A letter to the Editor at the Winona Post gives a glimpse of what happens on the front lines when funding gets cut…

Living in rural Winona County is great. The people are great. The scenery is great. The internet, however, is not so great. Because my home sits in a valley setting, connectivity is spotty, and my family has long relied on expensive and poorly performing satellite internet. I was excited when I learned of a plan that would bring broadband internet to my rural home as part of the ReConnect project proposed by MiEnergy. Early this year, I met with their consultant to discuss the details of connecting the service. Then, in early March, I received a letter from MiEnergy informing me that the ReConnect broadband expansion had been canceled.

According to MiEnergy, the project had received approval from the United States Department of Agriculture in 2023 and then sat idle for nearly three years awaiting environmental clearance from both USDA Rural Development and the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office. During that time, costs rose and bids expired, which ultimately resulted in the project’s collapse. Rural communities in southeastern Minnesota were depending on this investment, and we have now been left behind due to inaction that I believe was avoidable.