Category Archives: Community Networks

West Central Tribune asks, Will the Willmar Council move forward with its Connect Willmar Initiative?

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Broadband is in the news in Willmar this week. Wednesday, I wrote about the Willmar City Council to meet with Charter Communications despite having plans with Hometown Fiber on an open access network.

Thursday, the West Central Tribune followed up with

The Willmar City Council on Monday learned how the $24.5 million Connect Willmar Initiative may affect the bottom line for the city and taxpayers.

The Connect Willmar Initiative is the plan to construct a city-owned fiber-optic broadband network throughout the city. The network will be managed by Hometown Fiber and will allow multiple internet service providers to use the network to serve customers. The ISPs will pay a fee to the city for use of the network.

The city plans to construct the network using bonds. Revenues from the fees charged to the ISPs will be used to make the principal and interest payments on the bonds. With those payments, the total cost for the project is closer to $33 million, but a number of factors — interest rates, number of sign-ups, project bids, etc. — could decrease that amount, according to City Operations Director Kyle Box.

More details…

The city would like to begin phase one in 2025 and the construction cost of phase one is estimated to be $9.2 million, which will be financed by general obligation bonds at an estimated 4% interest rate.

Moorhead explained that phase one is estimated to eventually generate $1.2 million in revenue for the city, which will be used to make the projected $770,000 principal and interest payments on the bond. Of the remaining revenue, $265,000 will go toward operating and maintaining the network, leaving an approximately $165,000 margin.

The first payment on the bonds will be deferred for three years in order to allow the city time to begin generating revenue, according to Box.

Moorhead went over best-case, worst-case and expected scenarios for how the take rate, or the percentage of Willmar residents who sign up for service, will affect revenue.

Friday (Feb 14), the newspaper reported…

Will the Willmar City Council again delay a decision on whether or not to construct a $24.5 million open-access broadband network throughout the city, or even scrap the plan altogether?

That is the question the council faces after Charter Communications on Feb. 7 submitted a letter to the city making an offer to install fiber-optic lines in the Willmar Industrial Park at no cost to the city — if the city holds off on its Connect Willmar Initiative .

The council will hear a report from city staff at its regular meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 18, regarding a meeting that took place Thursday between Charter representatives and city staff, Mayor Doug Reese and Councilor Justin Ask, according to City Operations Director Kyle Box. The meeting agenda was not yet posted early Friday afternoon, but Box confirmed the report will be presented.

The council meeting takes place at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the boardroom at the Kandiyohi County Health and Human Services building, 2200 23rd St. N.E. in Willmar. It is one day later than usual due to the Presidents Day holiday.

The West Central Tribune outlined the work done by the community and Hometown finder to date…

During the two years that the Connect Willmar Initiative has been in the research and planning stages, the city has invested about $675,000, countless human resource hours, as well as the time that volunteer broadband committee members have spent researching and helping to plan the network.

Initially, the city wanted construction of phase one to take place in 2024, but city staff recommended delaying the decision to begin construction to allow more research to be conducted to ensure it would be financially feasible and would not burden Willmar taxpayers.

They also spoke to Charter Communications…

The West Central Tribune asked Charter Communications Vice President of Public Relations Mike Hogan why Charter is making this offer to the city now, after two years of planning and research has already been completed for a city-owned network.

“We heard very clearly how important the industrial park is to the future growth and economic development of this community,” Hogan replied in an email. “That’s why we’re stepping up to make this a win-win for Willmar residents and business owners, as the solution we’re proposing provides access to gigabit speeds and the full suite of reliable services residents and businesses need.”

In April of 2024, Charter Communications Director of State Government Affairs David Larson was asked during a council work session if Charter would commit to installing fiber in the industrial park. Larson told the council that could be part of an “off-line conversation” and nothing more was said on the topic at that session.

There were earlier options too…

There was also an earlier opportunity in the fall of 2022 to submit a proposal to the city of Willmar to build out fiber in the industrial park, but Charter did not submit one.

