Category Archives: Funding

Pine River policymaker says state funding for broadband in near future is unlikely

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The Pine and Lakes Echo Journal reports…

The Pine River Economic Development Corporation facilitated a legislative forum Monday, Jan. 19, in the Pine River-Backus High School Media Center, offering residents and businesses the opportunity to ask questions of area state legislators.

Legislators included District 5A Rep. Krista Knudsen, R-Lake Shore; District 6A Rep. Ben Davis, R-Mission Township; District 5 Sen. Paul Utke, R-Park Rapids; District 6 Sen. Keri Heintzeman, R-Nisswa; and District 6B Rep. Josh Heintzeman, R-Nisswa.

Broadband was one of the topics…

Five topics were prepared ahead of the two-hour forum, including: efficient communication with state agencies about underutilized state property, Minnesota Paid Family Leave Act and legislation, broadband funding, Highway 371 development, and the future of bipartisan communications in the Legislature.

And what was reported…

Legislators talked about the limits of broadband access in rural Minnesota in spite of federal and state programs supposedly designed to bridge those gaps. Josh Heintzeman said it is very difficult to pass bills for broadband expansion if it restricts those funds to outstate districts.

He said with current budget woes, it is unlikely that there will be funding in the near future for more state broadband grant money.

Utke said the money is sometimes directed based on decisions by the businesses in charge of installation.

“It’s a business decision in a lot of cases with how much work they can handle this season and what they are going to do, and in some cases they will go after certain grants that fit their business models,” Utke said.

Utke said those businesses might choose to expand in one place versus another based on existing infrastructure, weather, convenience and population density.

Because they have the chance of serving more customers, those businesses may be less interested in projects that capture a smaller number of rural customers as opposed to those living in a more densely packed city area.

Utke said state grants have requirements that federal grants do not, such as requiring contractors to pay prevailing wages, which can eat into the profit margins of a broadband project.

A Minnesota view of Broadband Breakfast’s State BEAD Roundtable session

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The Broadband Breakfast session with State Broadband Offices was interesting and an easy format in which to engage. [Added 7:30pm Jan 21: Here’s the Broadband Breakfast article on it.] Here’s a quick description…

State broadband offices are now deep into BEAD implementation, managing billions in federal funding while navigating deployment timelines, subgrantee oversight, and compliance requirements. This roundtable aims to bring together state broadband directors and program leaders to share lessons learned, troubleshoot common challenges, and discuss emerging best practices from the field. The conversation will also address how states are measuring progress, ensuring speedy and thorough deployment, and adapting strategies as ground-level realities meet original plans.

Bree Maki from the MN Office of Broadband Development was one of the panelists. I’m sure they will post a full video later but I thought I’d share a view from Minnesota.

Update on MN from Bree

  • We have NTIA’s BEAD approval
  • We do not have NIST approval
  • We are getting everything ready to distribute funds when we do get approval

General notes

  • Getting NIST approval seems to be a slow process for everyone
  • The issue is that states can’t start without approval.
  • One advantage of the slow process is learning more about what NTIA wants from other states

Some compelling questions from participants – and some answers if the question was posed verbally – as opposed to in the chat:

Q: The NTIA T&C say BEAD sub-recipients cannot use “any” USF funds. So that means schools, libraries, health providers who get BEAD connections cannot get E-rate or RHC support. Can state leaders push back on this? It is understandable not to get high-cost support, but why limit E-rate/RHC funding?

Q: Could we get a state officer to address whether or not they need to or will request from US Treasury an extension on unspent ARPA funds by 12-26? If any have sought extensions, have they been granted? If not, what are states doing? If unused ARPA funds have to be returned, what is the state’s plan to replace those funds? Thank you.
A: In MN we simply plan to spend it all in time.

Q: Question for everyone… satellite has been available to rural communities for years now…and uptake is not more than single-digit percentage points. Does uptake impact how LEO providers will be funded? Are they only reimbursed for sites that adopt or for ALL that were designated LEO? How will the SBOs help drive uptake, if at all? Should we just call LEO sites what they are… the new digital divide?
A: In WI, we look at capacity and subscription benchmarks and pay based on subscription rates.
A: In MN, we’re waiting on guidance for what milestones we should be considering. People in the field are wondering what the state is paying for with satellite when it’s already available.

