I can only access the abstract for this report – but sometimes the abstract can get you the info you need. (Not that I wouldn’t like to read the full article.) The research article (Can affordable internet increase employment opportunities for low-income workers? Evidence from the Affordable Connectivity Program) looks at the impact of the ACP…
This study investigates the labor market impacts of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), the largest U.S. initiative to date aimed at reducing income-based disparities in Internet access. We assess ACP’s effects on labor force participation and employment and test the hypothesis that a key impact mechanism is the expansion of remote work opportunities for program recipients. Using large-scale national datasets, we also explore heterogeneity in program effects by gender, occupation, and connection type (fixed vs. mobile).
They found that…
The results provide robust evidence that ACP participation is associated with improved labor market outcomes, particularly among women and individuals with high-speed residential connections. These gains appear to be driven, in part, by increases in both the incidence and intensity of remote work. The findings suggest that a narrow focus on first-level adoption outcomes underestimates the broader socioeconomic benefits of affordable broadband initiatives. Theoretically, they indicate that the so-called Matthew effect – whereby digitization amplifies existing social inequalities – is not inevitable and can be partially offset by well-designed, targeted policy interventions.
If you’re an entrepreneur within the 11-county E1 region with a big idea—or an existing business ready to grow—this is your opportunity to compete for cash prizes, mentorship, and a guaranteed semifinalist spot in the MN Cup.
The Ignite Cup runs December through March, with finalists pitching live on March 26, 2026. Don’t miss your chance to accelerate your business with regional support and expert guidance.
Here’s more on the opportunity…
The Ignite Cup is the top premier business ‘pitch’ competition in southeastern Minnesota.
It’s a chance for startup founders, entrepreneurs, and small business owners to present their business ideas to a panel of experts. Winning comes with a cash prize and valuable resources, but even participating in the competition helps emerging businesses attract investors and customers.
Started by IgniteMN, the Ignite Cup has experienced remarkable growth, largely attributed to the invaluable support of the Entrepreneur’s First (E1) Collaborative and a pivotal partnership with Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF).
I’m bringing back an old tradition – looking at how much money broadband can save a household right before the holidays set in. I’m bringing back the old tradition with a new spin, I’m using ChatGPT. Something old; something new.
I started with a search on [how much money does a household with broadband save or earn?].
It pulled up some good articles, but they were dated. I will let my age (or Master’s degree in Library and Information Science) show when I admit that I want links to article, not cite-less answers. But I moved forward asking for updated information. Below are the results:
Turns out that much of what I found interesting was from the same research: Economic Benefits of Fiber Deployment, a report prepared for Fiber Broadband Association and Frontier Communications from Nov 2024. The focus is on fiber over all other broadband modes – but was the best I could find in terms of specific saving and earning numbers.
Here’s the quick description of part of the research…
Our study is the first to show that fiber deployment has significant incremental economic benefits even in the presence of other high-speed broadband technologies.
The report looks at broadband savings/earning from the household and national perspective. I thought I’d pull out the details by household.
Related to real estate:
It could increase average household values between 14% – 17% depending on
non-urban versus urban areas.
This translates to an average increase of $27,000 – $41,000 per house per year.
The effect on housing values in non-urban areas is fives times greater than in
urban areas and is driven by the greater number of unserved households in non
urban areas.
Earning:
The income effect comes from non-urban areas. U.S. households in non-urban
areas with new access to fiber will likely experience an increase in their average
income by $1,450 in one year.
Community Employment:
Access to fiber incrementally increases the employment rate by a small but measurable 0.74%. This is equivalent to a 0.5% increase in employment.
For a city such as Detroit, with a labor force of approximately 356,408 people,
deploying fiber to all the unserved households would create 36 new jobs.
For a small rural town such as Iron Mountain, Michigan, with a labor force of approximately 4,363 people, deploying fiber to all the unserved households would
create at least 14 new jobs.
32 schools from around southern Minnesota took part in the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual STEAM Summit at the Rochester Community and Technical College (RCTC) on Tuesday, Nov. 18.
The event aims to connect students with businesses and higher education institutions that offer hands on examples of how they can use science, technology, engineering, art and math in their future careers.
Around 2,500 students participated this year getting to learn about subjects like civil engineering, manufacturing, healthcare among others.
A company has halted two large-scale data center projects in Minnesota, saying the state would take too long to permit backup generators.
Excelsior-based Oppidan has paused work on data centers in North Mankato and the small city of Hampton in Dakota County. While the company is moving ahead with a data center in Apple Valley, the announcement signals that concerns over Minnesota’s regulatory climate will slow an industry that had been poised for explosive growth in Minnesota.
The Minnesota Legislature approved a package of ground rules for the burgeoning industry. The laws impose new rules on energy and water consumption and other measures meant to shield utility customers from paying for the costs of supplying power to data centers.