Only three proposals were received, and the one from Hometown Fiber led to the Connect Willmar Initiative.

Carver County is getting closer and closer to ubiquitous Gig coverage

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The Institute of Local Self Reliance profiles Carver County…

Officials in Carver County Minnesota continue to make great progress expanding affordable fiber access to the county of 111,000 residents, thanks largely to their publicly-owned open access fiber network CarverLink and their partnership with Metronet.

Since its inception in 2013, Carver County has leveraged public and private collaborations and funding with the goal of making symmetrical gigabit (1 Gbps) fiber available to all locations county wide. With the looming completion of its most recent $10.5 million expansion, CarverLink Fiber Manager Randy Lehs told ISLR they’re getting very close to their ultimate goal.

The county currently has ownership and use of nearly 1,200 miles of fiber throughout Carver County and southern Minnesota connecting more than 280 last mile public and community support locations. Many of these markets have no connectivity; many others are stuck on dated, sluggish, patchy connectivity from regional monopolies.

And an update…

CarverLink began construction in fall 2024 in Victoria and Chanhassen and is looking for substantial construction throughout 2025 with a completion deadline of June 2026.

“As of February 2025, CarverLink is 90 percent complete with this aspect of the CUCE project and is on task to complete by our deadline of June 2025,” Lehs said.

That leaves Chaska, Minnesota, population 29,000, as the last Carver County city without identified public or private projects – or existing service provider plans to connect to all the city’s remaining un/underserved locations to affordable fiber. Lehs says CarverLink has been having discussions with both Metronet about potential expansion there.

But they’re also pressuring Comcast to upgrade the 10,000 locations in Chaska that Xfinity provides non symmetrical fiber service of 1Gbps so the city can complete its goal of county wide gigabit fiber access.

EVENT Feb 20: AAPB and ILSR to Host Webinar on the Financing Fundamentals of Community Networks

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Looks like a great event…

The American Association for Public Broadband (AAPB) and ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks Initiative are teaming up to host a webinar later this month for local and community leaders interested – or on the fence – in pursuing municipal broadband solutions to local connectivity challenges.

“Municipal Broadband and Innovative Financing Models: Unlocking Economic Growth” will focus on ways publicly-owned broadband networks can be financed and feature municipal broadband providers and financing experts who have successfully navigated the maze of municipal finance.

The free webinar is slated for next Thursday, February 20, 2025, from noon to 1 pm ET.

Registration is open now here.

Co-hosted by AAPB Executive Director Gigi Sohn and Sean Gonsalves from ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks Initiative, organizers are encouraging attendees to bring their questions, as the agenda aims to foster information-sharing and actionable insight.

Panelists for the discussion will be:

  • Ernie Staten, City of Fairlawn’s Public Service Department Director
  • X. Flinn, ECFiber Governing Board Chair
  • Laura Lewis, Principal and Co-Owner of LRB Public Finance Advisors
  • Eric Rex, Vice President at KeyBanc Capital Markets

For more information, check out our story at CommunityNets.org. Thank you so much, and have a wonderful rest of your week!

Willmar City Council to meet with Charter Communications amid conversations with Hometown Fiber on an open access network

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The West Central Tribune reports…

The Willmar City Council and staff on Monday said a meeting would be conducted later this week with the company after its letter asking the city to hold off on the construction of an open-access broadband network.

The letter that Charter Communications sent to the city of Willmar requesting that the city hold off on its plans to construct a $24.5 million open-access broadband network was indirectly addressed Monday during the Willmar City Council work session.

Charter provides internet and cable television services in Willmar under the name Spectrum and sent a letter last week offering to commit to the installation of additional fiber-optic lines in the Willmar Industrial Park at no cost to the city. The proposal is described in the Feb. 7 letter as a solution to “saddling taxpayers with needless debt” for building the city-owned network.