Q: Our state is saying that NTIA is requiring a third-party final speed test that is paid from the sub -recipients. Are there any states that are providing these final speed tests since there can be discrepancies?
A IN MN, last summer we did 35,000 speed tests with our partner.

Q: Is there any concern about NTIA implementing changes to BEAD without submitting a CRA report, potentially making the rules ineffective, and/or causing more delay?
A: Folks seem to think it’s a nonissue.

Willmar MN gets nice nod in list of Municipal Networks that Launched in 2025 – for getting so close

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The Institute for Local Self Reliance reports…

By any measure, 2025 was a tough year in the grand project to extend fast, affordable, reliable broadband access to every home in the United States. The Digital Equity Act was abruptly cancelled, BEAD was restructured, small- and large-scale outages were common, and prices from the monopolies rose yet again.

But good things happened, too. In 2025, we saw seven new municipal broadband networks across the country that were lit up for service. As is usual, it was a mixture of partnerships, business models, and construction approaches to meet the unique challenges of a patchwork broadband landscape.

Willmar gets a nice nod…

Honorable mention to cities like Willmar, Minnesota – which did a monumental amount of preparatory work in 2025 and will start building its open access retail network later this year.

Minnesota awarded almost all of requested $200M federal grant to boost rural health care

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The Minnesota Star Tribune reports…

Fearing political reprisals from President Donald Trump’s administration, Minnesota leaders were relieved late last month when they received almost all of the $200 million in federal grants they requested to boost rural health care in the state in 2026.

Now they have precious few months to invest the $193 million in areas such as telehealth and rural training and show progress before the 2027 funding application deadline hits this summer. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is adjusting its health goals based on the actual award and soon will court hospitals, clinics, public health agencies and tribes to use the money and prove it makes a difference.

2025 Minnesota Rural Health Policy Summit Report: no mention of broadband

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The 2025 Minnesota Rural Health Policy Summit Report looks at five policy priority area definitions

  • Access: Ensuring all Minnesotans—regardless of geography—can obtain timely, affordable, and individually appropriate care.
  • Funding: Advocate for sustainable and equitable funding models that reflect the unique needs of rural providers and communities.
  • Innovation: Promoting rural-centered innovation in care delivery, technology, and community partnerships to ensure sustainability.
  • Regulation: Supporting regulatory frameworks that protect patient safety and reduce administrative burdens that build flexible rural health systems.
  • Workforce: Strengthening the rural health workforce by expanding education pathways, incentivizing rural practice, and embracing community-rooted solutions

I was expecting “access” to discussion access to broadband with an eye toward using telehealth. It didn’t. I don’t have a lot more to say about that, except that broadband – and telehealth – weren’t hot topics.

The exception was a mention of remote access under the umbrella of innovation…

Policy solutions focused on payment or incentive solutions that focus on prevention, address specific needs, or provide specific services, have controls for security, and means to monitor outcomes. The group emphasized that innovations should integrate environmental impacts. Policy suggestions include making the virtual visits telehealth extender permanent and aligning payments for virtual visit models with in-person visit models.

The extension of funding will help those who can access online visits but still leaves out those without adequate broadband.

Policymakers introduce bipartisan rural broadband access bill

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Ag Daily reports…

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing to extend federal support for broadband infrastructure aimed at improving internet access in rural America.

U.S. Sens. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., introduced the Middle Mile for Rural America Act, legislation that would reauthorize a U.S. Department of Agriculture program supporting middle-mile broadband projects for another five years.

The bill proposes a reauthorization covering fiscal years 2026 through 2031, extending authority under the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to fund middle-mile broadband infrastructure that connects rural communities to high-speed internet networks.

RUS has been working on middle mile since 2018…

The USDA’s Rural Utilities Service gained authority to support stand-alone middle-mile broadband projects under the 2018 Farm Bill. Prior to that change, middle-mile infrastructure could only be funded indirectly through last-mile broadband projects.

