From Office of Broadband Development…
Connecting One Minnesota: 2026 Broadband Summit
Last week, Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development’s (DEED) Office of Broadband Development (OBD) hosted the Connecting One Minnesota: 2026 Broadband Summit. This in-person event brought together national leaders, internet service providers, federal, state, Tribal, and local government partners, and broadband advocates from across Minnesota.
The morning began with welcome videos from Governor Tim Walz, Senator Amy Klobuchar and Senator Tina Smith, with a keynote address from the Center for Rural Policy & Development’s President and CEO, Julie Tesch. Morning panels provided insights from leading national associations and broadband directors from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, who shared how they navigate federal and state programs to meet the unique needs of their states.
The Governor’s Task Force on Broadband met over lunch to provide an overview of their work and recommendations from the 2025 Task Force annual report, plus progress on achieving state broadband goals. They discussed with national leaders how the work in Minnesota compares to work nationwide.
Afternoon breakout sessions focused on upcoming work with the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) for subgrantees, providing support and information on the grant’s management system for the program, environmental and historic preservation considerations and monitoring and field validation.
Other breakout sessions explored Minnesota’s public broadband maps with Connected Nation; strategies for engaging residents, local leaders, media and underserved communities in broadband initiatives; innovative workforce development training programs; and creative action for partnership in Minnesota around broadband digital opportunity.
OBD is deeply thankful to the national leaders who traveled to Minnesota for this event to both share their perspectives and to support and learn about the work happening across the state.
Connecting all people in Minnesota to affordable, reliable, high-speed internet is critical to our economic stability and this summit provided an opportunity to discuss ways to collaborate better as we move forward to achieve state broadband goals. Stay up to date with the latest OBD news by signing up for the biweekly newsletter.