Rank: 4
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Stevens County: So close

Stevens County ranks 4 (up 14 points) for broadband access out of 87 counties.   

Stevens County ranking will notch back to yellow in part because of the reductions seen on the map and in part because of the lack of movement forward for so many years.

• Over the years, Stevens County (or cities within) has not invested in matches for any successful MN Broadband grants.
• Stevens County will not benefit from a 2024 MN Broadband grant.
• Stevens County will benefit from 1 line extension award (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $1.1 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
• In 2022, Stevens ranked 25 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
• Stevens County has been involved with broadband for years – going back to working with Blandin Foundation-led, Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities (2009-2012) effort.

Broadband Access:

Grants:

• 2022: Runestone Telephone Association – Herman-Dumont – GRANT $2,493,637
• 2017 – Advantenon – Rural Grant, Stevens and Wilkin Counties – Grant $316,554
• 2014 – Otter Tail Telcom, Swan Lake West – Award: $438,937.

Find more articles on broadband in Stevens County (http://tinyurl.com/joutu2h)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2024. Red dots represent locations unserved locations. Above I have tracked wireline access because that is the Minnesota definition of broadband. The info below includes wired and wireless. BEAD includes fixed wireless connections as served locations. (I wrote more on the distinction between the two last year, which may be if interest in the numbers range greatly for your county.)

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)

Rank: 65
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Stearns bump up from green to yellow but with grants on the way

Stearns County ranks 65 (down 23 points) for broadband access and out of 87 counties; their coverage has also gone down, which is likely due to more stringent mapping.

Stearns County saw a great increase in broadband in 2019 and have been stagnant since that time. They will benefit from $10 million in MN State Broadband Grants. That should help bump up coverage for next year. For this year, they get a yellow rank.

• Over the years, Stearns County (or cities within) has invested $9,747,192 (total) for matches for 5 successful MN Broadband grants. This is an indicator of local government that is engaged and (literally) invested in better, local broadband.
• Stearns County will benefit from four Broadband grants:
  $1.5 million to serve 153 locations
  $700,000 to serve 113 locations,
  $7.1 million to serve 108 locations and
  $900,000 to serve 55 locations
• Stearns County will benefit from 16 line extension awards (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $73.1 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
• In 2022, Stearns ranked 31 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

2024 Grants:

• County: Stearns
  Runestone Telecom Association Crow Lake
  Grant: $1,538,614
  Local Match: $512,875
  Total Budget: $2,051,489
  This Low Density Runestone Telecom Association Crow Lake project will be a Last Mile project within Crow Lake Township in rural western Stearns County, improving the available broadband service speeds from under 25 Mbps to 1,000 Mbps, with room for future bandwidth needs for schools, farms, businesses, anchor institutions, and residents. This project will serve 153 locations, including 114 unserved and 39 served locations. Crow Lake Township is a funding partner with a contribution of $18,000.
• County: Stearns
  Arvig Stearns County Wakefield & Luxemburg Area
  Grant: $708,790
  Local Match: $866,299
  Total Budget: $1,575,089
  The Arvig Stearns County Wakefield & Luxemburg Area project will serve locations in Stearns County around the Wakefield and Luxemburg area, bringing fiber-to-the-home up to 10 Gbps download speeds and 1 Gbps upload, and to 10 Gbps for businesses. This project will bring reliable, fast fiber internet to this area for the first time, opening opportunities for 113 locations, including 46 unserved and 67 underserved locations. Stearns County is contributing $661,537 towards this project.
• County: Stearns
  Representative Lisa Demuth, Senator Jeff Howe
  Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association Paynesville Township
  Grant: $542,077
  Local Match: $662,538
  Total Budget: $1,204,615
  The Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association Paynesville Township project will provide fiber-to-the premise broadband access to rural sites in Paynesville Township in Stearns County, Minnesota. This project will improve unserved/underserved levels of service up to 1 gigabit per second download and upload speeds resulting in more efficient and effective e-learning, telemedicine options and enhanced precision agriculture tools to 108 locations, including 102 unserved and 6 underserved addresses. Stearns County and Paynesville Township have pledged $357,845 towards this project.
• County: Stearns
  AMTA – Stearns Phase 2
  Grant: $7,123,175
  Local Match: $13,287,069
  Total Budget: $20,410,244
  Albany will bring fiber to 1,395 locations. Albany’s Phase 2 project is east of its Stearns County Phase 1, currently under construction around the Holdingford area of Central Stearns County. In collaborating with Stearns County, Albany added a small area south of Interstate 94 south of Avon, as well as the rural area south of St. Joseph. Stearns County is a funding partner on this project, contributing $2.85M.
• County: Stearns
  Arvig
  Arvig – Stearns Cty
  Grant: $910,537
  Local Match: $303,512
  Total Budget: $1,214,049
  This Border-to-Border project will extend broadband services to 55 locations in portions of Elrosa, Lake Henry, and Roscoe in Stearns County. All locations would be able to receive up to 10 Gbps download speeds and 1 Gbps upload (even to 10 Gbps for businesses). $218,528.81 of the project cost will be covered by Stearns County. Farms within the project area will have the opportunity for farmers to incorporate more technology to their farming efforts such as using smart irrigation systems and self-driving machinery.