A little background…

Currently, only 23 parcels out of 7,000-plus total parcels in the city of Willmar have fiber-optic capabilities — mostly government facilities, schools and some big businesses — according to Box.

Representatives from Broadband Corp. and Silverlight Fiber Network, internet service providers that plan to offer service on Willmar’s open-access broadband network and presented information to the council at Monday’s work session, were in agreement that coaxial technology will be obsolete in 10 to 20 years.

Representatives from Broadband Corp. and Silverlight Fiber Network, internet service providers that plan to offer service on Willmar’s open-access broadband network and presented information to the council at Monday’s work session, were in agreement that coaxial technology will be obsolete in 10 to 20 years.

The majority of the expenses thus far, approximately $400,000, have been for civil engineering services from the city’s contracted engineers at Bolton & Menk, approved by the council in 2024. About $200,000 has been spent on network architecture services from Hometown Fiber, and the remainder was for consultants, legal fees and marketing. The network will be owned by the city and managed by Hometown Fiber. It will allow multiple internet service providers to use the network, paying a fee to the city for its use. The city will use bond money to pay for construction of the network and the fees paid by the internet service providers will be used to pay the debt service on the bonds.

While the construction costs for the Connect Willmar Initiative are estimated to be $24.5 million, the total cost with principal and interest payments on the bonds may be closer to $33 million, Box verified Tuesday afternoon in an email to the West Central Tribune. However, he also noted there are a number of factors that will determine the final overall cost.

“We are not getting in the business of selling the internet,” Box said at Monday’s meeting. “We are in the business of infrastructure. … Because multiple ISPs can use the same network, there’s a greater opportunity for competition. This can lead to better service options, lower prices and more innovation as different providers strive to attract and retain customers.”

EVENT Feb 10: Willmar City Council meets about Connect Willmar initiative

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The West Central Tribune reports…

The Willmar City Council will be having a work session on Monday, Feb. 10, to hear updates and information on the Connect Willmar initiative.

The public is invited to attend the work session, which will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Willmar Fire Hall, 515 Second Street Southwest.

The city for two years has been working on the Connect Willmar initiative, which will be a municipally-owned, citywide open-access fiber optic network.

The open-access fiber optic network will allow multiple internet service providers to use the network to provide internet services to the residents and businesses of Willmar. Internet service providers will pay a fee to the city to use the network.

The city plans to use general obligation bonds to pay for the construction of the network, and the fees it collects will be used to pay back the bonds.

Construction of phase one of the project is expected to take place in 2025.

Broadband Matters OBD Updates Jan 15, 2025: Upcoming meetings and Task Force meetings notes

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From the Office of Broadband Development…

Broadband Matters: Office of Broadband Development Updates

  • Broadband and BEAD updates + resource on upcoming Pre-Qualification process
  • Digital Opportunity update
  • Office hours registration + broadband webinars
  • Broadband Task Force, January meeting recap

Broadband and BEAD updates + resource on upcoming Pre-Qualification process

Last month, OBD added a draft of BEAD Pre-Qualification guidance on the webpage, available here. Initial information to keep in mind about the Pre-Qualification process: 

  • Before the subgrantee selection process and awarding BEAD funds, OBD will pre-qualify all prospective applicants to ensure they meet the minimum requirements for subgrantee eligibility. There will only be one pre-qualification round, so prospective applicants must participate, even if they only intend to apply for BEAD funds in later rounds of subgrantee selection.  
  • Pre-qualification is the first step in the subgrantee selection process. Participating in the pre-qualification process does not bind any internet service provider to submit a project area proposal. However, all applicants who are considering participation or intend to submit a proposal must participate in pre-qualification.
  • Prospective applicants will have at least 30 days after the pre-qualification round begins to submit their materials. The OBD will announce an official closing date of pre-qualification as it receives more information from the NTIA about Minnesota’s submission of it’s Challenge Process results. 

OBD’s Financial Assistance webpage also has recent updates from the Department of Agriculture (USDA) on the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Program and a Notice of Funding (NOFO) published from the Community Connect Grant Program. 