A slight change would extend support…

If enacted, the Middle Mile for Rural America Act would amend Section 602(g) of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 by replacing “2018 through 2023” with “2026 through 2031,” extending USDA’s authority to support middle-mile broadband infrastructure in rural communities.

North Star and Pequaywan Townships are excited for BEAD funding for broadband (St Louis County)

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The folks in St Louis County are clearly excited about the promise of broadband. They are getting a lot of local press. WDIO reports…

An early Christmas present for North Star and Pequaywan Townships. Leaders found out they are getting federal funding to pay for broadband for about 550 locations.

Minnesota’s broadband funding proposal has been approved, and that means Mediacom will get money to bring a fiber optic network to the rural townships.

This has been in the works since 2009. Janet Keough was a township supervisor then. “I teared up when I heard the news,” she shared. “I was jumping up and down. I can’t believe it’s actually happening.”

Rod Saline is a current supervisor, and told us everyone is very excited. “We got a lot of help from other townships that have gotten broadband.”

Mediacom will be putting in about 38 miles of cable. Saline told us they have already been doing some site prep work. So the hope is that they’ll break ground this spring.

More on the Broadband in rural St. Louis County

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I wrote about the good news in St Louis County earlier, but always nice to see more mainstream media sources pick up on it. Fox21 also tells the story, with video…

After more than a decade of planning and persistence, broadband internet is finally expanding to four of St. Louis County’s most rural townships.

In an era where internet access is often taken for granted, many families in rural parts of the county have long struggled with limited or unreliable service. Leaders say geography and distance have made it difficult for providers to justify the costly infrastructure needed to reach these areas.

That reality is now changing.

“I started crying. I couldn’t believe it after all this time,” said retired township supervisor Jan Keough, who has been involved in the effort since 2009.

“The main lesson is, persistence pays off,” Keough said.

Another key figure in the project is Rod Saline, a supervisor for North Star Township, one of the four townships slated to receive broadband service. Saline said approximately 548 residents will now have the opportunity to connect.

He says the benefits go far beyond faster internet speeds.

Rural St Louis County is getting better broadband through BEAD and Mediacom

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News from North Star Township and Pequaywan Township in St Louis County..

Minnesota broadband grants, funded by the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), will include funding to Mediacom to bring a fiber optic network to rural North Star and Pequaywan Townships and adjacent areas. On December 22, 2025, Senator Klobuchar announced that the Minnesota grant program had been approved by NTIA. “I’m thrilled to announce that Minnesota’s broadband funding
proposal has been approved, which will bring fast, affordable, reliable internet to families in every
corner of our state, especially in North Star, Pequaywan, and other rural townships,” said Senator
Klobuchar. “This funding is available thanks to my bipartisan legislation that I fought to pass so that
Minnesota families—regardless of their ZIP code—have access to high-speed internet.”
“For more than a decade, the residents and leaders of North Star and Pequaywan Townships have done everything right—planning, organizing, and advocating for better connectivity—and this investment finally delivers on that work,” said Bree Maki, Executive Director of The Office of
Broadband Development “BEAD funding is designed to reach exactly these kinds of rural communities
that the market alone has not served, and this project will help to ensure families, businesses, and first responders in St. Louis County have access to reliable, affordable, high-speed internet that meets today’s needs and tomorrow’s opportunities.”
North Star and Pequaywan Townships along with a handful of other rural townships in St Louis County,
have been working to bring reliable, affordable and fast internet access to their communities since 2009. Townships have lobbied providers, conducted feasibility studies, satisfaction surveys, and outreach. More populous townships have attracted broadband providers, but the more rural and less populous townships including North Star and Pequaywan have had no success until now.
In St. Louis County, Mediacom, in recent years, began building a fiber optic network in Lakewood Township and later, into Normanna Township, bringing their network to the North Star Township border. This gave township officials new incentive to convince Mediacom to extend north. Mediacom successfully applied for BEAD funding for North Star and Pequaywan Townships and adjacent areas.
“We are thrilled to have recently been awarded grants through the state’s BEAD program,” said Christopher Lord, Mediacom’s Senior Director of Government Partnership Opportunities. “We have long enjoyed a highly collaborative relationship with the amazing team at Minnesota DEED, and NorthStar Township, Pequaywan Township, Ault Township, and Unorganized Township 54-13, have been great local partners throughout this process. We look forward to delivering fiber-to-the-home broadband services to these communities and seeing the great impact these services will have on the residents and businesses in these townships.”