Lawmakers also extended lucrative sales tax exemptions, for computers, servers, software, cooling and energy equipment that were set to expire in 2042. But the Legislature eliminated a smaller subsidy, a tax break on buying electricity.
Those views were represented at a recent public meeting on data centers hosted by the Southern MN Initiative Foundation in North Mankato last week. As were views from various community members…
Data center developers are facing other obstacles in Minnesota. The nonprofit Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy has sued several cities considering data centers, saying they hid information about the projects and approved faulty environmental review. North Mankato officials have also said lack of available water for a data center could be a hurdle for projects in their city.
Zeitgeist Zinema 1, 222 E Superior St, Duluth, MN 55802
Join us for an in-person viewing of a powerful conversation featuring CURE’s Sarah Mooradian, who will speak on the growing water demands of data centers—why it matters, how it affects rural and urban communities, and what we can do to ensure a more equitable and sustainable future. Don’t miss this critical conversation on technology, water, and justice. Come learn, connect, and be part of the change. Free and open to the public.
The Minnesota Star Tribune has posted a column from reporter, Karen Tolkkinen, out of Clitherall, Minnesota. She is writing about the experience of receiving government food assistance in the past in reaction to upcoming federal cuts in food assistance. There’s a paragraph that paints a picture on the importance of broadband…
Trust me that it feels much, much better to give than to receive. We needed food assistance twice for short periods, once before our son was born and once after. Then, when our son was 2, while my husband farmed and repaired tractors, I was able to land a part-time job in my field. When he was 4, I got full-time work. Health insurance ate up such a huge chunk of my paycheck that we went without for a couple of years, but at least my income paid for groceries. If you live in the Twin Cities, you might not know that Minnesota has been spending tens of millions of dollars to bring broadband across greater Minnesota. That’s the only reason I’m able to write for the Minnesota Star Tribune, where pay and benefits are better than anything I’ve been able to find out here in the hinterlands.
The digital world just became less optional. As of September 30, 2025, the federal government has stopped issuing paper checks for benefits like Social Security. Payments are now deposited directly into bank accounts or onto prepaid debit cards – methods that require not only access to financial services but also the ability to navigate online systems.
This is just the latest in a series of policy changes that assume universal internet access. From healthcare enrollment to unemployment benefits, tax filing to student loan repayment, more essential services are now available only online. For many, this is a matter of convenience. For millions of others, it’s an added barrier that deepens existing inequities.
This paper addresses this [rural broadband] gap by evaluating the Connect America Fund (CAF), one of the largest federal broadband programs. CAF provided an unprecedented scale of financial incentives for broadband deployment to companies offering services in unserved or underserved rural areas across the United States. In theory, this support would allow eligible carriers to recover some of their costs and provide services that would otherwise remain unavailable. As a result of CAF, we expect both increased broadband access and expanded economic opportunities enabled by the expanded access. CAF operated until 2020, after which it was replaced by an even larger program: the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. …
Our results suggest that broadband deployment positively affected employment, both in total levels and as a share of the labor force, and increased median household income in the benefited areas. These effects generally strengthened over time, particularly during the pandemic, with earlier-treated areas experiencing the largest gains. Distinctly, we do not find consistent evidence of impacts on self-employment. Our findings offer new insights into how large-scale infrastructure investments can shape local labor markets.
Mayo Clinic is closing six locations in Southern Minnesota. Montgomery, Belle Plaine, Wells, Caledonia, North Mankato, and Saint Peter will all lose clinics. The Mayo Clinic Health System said in a statement it plans to consolidate clinic services, but locals worry about a lack of access. Montgomery City Administrator Brian Heck said rural Minnesota does not have robust broadband and not every patient is able to use virtual care. The six clinics will close on December 10th.
The Minnesota Star Tribune posts an Op Ed from a technology services coordinator at Senior Community Services, a nonprofit program based in Minnetonka…
Retirement, which should be relaxing, becomes a frustrating tangle of technology to unweave in order to access basic benefits. Unfortunate considering it could be a resource that greatly augments real life.
The hurdles aren’t lack of intelligence or effort. My work has taught me that using technology is a learned skill — sometimes intuitive, sometimes learned through repetition and no logic at all.
Not everyone has broadband access either, or a working device, in addition to the skills to navigate it all. Assuming everyone does is either dangerously optimistic or willfully naive. And yet we’re cutting federal digital equity funding. How are we to ensure these essential systems remain accessible? Technology becomes a barrier, not a benefit.
Digital literacy isn’t a luxury. It’s health care access, financial safety and civic engagement. In Minnesota alone, hundreds of thousands of households lack basic broadband speed to support access to video telehealth.