Also available on the OBD webpage and from NTIA, the NTIA’s BEAD Frequently Asked Questions provides insight into the future steps of the BEAD process. For more guidance specifically see: pages 53-56, on Competitive Subgrantee Grants questions 10.1 to 10.6; and pages 61-64, on Grant Award and Reporting Requirements questions 12.1 to 12.7. 

Digital Opportunity update

On Monday, January 6, NTIA announced the first group of organizations receiving over $250M in Digital Equity Competitive Grant funds directly through NTIA. Out of over 700 applications from across the country, only 24 made this list. OBD extends a big congratulations to the two awardees from Minnesota: Hmong American Partnership and the Minnesota State System of Colleges & Universities.

We are proud to have your organizations as national digital opportunity leaders!

Office hours registration + broadband webinars

Last week, OBD held two webinars to provide up to date information on timelines and next steps for both the federal funding for Digital Equity Act and BEAD in Minnesota. The recordings for those webinars are available on the OBD webpage here.  

OBD will also begin holding a weekly office hour session to provide updates on the federal BEAD program in MN, the BEAD prequalification process, and answer questions on the registration portal. Office hours will be Tuesdays at 11am and run from January 14 to April 1. Registration is open for the sessions below:  

Please email deed.broadband@state.mn.us with questions on the webinar or office hours.

Governor’s Task Force on Broadband, December meeting recap + 2025 meetings

The Governor’s Task Force met at the Centennial Office Building in St. Paul, MN on Monday January 13, 2025. The Task Force presented recommendations and discussed collaboration in the upcoming year with the Senate Agriculture, Veterans, Broadband, and Rural Development Chair, Senator Aric Putnam, and House Agriculture Finance & Policy Co-Chairs, Representative Paul Anderson and Representative Rick Hansen. The Task Force also heard a 2025 legislative preview from DEED’s Government Relations Director, Deven Bowdry, and updates from the Office of Broadband Development on BEAD and Digital Opportunity Updates. More information on this and past meetings can be found on the Broadband Task Force webpage.

The Task Force’s 2024 annual report to the Legislature is also available online.

Kandiyohi EDC broadband committee returns $260,000 in ARPA funds to Kandiyohi County Board

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West Central Tribune reports…

The Kandiyohi County Board accepted the return of more than $260,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding from the county EDC broadband committee at Tuesday’s board meeting.

Thanks to the American Rescue Plan Act, Kandiyohi County was able to expand the reach of high-speed internet to under- and unserved communities. The broadband committee has returned its remaining funds to the county for use before the end of the year. The county’s hope is to continue to expand broadband even when the pandemic relief funds are no longer available.

ILSR Unveils Community Networks Predictive Map

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Fun news from the Institute for Local Self Reliance…

Today, we unveil our predictive map which was created by our Senior GIS Analyst Christine Parker.

The map provides a multi-layered look into the near future of community broadband networks.

It not only shows where existing community-owned fiber networks are located but also highlights how those networks will expand in the coming years based on formally announced plans and secured funding to complete network builds.

A few things to note about the map (below at bottom):

  • The map only shows community-owned fiber networks.

  • The darkest shaded layers show the footprint that is already built representing data from the FCC’s Broadband Data Collection.

  • Lighter shaded layers show the footprint that has not been built yet but where federal funding has been secured to expand, based on the FCC’s Broadband Funding Map.

  • The lightest shaded layers indicate the “predicted” areas – everywhere electric and telephone cooperatives could build, if they wanted. This layer is based on FCC Study Area Boundaries & HIFLD Retail Service Areas. (It should also be noted that this predictive layer does not include municipal networks or tribally-owned networks.)

