Yellow Medicine is not poised to meet the broadband speed goals for either 2022 or 2026 but they created a project for a grant application in the last round. It wasn’t funded, but that sets the stage for engagement later.

Green=served Purple=underesrved Red=unserved

Yellow Medicine County has benefited from broadband grants:

• 2016 – MIDCO CANBY TO MARSHALL MIDDLE MILE AND LAST MILE – GRANT AMOUNT: $623,000
  Serving 1029 unserved households, 29 unserved businesses, and 11 unserved community institutions in and around the towns of Porter, Taunton, Minneota, Ghent, and Canby, between Canby and Marshall in Yellow Medicine and Lyon with service levels in the project area to 200 Mbps down by 20 Mbps up..
• 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile
  Grant award: $808,080
  This project is a Middle Mile broadband infrastructure buildout to upgrade backhaul capacity between site locations within 20 southwestern Minnesota counties: Blue Earth, Chippewa, Cottonwood, Jackson, Kandiyohi, Lac Qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, Meeker, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Pipestone, Rock, Redwood, Renville, Sibley Swift, Watonwan, and Yellow Medicine.

Yellow Medicine is getting almost $2 million in FCC funding but that is over the next 10 years.

In 2018, Yellow Medicine released a Blandin Foundation-supported feasibility study…

It does not look to be economically feasible to immediately build fiber everywhere without significant grant funding. … The scenarios that mix fiber and wireless technology look feasible. The scenarios can work even without grant funding, but some level of grant funding make the scenarios safer for an investor.

There was game changing possibility:

We note that as this report was being written that the county announced a tentative agreement with Farmers Mutual Cooperative to bring fiber to a significant portion of the county. The county has agreed to provide $4 million in funding subject to the Cooperative being able to find grants and other funding needed to build the project. If completed this project would cover a little less than half of the parts of the county that don’t have broadband today.

In December 2019, the Yellow Medicine County Board talked about the need to step “up effort to expand broadband Internet service to rural counties.”

They did not get that funding but having a feasibility study in place and a relationship with providers that will help them get to the speed goals, despite current numbers.

Yellow Medicine County could benefit from future grants. In 2019, Woodstock and Midco applied to upgrade service in Yellow Medicine. (That doesn’t mean they will get the grant; they have only applied.)

Checklist:

• 100/20 ranking: 78 (down from 69)
• 25/3 ranking: 77
• Has worked with Blandin
• Has received a MN Broadband grant
• Household density: 5.6
• Number of providers: 7

Details:

• Find more articles on broadband in Yellow Medicine County (http://tinyurl.com/zhsj3ke)
• Districts: CD 7
  Senate:16
  House: 16AFind your reps

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)

Wright County is not poised to meet the MN broadband goals for either 2022 or 2026. They need to renew interest in broadband to meet those goals.

Green=served Purple=underesrved Red=unserved

Wright County has benefited from a broadband grant:

• 2017 – Midco (Midcontinent Communications) – Annandale East – GRANT $537,050
  Serving 40 unserved households, and 531 underserved households and 7 underserved businesses, in the area northeast of Annandale near Bass Lake and Clearwater Lake in Wright County with service levels to up to 1 Gbps.

Wright County is home to Monticello, one of the famous   municipal broadband networks. Monticello built their own fiber network – but in process the incumbent also built a fiber network and even sued the city. It looks like Monticello is continuing to bring in competition and looking at the numbers the providers are reaching outside the city limits.

To reach the MN broadband speed goals, Wright County will need to build a momentum, work with providers to expand and upgrade service.

Wright County could benefit from future grants. In 2019, Bridgewater and Winsted applied to upgrade service in Wright. (That doesn’t mean they will get the grant; they have only applied.)

Checklist:

• 100/20 ranking: 33 (down from 21)
• 25/3 ranking: 33
• Has worked with Blandin: yes
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
• Household density: 62.2
• Number of providers: 13

Details:

• There is a matrix of Minnesota broadband adoption projects.
• Districts: CD 6
  Senate: 15, 18, 29, 30
  House: 15B, 18A, 29A, 29B, 30A, 30B
• Find your reps

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)

Winona County is not poised to meet the broadband speed goals for either 2022 or 2026 unless they build a momentum comparable to the momentum they had 20 years ago.