Past Grants:

• 2023: Runestone Telephone Assoc. – Stearns County West Phase 2 – GRANT $4,800,000
• 2022: Albany Mutual Telephone, $746,964.00
• 2022: Melrose Telephone Co. dba Arvig, $4,974,570.00 (Learn more)
• ReConnect funding through Upsala Cooperative Telephone Association in Morrison, Stearns and Todd counties.

• 2017 – Albany Mutual Telephone Association – Two Rivers Area – GRANT $616,743
• 2016 – ALBANY MUTUAL TELEPHONE ASSOCIATION BIG WATAB LAKE – GRANT: $726,185
• Arvig (Melrose Telephone Company) – Eden Valley & Melrose Area Project – GRANT $393,890

• MN State Grant awarded in 2021: Sytek Communications – Morrison/Todd/Stearns County FTTP Project – GRANT $1,048,668 This last mile project will bring service to 130 locations in Southwest Morrison, Southeastern Todd and Northeastern Stearns counties.

Find more articles on broadband in Stearns County (http://tinyurl.com/z463nan)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2024. Red dots represent locations unserved locations. Above I have tracked wireline access because that is the Minnesota definition of broadband. The info below includes wired and wireless. BEAD includes fixed wireless connections as served locations. (I wrote more on the distinction between the two last year, which may be if interest in the numbers range greatly for your county.)

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)

Rank: 65
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

St Louis County: Gearing up for a big push?

St Louis County ranks 65 (up 3 places) for broadband access out of 87 counties. Connectivity has been stagnant but they will benefit from $7 million in MN State grants in the near future. That will help get them closer to ubiquitous broadband. Maybe after that they will rank green, for 2024, they are still yellow. Maybe t

• Over the years, St Louis County (or cities within) has invested $4,573,980 (total) for matches for 9 successful MN Broadband grants. This is an indicator of local government that is engaged and (literally) invested in better, local broadband.
• St Louis County will benefit from five 2024 MN Broadband grants:
  $3.9 million to serve 420 locations,
  $232,000 to serve 196 locations,
  $145,000 to serve 196 locations,
  $2.3 million to serve 303 locations and
  $961,000 to serve 294 locations
• St Louis County will benefit from 69 line extension awards (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $227 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
• In 2022, St Louis ranked 84^th using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