44 MN Counties or tribal areas have seen local government match for MN State Broadband grants

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This is part two of a 2-part series of posts on local government match for MN Broadband grants (Border to Border and Lower Population awards) since the onset of the program. Two posts include:

After looking at the awards at a high level, I dug into counties to find out which ones have invested local government match in MN Broadband grants, how much and how many projects. (Local government could include county, city, township, EDA or other; I have focused on reporting at the county level.)

Looks like 44 counties or tribal areas have seen local government match for MN Broadband grants. Some random details:

  • St Louis County tops the list of awards at 9, but many were on multi-county projects
  • Stearns County has invested the most with almost $10 million over five projects
  • Todd, Lyon and Cook have each seen local government invest less than $10,000 – but invested nonetheless
  • 23 counties have seen investment for one award

I will dig deeper info this information when I do the county profiles. I have provided all of the info I have for folks who want to jump in too.

The supporting information comes in two pieces:

  • A spreadsheet of awards that include a local government match (also pasted below)
county investment projects
Aitkin 50000 6
Anoka 164795 1
Becker
Beltrami
Benton 1154008 4
Big Stone
Blue Earth 39249 1
Brown
Carlton 766654 2
Carver
Cass 125000 1
Chippewa 2889447 1
Chisago 2900841 3
Clay
Clearwater
Cook 8000 1
Cottonwood
Crow Wing
Dakota 106538 2
Dodge
Douglas 72400 1
Faribault 55000 6
Fillmore 168000 3
Fon du Lac 602916 1
Freeborn
Goodhue 15000 1
Grant 202963 1
Hennepin 296846 2
Houston 75000 1
Hubbard
Isanti 242000 3
Itasca
Jackson
Kanabec 147800 3
Kandiyohi 3144780 3
Kittson
Koochiching 26000 1
Lac qui Parle 400000 1
Lake
Lake of the Woods
Le Sueur 814000 3
Lincoln
Lyon 7500 1
Mahnomen
Marshall
Martin 805842 1
McLeod
Meeker
Mille Lacs 242200 2
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe 10000 1
Morrison
Mower
Murray 1326455 2
Nicollet
Nobles 50000 1
Norman
Olmsted
Otter Tail 3671557 5
Pennington
Pine 16000 1
Pipestone
Polk
Pope 1067199 2
Ramsey
Red Lake
Redwood 1914986 1
Renville
Rice 15000 1
Rock
Roseau
Scott
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community 669518 1
Sherburne 899457 3
Sibley
St. Louis 4573980 9
Stearns 9747192 5
Steele
Stevens
Swift
Todd 7500 1
Traverse 19490 1
Wabasha
Wadena
Waseca 165000 1
Washington 375085 3
Watonwan
Wilkin
Winona
Wright 703900 3
Yellow Medicine
  • There is a column in the above spreadsheet that indicates when the award involves multiple local gov match sources. There is also a document that details that information. Also pasted below…

MN Broadband Grant Local Government Match for Projects that Involved More than One County

Comcast (Corcoran) $216464

  • Hennepin County ($108,232)
  • City of Corcoran (Hennepin) ($108,232)

Comcast (Rogers) $80382

  • Hennepin County ($40,191)
  • City of Rogers (Hennepin)  ($40,191)

Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC)

  • City of Rice Lake (Wright) ($500,000)
  • Cass County (Carlton) ($316,654)
  • City of Cloquet (Carlton) ($300,000)
  • Gnesen Township (St Louis) ($100,000)
  • Sylvan Township (Cass) ($125,000)

East Central Energy (Pine South)

  • Pine County ($14,000)
  • Arthur Township (Kanabec) ($937)
  • Brunswick Township (Kanabec)  ($594)
  • Pine City (Pine) ($1000)
  • Royalton Township (Pine) ($1000)
  • Kanabec County ($17,000)

East Central Energy (Kanabec Central) $67512

  • Kanabec County ($42,000)
  • Quamba City (Kanabec) ($100)
  • Arthur Township (Kanabec) ($25,313)
  • Brunswick Township (Kanabec) ($99)

East Central Energy (Isanti North)