Green=served Purple=underesrved Red=unserved

Winona has benefited from several broadband grants:

• 2016 – WINONA COUNTY PICKWICK AREA – GRANT: $416,640
  Serving 88 unserved households, 89 unserved businesses, 2 unserved community anchor institutions, and 23 underserved households and 23 underserved businesses within Wilson, Homer, Richmond, Pleasant Hill, and Wiscoy Townships in Winona County with service levels to 1 Gigabit speed.
• 2015 – Hiawatha Broadband Communications – Winona County Whitewater Area
  Grant Award: $247,000
  Serving 418 passings including 135 households, 70 businesses and 5 community anchor institutions in in Elba and Norton Townships including Whitewater State Park.
• 2015 – Winona County Hiawatha Broadband Communications – Cedar Valley Area
  Grant award: $314,450
  Serving 256 households, 117 businesses and 3 community anchor institutions in area lies south and west of Winona from Hwy 61 along the Mississippi River to I-90.

Winona County was part of the Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities (MIRC) starting in 2010, a Blandin-led and federal (ARRA) funded digital inclusion project. So there has been a focus on broadband for a decade. In fact, Winona is the home of Luminet, a early broadband provider that eventually because Hiawatha Broadband and then Schurz Communications.

Unfortunately, Winona has not kept pace. They need to build a momentum to get them on track to meet the speed goals.

Checklist:

• 100/20 ranking: 24 (down from 15)
• 25/3 ranking: 41
• Has worked with Blandin: yes
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
• Household density: 30.4
• Number of providers: 14

Details:

• Find more articles on broadband in Winona County (http://tinyurl.com/hqsckxg)
• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 21, 28
  House: 21B, 28A
• Find your reps

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)

Wilkin County is not poised to meet the speed goals for either 2022 or 2026. Their numbers looked OK a few years ago, but they have not improved; they need to build a momentum.

Green=served Purple=underesrved Red=unserved

Wilkin has benefited from a state broadband grant:

• 2017 – Advantenon – Rural Grant, Stevens and Wilkin Counties – Grant $316,554
  Serving 528 unserved households, 132 unserved businesses, and 8 unserved community anchor institutions in Rural Grant, Stevens and Wilkin Counties with service levels to 100 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload.

Wilkin County needs to jumpstart a focus on broadband; it seems like that might happen. Sen. Torrey Westrom and Rep. Jeff Backer  held a town hall meeting in February 2019 to talk about broadband. In summer of 2019, the Wilkin County Commissioner Dennis Larson advocated for legislative funding for broadband.

Now they need to extend that enthusiasm into action working with providers to extend better broadband throughout the county.

Checklist:

• 100/20 ranking: 34 (down from 20)
• 25/3 ranking: 38
• Has worked with Blandin: no
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
• Household density: 3.6
• Number of providers: 8

Details:

• Find more articles on broadband in Wilkin County (http://tinyurl.com/zh64v29)
• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 12
  House: 12A
• Find your reps

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)

Watonwan County is not primed to meet MN broadband speed goals for 2022 or 2026.

Green=served Purple=underesrved Red=unserved

Watonwan County has benefited from several state grants:

• 2017 – New Ulm Telecom, Inc. – Hanska A&D FTTP – GRANT $324,894
  Serving 9 unserved households and 38 unserved businesses in the Hanska area south of New Ulm near the border of Brown and Watonwan Counties with service levels to 1 Gbps.
• 2016 – NEW ULM TELECOM, INC. HANSKA – GRANT: $ 200,397
  Serving 14 unserved households and 32 unserved businesses in Lake Hanska Township in Brown County and Riverdale Township in Watonwan County.
• 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile
  Grant award: $808,080
  This project is a Middle Mile broadband infrastructure buildout to upgrade backhaul capacity between site locations within 20 southwestern Minnesota counties: Blue Earth, Chippewa, Cottonwood, Jackson, Kandiyohi, Lac Qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, Meeker, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Pipestone, Rock, Redwood, Renville, Sibley Swift, Watonwan, and Yellow Medicine.