2024 Grants

• County: St. Louis
  Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Cooperative NW St. Louis County GigaZone Expansion
  Grant: $3,924,157
  Local Match: $2,099,108
  Total Budget: $6,023,265
  This Low Density Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Cooperative NW St. Louis County will begin construction on the Northwest St. Louis County GigaZone Project, which will serve rural portions of northwest St. Louis County. This project will serve a total of 420 locations, including 355 unserved and 65 underserved homes, businesses, farms, and community anchor institutions. Funding partners include; St. Louis County Broadband Infrastructure- $400,000, IRRRB Broadband Infrastructure-$400,000, Alango Township-$41,200, Field Township-$17,800, Sturgeon Township-$40,000.
• County: St. Louis
  Representative Liz Olson, Senator Jen McEwen
  Mediacom LLC Lakewood South
  Grant: $232,800
  Local Match: $543,200
  Total Budget: $775,999
  The Mediacom LLC Lakewood South project will provide a Fiber to the Home (FTTH) broadband solution to unserved and underserved homes, businesses, and community anchors the southern portion of Lakewood Township in St. Louis County. This project will provide speeds of 2,000 Mbps download and 1,000 Mbps upload to 196 underserved addresses.
• County: St. Louis
  Representative Liz Olson, Senator Jen McEwen
  Mediacom LLC Lakewood Normanna
  Grant: $145,000
  Local Match: $526,325
  Total Budget: $671,325
  The Mediacom LLC Lakewood Normanna project will provide a Fiber to the Home (FTTH) broadband solution to unserved and underserved homes, businesses, and community anchors in Normanna Township in St. Louis County. This project will provide speeds of 2,000 Mbps download and 1,000 Mbps upload to 60 underserved addresses. Funding Partners and their matches are; St. Louis County with $400,000 and Normanna Township with $5,000.
• County: St. Louis
  Consolidated Telephone Company
  CTC – RD9 Clinton Twp
  Grant: $2,292,790
  Local Match: $2,292,790
  Total Budget: $4,585,580
  Consolidated Telephone Company’s (CTC) project brings fiber to portions of rural St. Louis, Crow Wing, and Morrison Counties in Minnesota. This fiber-to-the-premise project includes 303 passings. The project includes contributions from St. Louis County of $400,000 and the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) of $1,312,093.00. CTC has successfully been awarded broadband implementation grant funding from state and federal agencies and currently owns and operates approximately 4,500 miles of fiber optics while serving over 17,000 members in central and northeastern Minnesota.
• County: St. Louis
  Mediacom LLC
  Mediacom – Esquagama Lake
  Grant: $961,102
  Local Match: $961,102
  Total Budget: $1,922,204
  This broadband grant project is focused on the area of Esquagama Lake located in St. Louis County, which will provide Fiber to the Home (FTTH) broadband service with speeds up to 2,000 Mbps download and 1,000 Mbps upload to a total of 294 locations. The closest state university, University of Minnesota Duluth, is 58 miles away. This level of broadband service would allow students to complete a full degree program remotely as offered by the university. Healthcare is another major area of life that is impacted by the expansion of service in this grant project. 287 households, 3 businesses, and 4 farms will have access to high speed broadband when the project is complete.

Past Grants:

• 2023: Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Coop – Paul Bunyan Communications Rural GigaZone Fiber – GRANT $5,569,281
• 2022: Mediacom Minnesota LLC, $7,363,624.53
• 2022: Mediacom Minnesota LLC – Esko – GRANT $4,400,732
• 2022: Mediacom Minnesota LLC – Project 19 – Hibbing – GRANT $2,141,135
• 2022: Paul Bunyan Communications – Northern Minnesota GigaZone Fiber – GRANT $3,052,120
• 2022: Savage Communications Inc., $562,098.00
• 2022: Consolidated Telephone Company, $4,857,030.00 (serving St Louis and Cass)
• 2022: Mediacom Minnesota LLC – Esquagama Lake – GRANT $821,758

• 2017 – CenturyLink – Fredenberg Township FTTH Project – GRANT $1,809,312
  2017 – Paul Bunyan Communications – North Central Fiber – GRANT $802,620
• 2017 – MEDIACOM FAYAL TOWNSHIP – GRANT: $263,345
• 2014 – Mediacom, Pintar Road – Award: $137,848. Total project cost: $275,697.
• 2014 – Northeast Service Cooperative – Frontier Communications Corp., Border to Border Phase I – Award: $1.96 million.
• 2019: Paul Bunyan Communications – North Central Minnesota Fiber Project– GRANT $2,562,916

• MN State Grants awarded in 2021: Charter Communications (Spectrum) – Getchell Road – GRANT $11,400 This middle and last mile project will provide broadband service to eight unserved households in northern Duluth in St. Louis County.

• Mediacom Minnesota LLC – Field of Dreams Hermantown Project – GRANT $624,751 This last mile project will serve approximately 267 underserved households, six underserved businesses, and one underserved community anchor institution in Hermantown in St. Louis County.
• Paul Bunyan Communications – City of Cook GigaZone Fiber – GRANT $311,254 This last mile project will improve high-speed broadband for 57 unserved and 254 underserved locations in the community of Cook in St. Louis County.