If the connection is unstable, video calls with a doctor can drop, freeze or lag. To the average tech user, these glitches are minor annoyances. But for someone who isn’t tech-savvy, they’re debilitating. But with the end of programs like the Affordable Connectivity Program and the derailment of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, low-income and rural households are being cut off from both the infrastructure and the support they need to stay connected.
Even if we solve the infrastructure problem, anyone who has upgraded their cellphone in the past few years could tell you that services and devices are more expensive than ever. I would never recommend a refurbished, low-cost, generic-brand device to an older adult. They’re often buggy and their user experience is the least intuitive and user-friendly interface I’ve seen.
Thankfully, local programs are stepping in to help. Many libraries now offer computer help clinics, and nonprofits, like ours, hold digital literacy sessions at senior centers and community hubs across the metro.
Volunteers and staff are helping older Minnesotans use their smartphone and tablets and build confidence in this new, vulnerable digital landscape.
The MN Broadband Task Force met at Farmfest today. It was a short meeting, but they got to spend time with panelists who work in the ag business. It was interesting to hear from folks who have been (or still are) living on the slow end of the broadband divide. Also, there was an interesting push-pull conversation about precision agriculture and the growing need for data and the ability to process it with the energy it requires and the possible impact on local water.
2:30 p.m. – 2:35 p.m. Welcome – Teddy Bekele, Chair, Minnesota Governor’s Task Force on Broadband
2:35 p.m. – 2:40 p.m.Roll Call + Approval of minutes from June Task Force Meeting – Described the Task Force and had Task Force members introduce themselves.
2:40 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.Relationship between agriculture in Minnesota, and fast, reliable broadband – Panel discussion between representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Farmer’s Union, and Farm Bureau on the relationship between agriculture in Minnesota, and fast, reliable broadband.
Three panelists from rural/ag communities talk about their broadband needs.
Where is broadband needed?
Cooperatives have been powerful in getting broadband to rural MN. We get broadband from our local coop. (It’s the year of the cooperative.)
In most places, there’s one broadband provider. That’s fine when the provider is good but we need competitive in areas where that isn’t true.
Farmers use data – especially uploading data.
During COVID we really learned the importance of good broadband. Until we got better broadband, we have five ways to get online in our home.
Broadband can mean a resurgence for rural towns and communities. When people can work from home, they can live anywhere.
Broadband helps the largest and smallest farms.
Coops are great.
What would a connected community look like to you?
Just being connected would make a difference to keeping small towns alive.
In Pine City, we are seeing people move to our community. Often farmers need a second job for income and insurance.
Data gets bigger and bigger – we need broadband to manage it. Especially for precision ag.
What are the challenges to broadband?
What do you think of AI impacting ag?
It’s going to harness actionable data – for crops and livestock
We’re getting pitched on AI all of the time. We’re skeptical but we’re watching it. We’re not into it if is leads to more consolidation.
AI will double our energy needs and MN has made a commitment to clean energy – this seems in conflict and we need to have a conversation about that.
Our population is changing. We need greater diversity in farmers – so nice to have translation services.
Data collected on water and nitrates is also positive.
There do need to be checks and balances.
How are you holding federal and state agencies accountable for things like BEAD and USF changes?
No audible answer
How important is latency to you?
I don’t notice it with fiber – but I’m not on satellite or wifi.
Fiber has been so reliable for us.
This was an issue with teenage gamers at home but when we moved from Stalink to ECE we have fewer complaints. I also don’t hears as much from our neighbors. Farmers have to upload a lot and it had been an issue but as more fiber is available we see fewer issues.
From dialup to fiber – it’s been great. With email, it does matter. With videoconferencing, we notice the difference. BUT autonomous operations cannot tolerate latency.
We have seen lots of applications that need best broadband at Farmfest.
How can the TF help you?
Speed is 25/3 – but we need more. We need 100/100 and eventually gig access – especially with fully autonomous applications.
The efforts to get last mile are not working. We need a better plan.
I hear from people who go from crappy to good service and its life-changing.
There’s no State funding in the budget because we thought federal funding would work. But if it doesn’t – what do you need legislators to do/think?
The need will only continue to grow. 25/3 will not handle the growth for long.
One size does not fit all. I live in an area without trees, so wireless works for us.
If there’s limited funds, maybe we need to focus funding.
The push for fiber may not be affordable for everyone, we need to go with cheapest choices.
Q: From precision ag: As data centers are moving closer to the home, do you have concerns or ideas?
There’s concern about data centers on ag land – especially when it comes to water and water needs. Especially in southern and southeast MN.
Ditto
There used to be a concern – there’s a push and pull between water and energy needs. You want to use AI on the farm but it can’t be taken away because energy needs it. Making sure that tech companies work with communities is important.