Watonwan needs help to reach the speed goals. In November 2018, SDN announced two broadband partners to its Minnesota network, which will improve business broadband reach into two counties of that state – Nobles and Watonwan. That should help it.

In September 2019, Senator Smith visited Watonwan County to learn about the state of rural broadband.

Checklist:

• 100/20 ranking: 58 (down from 34)
• 25/3 ranking: 60
• Has worked with Blandin: yes
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
• Household density: 10.3
• Number of providers: 8

Details:

• Find more articles on broadband in Watonwan County (http://tinyurl.com/jpnf6xv)
• Districts: CD 1
  Senate: 23
  House: 23A, 23B
• Find your reps

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)

Waseca County is not poised to meet the broadband goals for either 2022 or 2026.

Green=served Purple=underesrved Red=unserved

It’s difficult to track the progress in Waseca because the numbers from 2017 include wireless access and the subsequent numbers include wireline only. Regardless, Waseca has not seen improvement in the last two years and with no broadband grants in the works, it seems unlikely that they will see an increase soon.

To meet the speed goals Waseca would need to develop a relationship with a provider and build a momentum.

Checklist:

• 100/20 ranking: 42 (down from 25)
• 25/3 ranking: 52
• Has worked with Blandin: yes
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: no
• Household density: 16.8
• Number of providers: 11

Details:

• Find more articles on broadband in Waseca County (http://tinyurl.com/z845jwy)
• Districts: CD 1
  Senate: 23, 24
  House: 23B, 24A
• Find your reps

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)

Wabasha County is not poised to meet the state broadband goals for either 2022 or 2026. They benefited from a grant in 2016 but not much has appeared on the radar since then.

Green=served Purple=underesrved Red=unserved

Wabasha has benefited from a state broadband grant:

• 2016 – NEW ULM TELECOM, INC. MAZEPPA – GRANT: $ 317,761
  Serving 87 unserved households, 11 unserved businesses and 66 underserved households in Mazeppa Township in Wabasha County with service levels to Gigabit.

Checklist:

• 100/20 ranking: 60 (down from 39)
• 25/3 ranking: 63
• Has worked with Blandin
• Has received a MN Broadband grant
• Household density: 16
• Number of providers: 9

Details:

• Find more articles on broadband in Wabasha County (http://tinyurl.com/gpllcg8)
• Districts: CD 2
  Senate: 21
  House: 21A, 21B
• Find your reps

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)

Traverse County is not poised to meet the MN broadband speed goals for either 2022 or 2026.

Green=served Purple=underesrved Red=unserved

In 2017, Mediacom has announced upgrades to Gig service in parts of Traverse County, specifically Wheaton. Traverse is also getting almost $2 million in FCC funding but that is over the next 10 years.

At a regional meeting hosted by Blandin Foundation in 2018, Traverse County gave an update on their broadband situation…

What was the story in Traverse County?
They found an interested provider in the area. They cut a deal where the county lent the company money and provided some easier access to towers. Once the provider got a certain number of providers, they had to look at paying back the loan. They’ve been successful. It’s wireless. It’s maybe not 25/3 but it’s better than what people had before.
Wireless isn’t wireless – it’s wireless to a tower that needs fiber.
Fixed wireless isn’t a long terms acceptable solution for Minnesota. They are akin to party lines. MY connectivity cannot depend on my neighbor’s trees (or on whether they build a new barn).
But fixed wireless is working in places like Renville Sibley County – where people can get fixed wireless and are happy to have it until FTTH becomes available.

Checklist:

• 100/20 ranking: 71
• 25/3 ranking: 78
• Has worked with Blandin: yes
• Has received a MN Broadband grant
• Household density: 2.6
• Number of providers: 7

Details:

• Find more articles on broadband in Traverse County (http://tinyurl.com/gmvojv8)
• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 12
  House: 12A
• Find your reps

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)

Todd County is not poised to meet the MN state speed goals for either 2022 or 2026.