Find more articles on broadband in St Louis County (http://tinyurl.com/jnm9jah)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2024. Red dots represent locations unserved locations. Above I have tracked wireline access because that is the Minnesota definition of broadband. The info below includes wired and wireless. BEAD includes fixed wireless connections as served locations. (I wrote more on the distinction between the two last year, which may be if interest in the numbers range greatly for your county.)

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)

Rank: 57
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Redwood County: Moving up the ranking

Redwood County ranks 57 (up 6 places) for broadband access out of 87 counties. Redwood County went from almost 40 percent coverage in 2021 to 82 percent now. Last year, they worked on better broadband with the help of a Lead Fellow and a broadband survey. Redwood County’s work getting the community engaged with a survey will likely help them strive to get federal (BEAD) funding once it becomes available. That is how they retain their yellow ranking.

Their progress remain incremental but they retain their yellow ranking.

• Over the years, Redwood County (or cities within) has invested $1,914,986 (total) for match for 1 successful MN Broadband grant. This is an indicator of local government that is engaged and (literally) invested in better, local broadband.
• Redwood County will not benefit from a 2024 MN Broadband grant.
• Redwood County will benefit from 1 line extension award (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $13.4 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
• In 2022, Redwood ranked 70 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Grants:

• 2022: Hanson Communications, Inc., $923,918.00
• 2022: Redwood County Telephone Co. dba Arvig, $1,336,037.04 (Learn more)

• 2017 – MVTC (Minnesota Valley Telephone Company, Inc.) – Milroy Broadband Project – GRANT $742,365
• 2016 – ARVIG – REDWOOD COUNTY TELEPHONE MIDDLE MILE FIBER EXTENSION – GRANT: $27,998
• 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile – Grant award: $808,080
• 2019: MVTC (Minnesota Valley Telephone Company, Inc.) – Rural Lucan Fiber Project – GRANT $635,400

• MN State Grant awarded in 2021: Minnesota Valley Telephone Company (MVTC) – Rural Franklin Fiber Project – GRANT $226,800 This middle and last mile project will serve approximately 45 unserved locations in the City of Franklin and the townships of Sherman, Eden, Camp and Birch Cooley in Redwood, Renville and Brown counties.

• Redwood County has worked with the Blandin Foundation

Find more articles on broadband in Redwood County (https://tinyurl.com/3z8k43r5)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2024. Red dots represent locations unserved locations. Above I have tracked wireline access because that is the Minnesota definition of broadband. The info below includes wired and wireless. BEAD includes fixed wireless connections as served locations. (I wrote more on the distinction between the two last year, which may be if interest in the numbers range greatly for your county.)

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)

Rank: 45
Code:  Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Pipestone County: stagnant at 80 percent

Pipestone County ranks 45 (down 10 places) for broadband access out of 87 counties.

Pipestone has hovered at 80 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up since 2018. They have seen a small increase this year. Pipestone County has working with Hometown Fiber on better broadband plan.

They are also concerned about being in a potentially precarious position because looking at access in the County using the FCC National Map there is a big discrepancy between wireline access and wireline with fixed wireless. Minnesota doesn’t currently take fixed wireless into consideration when defining areas eligible for grants; the federal government does include access to fixed wireless. That could make a big difference to who is eligible for BEAD funding.

Pipestone seems to be building momentum, at a good time with federal (BEAD) funding coming in. But they retain 86.43 their yellow ranking.

• Over the years, Pipestone County (or cities within) has not invested in matches for any successful MN Broadband grants. But Pipestone County Commissioners recently (Nov 2024) voted to provide $268,822 for a fiber optic internet project Woodstock Communications is planning if they get a MN State grant.
• Pipestone County will benefit from a 2024 $1.6 million MN Broadband grant (Round 10) award that will serve 116 locations.
• Pipestone County will not benefit from any line extension awards.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $4.5 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
• In 2022, Pipestone ranked 55 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

2024 Grants:

• County: Pipestone
  Woodstock Telephone Co
  Woodstock Comm – Hatfield FTTH
  Grant: $1,612,932
  Local Match: $537,644
  Total Budget: $2,150,576
  Woodstock will build a fiber network to the Town of Hatfield, which is located in Pipestone County, MN. There are 116 total passings, consisting of 32 unserved households, 3 unserved businesses, and 47 unserved farms. This project comes in partnership with Pipestone County, splitting the remaining 25% match percentage 50/50 between the two parties. Additionally, the project will also service 24 underserved households predominately in the Town of Hatfield, 2 underserved businesses and 8 underserved farms. Woodstock has managed fiber networks for nearly 29 years and has been in business for more than 70 years. Pipestone County is also supporting the project by providing a matching grant of $268,822.