Q: Economic development in SE MN: Is there any movement to get back RDOF funds?
It would be great
RDOF defaulted locations were at least re-added to the BEAD maps. But it is unlikely that we will recover the funding.
Q: Economic development in SE MN: Is there a push to get FTTH funding for communities that are “served” (according to the maps) by national providers but aren’t really served?
Local communities who aren’t served need to work on their situation
We need competition and we need to find a way to incentivize competition. We had a national provider who years, who never met our needs.
I’m not a fan of municipal providers but maybe if the municipal providers went with a open access model. You need to put out an RFP.
Why are you so passionate about broadband?
Three kids. The ability to learn and educate yourself. (Can’t be a YouTube mechanic on sate.)
Geofencing looks exciting.
Direct sales works better with broadband. Some farms have moved to entirely online sales.
We are building out a weather station across the state to get real time climate information. It helps farmers save money and take climate in consideration.
Technology is a way to get the next generation of farmers interested.
Also next generation of ag careers is very technical. Broadband is critical to that.
Broadband makes it possible to stay in rural MN.
3:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.Office of Broadband Development Updates
Bree Maki, Executive Director, OBD
MN State Grants
Border to border grants provide funding to providers to reach expensive areas to serve
Lower population grants does similar but for even higher cost areas
Line Extension allows residents and businesses to request help
OBD is visiting communities that received funding.
We have 3 different grant rounds of MN funding happening now. (These are folks who got funding in the past.)
Line Extension funds need to get spent by end of 2026.
New hire on land use is doing a great job and helping folks with permitting.
If you need better service, please take a look at our Line Extension program.
We brough legislators to see a broadband provider and speed testing.
We give lessons to decision makers on how to work with fiber
BEAD
In May we were told to start the grant process over due to federal changes.
We need to do a public comment period for our final proposal – it will start on Aug 28 and hope to do a webinar to introduce that.
We are soliciting letters of support from local organizations to include with our final proposal. We want to make sure that BEAD eligible locations are correct on the maps we are using.
It seems like we may need State funding to meet State funding goals.
AscendRural’s Symposium brings together rural community leaders, economic development professionals, and innovation experts for shared learning, insight, and forward momentum. The symposium will feature updates on ongoing initiatives, in-depth reports on pilot programs, and key findings from AscendRural’s work to improve rural well-being.
Attendees will hear directly from community partners, technology innovators, and policy advocates who are driving change in rural health, education and connectivity. Through presentations, panels, and interactive discussions, the event will highlight what’s working, what’s emerging, and how rural communities are shaping the future of equitable innovation.
Minnesota agriculture is set up for success after a unique legislative session that saw an evenly divided House of Representatives and. split Senate. On May 23, Governor Walz signed the Agriculture and Broadband Development Policy and Finance Bill and the Legacy Finance Bill into law. The Ag Bill funds the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), Minnesota Board of Animal Health and the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute, while the Legacy Bill makes major investments in our soil and water resources.
Likely because of the expected federal broadband funding (BEAD), there isn’t a lot of mention of broadband (outside of the committee name) but there is a mention of expanded access to weather information and to optimize use of that information, farmers will want precision ag equipment, software and the broadband to access it in the fields…
The Minnesota Ag Weather Network will continue its expansion with more funding. Soybean growers across the state will have access to real-time weather information as we build the network across central and southern Minnesota.
Last week, MinnPost painted a challenging picture of the Iron Range (Iron Range on the ropes: Mining and school layoffs test the region’s resiliency — again). I won’t recap the whole article, but it outlines the latest (and history) of mine closures, the gaps between mining work wages and others in the area and some unfortunate, other unusual turns in the community. I did see some glimmers of sunlight in the final portion of the article, where technology was mentioned…
Farnsworth is looking to lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic as the next step for the Iron Range. Remote work caught on and stuck for many private industry employers — though some companies and the state have started requiring a return to in-office work — and rural areas benefited the most.
The CRPD’s annual State of Rural report in 2025 showed in-migration rates from Minnesota favored rural counties, which experienced modestly higher population rates in 2023 compared to 2020. It’s been a trend since the 2010s, mainly coming from urban counties and people seeking more affordable housing in the so-called lakes region.
That’s an attraction point for parts of the Iron Range region, Farnsworth said, and an opportunity. He envisioned building hundreds of affordable homes under $300,000 from Grand Rapids to Aurora, equipped with high speed internet, and letting the natural draws of lake life, less traffic and rural charms to lure metro-based remote workers.
In theory, it’s a simplistic equation for the region: More people to fill job vacancies, more families to boost school enrollment and — ideally — less impact to the broader communities when the next downturn comes.
“We’ve been through worse and we’ll get through this,” he said. “The Iron Range has a lot of years of potential left.”