Funding from the BEAD program will also greatly expand broadband availability across in St Louis County. Commissioner Paul McDonald noted “This is fantastic news for these townships who have been working diligently for over 15 years to get quality broadband”.
Officials from North Star and Pequaywan Townships have been working to prepare their property owners to get the Mediacom fiber optic service through hosting town hall meetings and newsletters.
Rod Saline, North Star Supervisor, noted “Our citizens, small businesses, and especially our Fire/EMS Department, are looking forward to having access to reliable, affordable, and really fast broadband!”
Doug Nelson, Pequaywan Supervisor, added “This announcement from Sen Klobuchar is welcome news for all the residents in our area as this broadband service is greatly needed.”
Information on the Minnesota BEAD broadband program can be found at:
https://mn.gov/deed/programs-services/broadband/bead/

Happy New Year! 2026 MN County Profiles – how is your county doing?

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The MN Broadband County Profiles were posted in late December. Click on your county below to learn more about your community or see how your county compares to others for access to 100 Mbps down and 20 up, the 2026 MN State speed goal. After a year of waiting and at the same time the profiles were posted, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approved Minnesota’s BEAD proposal for federal funding. The profiles and the proposal are tools you can use to highlight broadband needs and/or successes in your community or to reach out to local leaders.

Here’s hoping better broadband for us all in 2026!

Senators introduce the SUCCESS for BEAD Act authorizing BEAD funds for broadband enhancement

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Senator Wicker reports…

U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss. and Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V. introduced the Supporting U.S. Critical Connectivity and Economic Strategy and Security for BEAD Act (SUCCESS for BEAD Act). This legislation would authorize states to use remaining funds from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program for projects that support state’s deployment plan by enhancing public safety, improving network resiliency, strengthening national security, and developing a qualified workforce for emerging technologies. The overarching goal is to advance digital infrastructure readiness and sustain U.S. leadership in innovation by providing clear guardrails for the eligible uses of the remaining funds.

Minnesota receives federal approval on their final BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment) proposal

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Broadband Breakfast reports…

Five more states have received federal approval on their final spending plans under the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program.

Idaho, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Utah now have the green light from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, according to the agency’s BEAD progress tracker. That brings the total to 34 states and three territories.

Here’s what they said about Minnesota…

Idaho and Minnesota’s plans saw few changes. The other plans approved by NTIA have for the most part also not significantly changed from public drafts.

Just Thursday (Dec 18), the Office of Broadband Development told the Task Force that the approval was coming soon.

I started the MN Broadband County Profiles after that meeting – hoping the status wouldn’t change or at least wouldn’t change until after I posted. I try to write reports for 87 counties over 3-4 days. I’m halfway through that list and hope to post Monday or Tuesday. ANd really, the approval doesn’t change much to the reports.

How many locations in your county get BEAD funding in the latest proposal? And for what level of broadband?

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I’ll start with an important caveat; the Minnesota BEAD Final Proposal has not yet been approved. Subsequently, the information based on that latest proposal is subject to change. The Office of Broadband Development (OBD) gave a nice overview of what’s happening with BEAD and more yesterday. It sounds as if approval is expected any day now.

OBD has posted a spreadsheet of locations slated to get BEAD funding by county and by provider/mode of broadband. Below is the highest-level look at how many locations will be served in each county. (Or you can visit the OBD site for more information or check out the spreadsheet I have downloaded on Dec 18, 2025.) I was tempted to rank the counties but because not all options are the same, it’s not a apples-to-apples comparison. When you look at your own county, you want to see what types of broadband and what companies are proposed to serve your area.