Past grants:

• 2017 – Woodstock Telephone Company – Pipestone County Wireless – GRANT $363,851
• 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile – Grant award: $808,080

Find more articles on broadband in Pipestone County (http://tinyurl.com/zhjm4pe)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2024. Red dots represent locations unserved locations. Above I have tracked wireline access because that is the Minnesota definition of broadband. The info below includes wired and wireless. BEAD includes fixed wireless connections as served locations. (I wrote more on the distinction between the two last year, which may be if interest in the numbers range greatly for your county.)

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)

Rank: 44
Code:  Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Mower County incremental improvement

Mower County ranks 44 (up two places) for broadband access out of 87 counties.

Mower County has had steady, incremental growth for a few years. They ran into a road block when LTD Broadband was awarded federal funding and then funding was revoked. They lost the funding but also lost time when they were unable to apply for grants because of LTD Broadband’s award.

Mower County has demonstrated an interest in engaging and investing in broadband so they maintain their yellow code. Also they have more than $3 million in grant funds coming in from MN broadband grants to help them get to green next year.

• Over the years, Mower County (or cities within) has not invested in matches for any successful MN Broadband grants. (But they recently (Nov 2024) approved an investment of $100,00 Spectrum’s broadband deployment in Austin.)
• Mower County will benefit from two 2024 MN Broadband grant award:
  $3.1 million that will serve 225locations and
  $414,699 that will serve 148 locations.
• Mower County will not benefit from a line extension award.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $22.8 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
• In 2022, Mower ranked 51 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Broadband Access:

2024 Grants

• County: Mower
  Arvig
  Arvig – Mower Cty
  Grant: $3,129,412
  Local Match: $1,043,137
  Total Budget: $4,172,549
  Arvig has been providing competitive broadband services to Minnesota communities since 1998. This Border-to-Border project would improve services in portions of Rose Creek, Elkton, and Adams in rural Mower County. The project would bring broadband to 225 structures via an all fiber-to-the-home network. 164 of those structures are residential locations that are unserved. All these locations would be able to receive up to 10 Gbps download speeds and 1 Gbps upload. The total project cost would bring fiber-to-the-premises to all 225 structures. Mower County is contributing $584,156.92 towards the project.
• County: Mower
  Spectrum Mid-America, LLC
  Spectrum-Mower County
  Grant: $414,699
  Local Match: $614,698
  Total Budget: $1,029,397
  Charter will construct a last-mile fiber-to-the-premises (“FTTP”) network to provide service to unserved and underserved households in Mower County, primarily Austin Township. The project will serve an estimated 148 unserved and underserved locations, including seven (7) businesses, 19 farms, a town hall, a nature center, and a senior living facility. Mower County is contributing $100,000 to the project.

Past Grants:

• MN State Grant awarded in 2021: KMTelecom – Rock Dell Southwest Fiber Build – GRANT $404,709 This last mile project will serve approximately 96 unserved households, 70 farms and five unserved businesses in rural Vernon Township in Dodge County and Sargeant Township in Mower County.

Find more articles on broadband in Mower County (http://tinyurl.com/j9sr5gf)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2024. Red dots represent locations unserved locations. Above I have tracked wireline access because that is the Minnesota definition of broadband. The info below includes wired and wireless. BEAD includes fixed wireless connections as served locations. (I wrote more on the distinction between the two last year, which may be if interest in the numbers range greatly for your county.)

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)

Rank: 49
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Morrison County: steady progress but recent grant might help

Morrison County ranks 49 (down one place) for broadband access out of 87 counties.

Morrison County has seen steady but incremental improvement since we started tracking. They been actively engaged in seeking better broadband for several years, including as part of the Resilient Region as a Blandin Broadband Community and in 2022, Officials from Morrison County and the city of Little Falls met to talk about broadband options.

They have $5 million in MN State Grants from 2024 awards that should help them continue, or even better, accelerate their movement closer to goal but until that begins to happen, they retain their yellow rank.