Green=served Purple=underesrved Red=unserved

Todd County has benefited from a MN broadband grant:

• 2017 – WCTA (West Central Telephone Association) – Northern Todd County – GRANT $902,695
  Serving 209 unserved households and 6 unserved businesses within portions of Staples Township and Villard Township in Todd County with service levels to 1 Gbps down and 1 Gbps up.
• 2014 – Arvig (Mainstreet Communications LLC), Sauk Lake area
  Award: $536,702. Total project cost: $1.07 million. Impact: Service to 217 unserved premises.

Todd County was part of Region 5 (the Resilient Region) focusing on broadband improvements and was a Blandin Broadband Community.

Working with the Blandin Foundation, Todd County has been focused on better broadband for a long time. They may get some help in the near future. In May 2019, CTC announced plans to build out to Todd County. That would help a lot and might build momentum.

Todd County could benefit from future grants. In 2019, West Central Telephone Association (WCTA) applied to upgrade service in Todd. (That doesn’t mean they will get the grant; they have only applied.)

Checklist:

• 100/20 ranking: 79 (up from 81)
• 25/3 ranking: 72
• Has worked with Blandin: yes
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
• Household density: 10
• Number of providers: 9

Details:

• Find more articles on broadband in Todd County (http://tinyurl.com/gl47tgq)
• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 09
  House: 09A, 09B
• Find your reps

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)

Steele County is not poised to meet the MN broadband speed goals for either 2022 or 2026. Their numbers aren’t too far off the mark, but there is limited community involvement and visible momentum in that direction.

Green=served Purple=underesrved Red=unserved

Representative Daniels is a spokesperson for broadband, but action is limited.

Checklist:

• 100/20 ranking: 22
• 25/3 ranking: 35
• Has worked with Blandin: no
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: no
• Household density: 33.1
• Number of providers: 7

Details:

• Find more articles on broadband in Steele County (http://tinyurl.com/zd4qhbu)
• Districts: CD 1
  Senate: 24, 27
  House: 24A, 24B, 27A
• Find your reps

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)

Stearns County could reach the MN speed goals for both 2022 and 2026 with a concerted effort. They have  recent momentum happening in the area; that will help.

Green=served Purple=underesrved Red=unserved

Stearns County has benefited from two MN broadband grants:

• 2017 – Albany Mutual Telephone Association – Two Rivers Area – GRANT $616,743
  Serving serve 121 unserved households and home-based businesses in an area northeast of Albany in Stearns County with service levels to exceed the 2022 state goal of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload.
• 2016 – ALBANY MUTUAL TELEPHONE ASSOCIATION BIG WATAB LAKE – GRANT: $726,185
  Serving 242 unserved households near and around Big Watab Lake in Stearns County with service levels to 1 Gbps.

Stearns County also is in line to  benefit from FCC funding because Midcontinent Communications will receive $719,916 over  ten years to expand services in Stearns County. Also, in June 2019, Stearns County Board met to hear the conclusions of  a Blandin Foundation-supported feasibility study.

The future of the county’s progress toward the MN broadband speeds goals relies, to a great degree, on how that study is received.

Stearns County could benefit from future grants. In 2019, Albany Telephone, Meeker Coop and Arvig  applied to upgrade service in Stearns (That doesn’t mean they will get the grant; they have only applied.)

Checklist:

• 100/20 ranking: 32 (up from 64)
• 25/3 ranking: 29
• Has worked with Blandin: yes
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: no
• Household density: 40.5
• Number of providers: 13

Details:

• Find more articles on broadband in Stearns County (http://tinyurl.com/z463nan)
• Districts: CD 6
  Senate: 12, 13, 14
  House: 12B, 13A, 13B, 14A, 14B
• Find your reps

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)

Despite a region-wide focus on broadband, Sibley is unlikely to meet the 2022 or 2026 MN speed goals. But the region-wide focus will keep the vision alive.