Locations         Grand Total County
   
                             1,255 Aitkin
                             1,437 Anoka
                             1,343 Becker
                                  361 Benton
                                     24 Big Stone
                                  782 Blue Earth
                                  943 Brown
                             3,339 Carlton
                                  460 Carver
                                     91 Cass
                                        4 Chippewa
                             1,278 Chisago
                                     30 Clay
                                        8 Clearwater
                                     83 Cook
                                  649 Cottonwood
                             1,174 Crow Wing
                                  928 Dakota
                                     94 Dodge
                                  484 Douglas
                                        7 Faribault
                                  765 Fillmore
                             2,302 Goodhue
                                        3 Grant
                             1,329 Hennepin
                             1,549 Houston
                                     74 Hubbard
                             1,886 Isanti
                                  266 Itasca
                                  197 Jackson
                             1,026 Kanabec
                                  617 Kandiyohi
                                     14 Kittson
                             1,689 Koochiching
                                        1 Lac qui Parle
                             1,360 Lake
                                  329 Lake of the Woods
                             1,129 Le Sueur
                                        2 Lincoln
                                     22 Lyon
                                  110 Mahnomen
                                     10 Marshall
                                     50 Martin
                                  625 McLeod
                                  554 Meeker
                                  453 Mille Lacs
                                  687 Morrison
                                  165 Mower
                                     13 Murray
                             1,130 Nicollet
                                     65 Nobles
                             2,329 Olmsted
                                  933 Otter Tail
                                     86 Pennington
                             2,587 Pine
                                     63 Pipestone
                                     37 Polk
                                     30 Pope
                                  323 Ramsey
                                  373 Redwood
                                  217 Renville
                             2,188 Rice
                                     48 Rock
                                     92 Roseau
                             1,866 Scott
                             1,601 Sherburne
                                  954 Sibley
                          11,678 St. Louis
                             1,651 Stearns
                                  178 Steele
                                        6 Stevens
                                     15 Swift
                             2,378 Todd
                             2,986 Wabasha
                                     19 Wadena
                                     17 Waseca
                             2,390 Washington
                                     11 Watonwan
                             1,463 Winona
                             5,024 Wright
                          74,739 Grand Total

 

Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation (IRRR) invests $913,000 in Paul Bunyan Communications

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The Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation (IRRR) reports…

At today’s Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation (IRRR) Board meeting, approximately $18.8 million in projects were reviewed that expand an existing business, advance mining operations, support higher education offerings, extend broadband service, increase the housing inventory and modernize infrastructure and public facilities.

$913,000 went to broadband grants…

  • Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Cooperative: $600,000 to construct fiber optics to serve 128 unserved and 18 underserved households in Field, Alango and Sturgeon Townships in rural Saint Louis County. This is Phase 2 of a larger fiber optic expansion initiative.
  • Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Cooperative: $313,000 to construct fiber optics to serve 146 unserved and underserved households in the communities of Cook, Marble, Keewatin and northeast Hibbing in Saint Louis County and rural Itasca County.

Willmar Connect bids to build open-access broadband are coming in

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The West Central Tribune reports…

The West Central Tribune reports…

The city of Willmar announced Wednesday that it opened bids for phase one of the city-wide, open-access broadband project known as Willmar Connect, with the apparent low bid coming in under the estimated costs for phase one construction.

Phase one involves constructing the network operations center and installing fiber throughout all the neighborhoods west of First Street South, between U.S. Highway 12 and 19th Avenue. Phase one may expand into areas within phase two of the project if there are clusters of residents and businesses who have completed the advance sign-up for the service.

The infrastructure will be owned by the city and the network will be managed by Hometown Fiber. Multiple internet service providers can contract with the city to offer services on the network for a fee, which will be used to pay the principal and interest on the bonds that will fund the construction of the project. Eventually, those fees are expected to generate revenue for the city, as well.

If approved by the Willmar City Council on Dec. 15, construction of phase one of the Willmar Connect project will begin in early 2026. The project has been a long time coming since it was first considered in 2022, with thorough vetting and research completed by the city to ensure its success.