• Over the years, Morrison County (or cities within) has not invested in matches for any successful MN Broadband grants.
• Morrison County will benefit from two 2024 MN Broadband grants:
  $1.3 million to serve 241 locations and
  $3.7 million.
• Morrison County will benefit from 11 line extension awards (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $24.1 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
• In 2022, Morrison ranked 80 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

2024 Grants

• County: Morrison
  Benton Cooperative Telephone Company Buckman Township
  Grant: $1,248,430
  Local Match: $2,318,518
  Total Budget: $3,566,948
  The Benton Cooperative Telephone Company project will provide high-speed Broadband services to Buckman Township in Morrison County. Benton Cooperative Telephone Company currently provides high-speed Broadband to 5,850 customers of which 5,414 are served by fiber allowing them to have speeds of a minimum of 100/100 and a maximum of 1Gig/1Gig. This project will serve a total of 241 locations, including 190 unserved and 51 underserved locations.
• County: Morrison
  Upsala Coop Tel Assoc dba Sytek
  Sytek Swanville North Moose Lake
  Grant: $3,689,967
  Local Match: $1,229,989
  Total Budget: $4,919,956

Past Grants:

• 2022: Morrison County will benefit from a ReConnect grant through Upsala Cooperative.

• 2017 – Benton Cooperative Telephone Company – Rice Ramey – GRANT $765,015
• 2016 – BENTON COOPERATIVE TELEPHONE COMPANY BUCKMAN – GRANT: $276,230
• 2014 – Consolidated Telephone Cooperative, Region 5 Virtual Highway Project – Amount $2 million
• 2019: CTC (Consolidated Telephone Company) – Fort Ripley/Executive Acres Project – GRANT $830,587
• 2019: Benton Cooperative Telephone Company – Ramey Phase I – GRANT $936,759

• MN State Grants awarded in 2021: Benton Cooperative Telephone Company – Ramey Phase 2 Project – GRANT $338,011 This last mile project will serve 119 unserved locations in the Ramey telephone exchange located in portions of Lakin and Mount Morris townships in Morrison County and a small portion of Dailey and Page townships located in Mille Lacs County.

• Sytek Communications – Morrison/Todd/Stearns County FTTP Project – GRANT $1,048,668 This last mile project will bring service to 130 locations in Southwest Morrison, Southeastern Todd and Northeastern Stearns counties.

Find more articles on broadband in Morrison County (http://tinyurl.com/hxkk5ur)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2024. Red dots represent locations unserved locations. Above I have tracked wireline access because that is the Minnesota definition of broadband. The info below includes wired and wireless. BEAD includes fixed wireless connections as served locations. (I wrote more on the distinction between the two last year, which may be if interest in the numbers range greatly for your county.)

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)

Rank: 62
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Meeker County: developing hometown tools

Meeker County ranks 62 (down six places) for broadband access out of 87 counties. Meeker County has had steady, incremental increase in access since 2017. Meeker County is making good progress. They have several providers interested in the area, yet with less than 80 percent coverage, they retain their yellow ranking.

Perhaps most hopeful for Meeker County is the creation of MC Fiber, under Consolidated Telephone Company and Meeker Cooperative Light and Power, which is located in Meeker County.

• Over the years, Meeker County (or cities within) has not invested in matches for any successful MN Broadband grants.
• Meeker County will not benefit from a 2024 MN Broadband grant (.
• Meeker County will benefit from 10 line extension awards.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $19.5 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
• In 2022, Meeker ranked 50 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
• In December 2022, Meeker Cooperative were awarded five successful Border to Border grants totaling $327,000 to expand broadband in the county.

Broadband Access:

Grants:

• 2023: ReConnect grant connecting nearly 500 people, 124 farms, 16 businesses, and one educational facility to high-speed internet in Kandiyohi, Meeker and Stearns counties.
• 2022: Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association (Vibrant Broadband) – Big Swan Lake – GRANT $94,182
• 2022: Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association (Vibrant Broadband) – Collinwood Lake – GRANT $104,337
• 2022: Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association (Vibrant Broadband) – Dunns & Richardson Lakes – GRANT $80,202
• 2022: Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association (Vibrant Broadband) – Lake Erie – GRANT $19,093
• 2022: Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association (Vibrant Broadband) – Long Lake – GRANT $29,702 (Learn more)
• MN State Grant awarded in 2021: Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association (Vibrant Broadband) – Lake Koronis – GRANT $41,927 This last mile project will serve approximately 28 unserved and seven underserved locations in Union Grove Township in Meeker County.