Green=served Purple=underesrved Red=unserved

Sibley County has benefited from three state grants:

• 2017 – Winthrop Telephone Company, Inc. – Cornish Township FTTP Project – GRANT $365,895This last mile project will serve 58 unserved households and 2 unserved businesses in Cornish Township located in Sibley County in south central Minnesota. In a funding partnership with the State of Minnesota, Winthrop Telephone Company, Inc. will improve broadband service levels to 1 Gbps down and 1 Gbps up, exceeding the 2026 state speed goal. The 60 locations are primarily agricultural-related sites, which given the size and technical sophistication of these operations, need advanced broadband to remain vital and competitive.
• 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile
  Grant award: $808,080
  This project is a Middle Mile broadband infrastructure buildout to upgrade backhaul capacity between site locations within 20 southwestern Minnesota counties: Blue Earth, Chippewa, Cottonwood, Jackson, Kandiyohi, Lac Qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, Meeker, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Pipestone, Rock, Redwood, Renville, Sibley Swift, Watonwan, and Yellow Medicine.
• 2014 – R-S Fiber Cooperative, FTTH Project
  Award: $1 million. Total project cost: $3.32 million. Impact: Service to 62 unserved and 536 underserved locations in Sibley and Renville counties. The project is part of a larger cooperative project estimated at $38.46 million that will upgrade broadband services to several thousand locations in the region.

Sibley County (along with Renville) is another one of the few communities in Minnesota where their broadband story might make a good opera. Ten years ago, residents were getting fed up with poor connectivity.  To address the issue a joint Powers Board was formed that ultimately included all seven cities in Sibley county as well as the city of Fairfax in Renville County.

In 2010, Blandin Foundation awarded the group a feasibility study grant, and the JPB used the study results to educate the public about the need and opportunity for building a world-class network, and to seek financing.

In the fall of 2012, concerned about the project’s plan for how to structure the project’s debt service reserve fund, the Sibley Board of Commissioners, in a 3-2 vote, passed a resolution to withdraw from the JPB.

Undaunted, immediately following this vote, a group of farmers walked across the street and in an impromptu meeting, vowed to continue the effort by “going back to their roots” as one of them said, and form a coop.

RS Fiber Coop hired Hiawatha Broadband Corporation (HBC) to build and operate the gigabit fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) network when the project was launched, and in June of this year, RS Fiber announced the formation of a long-term operating relationship with HBC.

Sibley County was featured in a case study Blandin published on the community return on public investment in broadband…

The following investments have been made in the community:

• $8.7 million Generally Obligated Tax Abatement Bond (between Sibley and Renville Counties)
• $1 million Minnesota Border-to-Border Broadband Grant (2015) to RS Fiber
• $150,011 from Blandin Foundation for broadband adoption
• Total: $9,850,011

Using formulas devised to measure impact of broadband access, Sibley County has the potential to realize as a return on that investment:

• A combined household economic benefit of broadband of $32,774,600 annually
• A combined increase in residential real estate value of $104,825,572

Sibley County could benefit from future grants. In 2019, Winthrop Telephone applied to upgrade service in Sibley. (That doesn’t mean they will get the grant; they have only applied.)

Checklist:

• 100/20 ranking: 61
• 25/3 ranking: 68
• Has worked with Blandin: yes
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
• Household density: 10
• Number of providers: 10

Details:

• RS Fiberhas worked with the Blandin Foundation
• Find more articles on broadband in Sibley County(http://tinyurl.com/ztm6c9n)

• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 18
  House: 18B
• Find your reps

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)

Sherburne County is not poised to meet the MN broadband goals for either 2022 or 2026. Their numbers are actually pretty good, but they have seen only incremental improvements in the last few years. They need a renewed concerted effort to improve if they want to meet the state broadband goals.