  • Isanti County ($38,000)
  • Stanchfield Township (Isanti) ($8000)
  • Kanabec County ($27000)
  • Arthur Township (Kanabec) ($3750)
  • Brunswick Township (Kanabec) ($9307)
  • Southfork Township (Kanabec) ($20000)
  • Cambridge Township (Isanti) ($10000)
  • Maple Ridge Township (Isanti) ($1000)

Farmers Mutual Telephone Company (Chippewa County) $2889447

  • Chippewa County ($) 2,814,447
  • Louriston Township (Chippewa) ($20,000)
  • Rosewood Township (Chippewa) ($55,000)

Federated Telephone Cooperative (Kandiyohi County West) $2,450,288

  • Kandiyohi County ($1,414,386)
  • Arctander Township (Kandiyohi) ($297,357)
  • Dovre Township (Kandiyohi) ($365,232)
  • Mamre Township (Kandiyohi) ($247,259)
  • St. Johns Township (Kandiyohi) ($126,054)

Lismore Cooperative Telephone Company (Iona)

  • City of Iona (Todd County) ($7,500)
  • Murray County ($100,000)

Mediacom LLC (Hibbing) $93,000

  • St. Louis County ($50,000)
  • City of Hibbing (St Louis) ($43,000)

Midco (Isanti) $175,000

  • Isanti County ($75,000
  • Bradford Township (Isanti) ($100,000)

Otter Tail Telcom LLC (North Fergus Falls) $2000000

  • Otter Tail County (Otter Tail) ($1,781,116)
  • Friberg Township (Otter Tail) ($18,000)
  • Elizabeth Township (Otter Tail) ($20,000)
  • Dane Prairie Township (Otter Tail) ($9500)
  • Buse Township (Otter Tail) ($2,500)
  • Aurdal Township (Otter Tail) ($168,884)

Paul Bunyan Communications (Northern MN Gigazone) $217097

  • Wouri Township (St Louis) ($87837)
  • Sandy Township (St Louis) ($19260)
  • Pike Township (St Louis) ($30000)
  • French Township (St Louis) ($80000)

Paul Bunyan Communications (North Central Gigazone)

  • City of Cook (Cook) ($8000)
  • Field Township (St Louis) ($12384)
  • Sandy Township (St Louis) ($19260)
  • Wuori Township (St Louis) ($12360)

Paul Bunyan Communications (North Central MN Fiber)

  • Koochiching County ($26000)
  • Morcom Township (St Louis) ($10000)

Runestone Telecom Association (Herman-Dumont)

  • Grant County ($202,963)
  • Stevens County ($37,422)
  • Traverse County ($19,490)

Blue Earth Valley Telephone Company dba Bevcomm  (Rural Fairbault and Martin County Fiber Expansion Phase)

  • Faribault County EDA ($15000)
  • Martin County EDA ($5000)

East Central Energy (Mille Lacs Central)

  • Isanti Couty $10,000
  • Kanabec County $900
  • Mille Lacs County $4,200
  • South Fork Township $800 (Kanabec)

MN Broadband Grants has garnered almost $90M in local government match over the years

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I have been looking at local government match for MN Broadband grants (Border to Border and Lower Population awards) since the onset of the program. There’s a ton of information to slice and dice at the micro and macro level. In fact, there is so much information that I am going to break up the information into two posts:

The program has long tracked local match, but that could include provider investment. I tried to pull out local government (county, city, township, EDA…) match by county or tribal area. I feel like the numbers are reflective but may not be exact because I had to gather numbers from different places and experienced the difficulty in tracking down the exact amounts by investor.

Please: you see an error in my numbers, let me know! Many readers were/are on the frontlines and your help can only make the numbers better.

