Ace Telephone Association, Inc., $3,218,201.00

• 2016 – WINONA COUNTY PICKWICK AREA – GRANT: $416,640
• 2015 – Hiawatha Broadband Communications – Winona County Whitewater Area – Grant Award: $247,000
• 2015 – Winona County Hiawatha Broadband Communications – Cedar Valley Area – Grant award: $314,450
• 2019: AcenTek – Rural Houston Exchange FTTH – GRANT $2,895,318

• MN State Grant awarded in 2021: 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.

Find more articles on broadband in Winona County (http://tinyurl.com/hqsckxg)

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)