Green=served Purple=underesrved Red=unserved

Sherburne County has benefited a few MN state grants:

• 2017 – Palmer Wireless – Sherburne County Road 3 – GRANT $110,661
  SErving serve 20 unserved households and 10 unserved businesses, and one underserved community institution in Sherburne County with speeds of 1 Gbps download and 500 Mbps upload.
• 2016 – PALMER WIRELESS BIG LAKE INDUSTRIAL PARK – GRANT: $ 90,988
  Serving 17 underserved businesses and 1 underserved community anchor institution in the Big Lake, MN, industrial park on the east edge of town, adjacent to US Hwy 10with service of  100 Mbps by 20 Mbps. The project will bring fiber-to-the-premise technology to the businesses, seeking to replicate the success of the 2014 Border-to-Border broadband grant project with the Becker Industrial Park, to make a positive impact on the economic health of Big Lake and the businesses in the park. Total eligible project cost is $211,600. Local match is $120,612.
• 2016 – PALMER WIRELESS DEL TONE ROAD AND ST. CLOUD AIRPORT – GRANT: $ 179,400
  Serving 14 unserved businesses and 1 unserved community anchor institution on the east side of St. Cloud, MN with services to 1 Gigabit.
• 2014 – Palmer Wireless, Becker Industrial Park
  Award: $151,934. Total project cost: $303,870. Impact: service to 21 underserved businesses in the Becker Industrial Park and 12 vacant city-owned lots covering 70 acres.

Sherburne County  was a 2015-2016 Blandin Broadband Community.  They also worked with  Blandin  on trying to improve their connectivity. Their connectivity is not bad, but it hasn’t improved much in the last few years.

Sherburne County could benefit from future grants. In 2019, Arvig applied to upgrade service in Sherburne. (That doesn’t mean they will get the grant; they have only applied.)

Checklist:

• 100/20 ranking: 49 (down from 36)
• 25/3 ranking: 30
• Has worked with Blandin: yes
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
• Household density: 67
• Number of providers: 12

Details:

• Find more articles on broadband in Sherburne County (http://tinyurl.com/zrgvpld)
• Districts: CD 6
  Senate: 14, 15, 30, 31
  House: 14B, 15A, 15B, 30A, 31A
• Has worked with the Blandin Foundation
• Find your reps

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)

St Louis County has seen great progress toward reaching the MN broadband goals for 2022 and 2026 but they will need to make a concerted effort to reach them.

Green=served Purple=underesrved Red=unserved

In 2010, ARRA funding brought fiber to St Louis County’s neighbor Cook County. And ARRA brought middle mile coverage to the Northeast Service Cooperative (NESC) which brings middle mile service to parts of St. Louis County. But large swaths of the county remain unserved and underserved.

St Louis County has benefited from several grants that have helped bring last mile to the NESC middle mile:

• 2017 – CenturyLink – Fredenberg Township FTTH Project – GRANT $1,809,312
  Serving 835 unserved households and 17 unserved businesses with fiber-to-the-home in Fredenberg Township near Duluth in St. Louis County with service levels to 1 Gbps.
• 2017 – Paul Bunyan Communications – North Central Fiber – GRANT $802,620
  Serving 657 unserved households, 29 unserved businesses, and 5 unserved community institutions, and 130 underserved households, 13 underserved businesses, and 1 underserved community institution near the communities of Park Rapids, Bigfork, and Side Lake, MN, to locations in St. Louis, Itasca, and Hubbard Counties with Gigabit service.
• 2017 – MEDIACOM FAYAL TOWNSHIP – GRANT: $263,345
  Serving 167 unserved households, 3 unserved businesses, and 92 underserved households in Fayal Township, south of Eveleth in St. Louis with service levels to 100 Mbps download by 20 Mbps up.
• 2014 – Mediacom, Pintar Road
  Award: $137,848. Total project cost: $275,697. Impact: Service to 122 unserved homes and businesses on the southwest edge of the city limits of Hibbing.
• 2014 – Northeast Service Cooperative – Frontier Communications Corp., Border to Border Phase I
  Award: $1.96 million. Total project cost: $4.35 million. Impact: Service to 877 homes and businesses in St. Louis County, including areas in and around Crane Lake, Alborn, Meadowlands, Brookston, Forbes, Kelsey, Soudan, Kabetogama, Ely and Tower.