On a macro level I learned:

  • Number of projects with local government match: 89
  • Local government match total: $89,794,826
  • Average gov match when there is a gov match: $929,487

That compares to all awards as a whole:

  • Number of projects funded: 287
  • Total grant awards: $317,575,309

The quick take (and rounding up) is that $317M in State grants garnered $90M in local GOVERNMENT matching funds. And this only looks at MN State Grants – not ReConnect, ARRA or other funding sources.

Supporting info can be difficult to read below but is also available as a spreadsheet:

EVENT Nov 19: Kandiyohi County Board Update on broadband project

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West Central Tribune reports…

With less than two months left to obligate its remaining American Rescue Plan Act coronavirus relief funds, the Kandiyohi County Board at its meeting on Tuesday will receive an update on broadband projects in the county from the Kandiyohi County Broadband Committee.

The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Nov. 19 in the board chambers of the Kandiyohi County Health and Human Services building in Willmar.

Out of the approximately $8.3 million in ARPA funding the county received, the county board earmarked 75% of it, or about $6.2 million, to broadband expansion. With the Dec. 31 deadline only a few weeks away, the county broadband committee is looking to return $262,528 to the county, hoping the county will consider future broadband funding matching that amount.

Over the last few years, the broadband committee, in partnership with the county and townships, has funded more than 13 projects in Kandiyohi County, bringing high-speed internet to over 2,612 locations that were underserved or unserved prior.

Mower County Board approves of broadband contribution

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Austin Daily Herland reports…

The Mower County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday agreed to a Local Contributions Agreement with Charter/Spectrum for a project in Austin Township that will expand broadband network capability. The county is committing $100,000 to the project, which includes Spectrum Mid-America, LLC building 148 passings in the township as part of a Minnesota Border-to-Border grant.

Spectrum is investing $514,698 into the project that will include businesses, farms and more. Commissioners also approved contracts for Law Enforcement Services in three Mower communities — Adams, Lyle and LeRoy. All three cities agreed to a 6% increase in cost for services in 2025 and a 2% increase in 2026 coming to $91,945 and $93,784 respectively.

Anoka County Board revives county broadband grant program using ARPA funds

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Hometown Source reports…

A grant program using federal dollars for projects to provide broadband expansion to underserved communities was revived by the Anoka County Board Oct. 22.

In the county’s budget for spending $69.84 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds, $5 million was allocated for broadband (high-speed Internet) projects, but those dollars were eliminated by the board Aug. 13 because no projects had been proposed by municipalities and the deadline for having ARPA funds obligated is Dec. 31.

At that time, a couple of board members, Commissioners Julie Braastad and Jeff Reinert, expressed concern, but a majority of the board decided to shift the $5 million to the Emergency Communications Center project.

Since then, three to four municipalities in the north, rural part of the county have proposed broadband expansion projects, according to Cory Kampf, chief financial officer.

The board action Oct. 22 approves up to $1.6 million for the broadband program and authorizes the county board chairperson (Commissioner Mike Gamache) and County Administrator Jim Dickinson to enter into agreements with municipalities that meet the criteria for providing broadband expansion to underserved areas of the county.

The money will be taken from the ARPA pot allocated to the Emergency Communications Center project and any unused dollars at the end of the year will be moved back to that project, according to Kampf.

Under federal ARPA regulations, all obligated projects have to be completed by Dec. 31, 2026.

Local Digital Equity Coalition Building conversation with ILSR

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I listened to the Institute for Local Self Reliance‘s podcast on Digital Equity Coalition Building (seen below) yesterday, while walking in the unbelievable St Paul autumn sun. It is inspiring and offers practical advice, with folks talking about what they are doing. There’s also some nice framing of the importance of broadband as a tool that can lift us up when we have it or hold us back when we don’t. So, it’s importance to recognize who is getting broadband easily and who needs more help and what are the causes.

Superior Mayor touts “Cheaper internet and cheaper water”

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Northern News Now (TV) reports on how the Superior (WI) mayor explains broadband network, plan to run water utility where the city owns the network but private providers service customers directly. The plan is to create natural competition. Now they want to do the same with water, which is currently privately run.