St Louis continues to work on broadband. They’ve had some issues with Frontier Communications.  They’ve had updates on various projects from CenturyLink and Paul Bunyan Telephone Company. In June they hosted a county-wide broadband summit. . They heard from farmers who benefit from fiber and local business who needs it and armed with stories of Blandin Foundation supported projects the area, they spoke about the need for county intervention to make broadband happen.

St Louis County could benefit from future grants. In 2019, CenturyLink and Cooperative Light and Power (CLP)  applied to upgrade service in St Louis. (That doesn’t mean they will get the grant; they have only applied.)

Checklist:

• 100/20 ranking: 38 (up from 82)
• 25/3 ranking: 43
• Has worked with Blandin: yes
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
• Household density: 12.4
• Number of providers: 19

Details:

• Find more articles on broadband in St Louis County (http://tinyurl.com/jnm9jah)
• Districts: CD 8
  Senate: 03, 06, 07, 11
  House: 03A, 03B, 06A, 06B, 07A, 07B, 11A
• Find your reps

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)

Roseau County is not poised to meet the MN broadband goals for either 2022 or 2026. They have been fortunate with state grants; getting more would increase their chances for meeting the goals.

Green=served Purple=underesrved Red=unserved

Roseau has benefited from several MN broadband grants:

• 2017 – Wikstrom Telephone – Wiktel NW MN Broadband – GRANT $1,307,785
  This project will serve rural sparsely populated areas in Kittson, Marshall, and Roseau counties in far northwestern Minnesota, passing 300 unserved homes and 31 unserved business locations.  In a funding partnership with the State of Minnesota, Wikstrom will improve broadband services levels to 1 Gbps down and up, exceeding the 2026 state speed goal, on a fiber optic network, and in some locations will extend the service from routes built via the 2016 Border to Border State Grant program. The broadband improvements will foster opportunities in economic development, successful education services for children and adults alike, and allow for critical home health care monitoring in this remote area.
• 2016 – SJOBERG’S INC. ROSEAU AND LAKE OF THE WOODS COUNTIES — GRANT: $354,740
  Serving 126 unserved households, 30 unserved businesses and 1 community anchor institution in several areas in Roseau and Lake of the Woods Counties with service exceeding 100 Mbps by 20 Mbps.
• 2016 – CENTURYLINK THIEF RIVER MIDDLE MILE – GRANT: $1,324,400
  Serving 491 unserved households and 118 unserved businesses in a 71.4 mile fiber build from Thief River to Roseau With services at 25 Mbps download by 3 Mbps.
• 2016 – WIKSTROM TELEPHONE COMPANY WIKTEL NW MN – GRANT: $950,823
  Serving 236 unserved households and 26 unserved business in rural sparsely populated areas in Kittson, Marshall, Roseau, and Lake of the Woods counties with service levels to 1 Gigabit.
• 2014 – Sjoberg Cable, Broadband Grant Proposal
  Award: $261,575. Total project cost: $523,150. Impact: Services to 107 unserved and 49 underserved homes, farms and businesses in five areas in Roseau County near Roseau, Warroad and Salol.
• 2014 – Wikstrom Telephone, Kittson, Marshall, Roseau Broadband Extension
  Award: $425,000. Total project cost: $943,827. Impact: Service to 73 unserved and 43 underserved homes in Kittson, Marshall and Roseau counties

In 2018, at a regional discussion on broadband hosted by the Blandin Foundation, Mark Klinkhammer of Garden Valley Telephone mentioned that he had been talking with Roseau Electric to expand to some areas. As a cooperative, they are motivated to get services to their people.

Roseau County could benefit from future grants. In 2019, Roseau Electric Coop and Wikstrom applied to upgrade service in Roseau. (That doesn’t mean they will get the grant; they have only applied.)

Checklist:

• 100/20 ranking:48 (down from 35)
• 25/3 ranking: 66
• Has worked with Blandin: no
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
• Household density: 3.7
• Number of providers: 5

Details:

• Find more articles on broadband in Roseau County (http://tinyurl.com/gsq45ua)
• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 01
  House: 01A
• Find your reps

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)