• 2019: Nuvera Communications, Inc. – Hutchinson W Project – GRANT $346,282

Find more articles on broadband in Meeker County (http://tinyurl.com/gltzvoc)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2024. Red dots represent locations unserved locations. Above I have tracked wireline access because that is the Minnesota definition of broadband. The info below includes wired and wireless. BEAD includes fixed wireless connections as served locations. (I wrote more on the distinction between the two last year, which may be if interest in the numbers range greatly for your county.)

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)

Rank: 58
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

McLeod County: maybe the tide has turned

McLeod County rank stays at 58 for broadband access out of 87 counties. McLeod County has seen steady but incremental improvement in broadband access through the years. They won’t benefit from 2024 grants or Line Extension. That’s disappointing. They need to get going but they retain their yellow ranking.

• Over the years, McLeod County (or cities within) has not invested in matches for any successful MN Broadband grants.
• McLeod County will not benefit a 2024 MN Broadband grant s.
• McLeod County will not benefit from any line extension awards.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $27 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
• In 2022, McLeod ranked 32 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Past Grants:

• 2022: Nuvera Communications, Inc. – Belle Lake and Hutchinson East FTTP – GRANT $1,840,250
• 2022: Mediacom Minnesota LLC – Swan Lake – GRANT $99,156 (Learn more)
• MN State Grants awarded in 2021: Nuvera Communications, Inc. – Hutchinson SE FTTP – GRANT $169,369 This last mile project will serve 42 unserved and five underserved locations in the Hutchinson area of McLeod County.

• Winthrop Telephone Company, Inc. – Bismarck & Transit Township FTTP Project – GRANT $716,000 This last mile project will serve 148 unserved and six underserved locations, including homes, businesses and farms, in Bismarck, Transit and Round Grove townships in Sibley and McLeod counties.

Find more articles on broadband in McLeod County (http://tinyurl.com/hx65gqh)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2024. Red dots represent locations unserved locations. Above I have tracked wireline access because that is the Minnesota definition of broadband. The info below includes wired and wireless. BEAD includes fixed wireless connections as served locations. (I wrote more on the distinction between the two last year, which may be if interest in the numbers range greatly for your county.)

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)

Rank: 70
Code:  Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Martin County: hoping new engagement spurs investment

Martin County ranks 70 (down one place) for broadband access out of 87 counties.

They have 72.6 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 2398 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $22.3 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

Martin County hovered around 67 percent coverage to broadband, last year they had a big jump and this year, an incremental increase. They have an $8 million grant next year, which should help them get even closer to goal.

One side fact: They may be concerned about being in a potentially precarious position because looking at access in the County using the FCC National Map there is a big discrepancy between wireline access and wireline with fixed wireless. Minnesota doesn’t currently take fixed wireless into consideration when defining areas eligible for grants; the federal government does include access to fixed wireless. That could make a big difference to who is eligible for BEAD funding.

• Over the years, Martin County (or cities within) has invested $805,842 (total) for matches for 1 successful MN Broadband grants This is an indicator of local government that is engaged and (literally) invested in better, local broadband.
• Martin County will benefit from a 2024 $8 million MN Broadband grant (Round 10) award that will serve 457 locations.
• Martin County will benefit from 4 line extension awards (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $22.3 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
• In 2022, Martin ranked 61using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Martin County

2024 Grants

• County: Martin
  Federated Rural Electric Association Martin County Low Density
  Grant: $8,008,419
  Local Match: $2,669,473
  Total Budget: $10,677,892
  This Low Density Federated Rural Electric Association in Martin County will see Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) Network to be built in rural Martin County. The project will enhance the quality of life and foster community growth for businesses, farmers, and residents at 457 locations, including 431 unserved and 26 underserved addresses. Funding partners include contributions from Martin County, Lake Belt Township, Rolling Green Township, for a total partner contribution of $800,842.

Past Grants

• 2022: Grants: Bevcomm – Rural Faribault and Martin Counties Fiber Expansion Project – Phase Three – GRANT $1,444,030 (serving Faribault and Martin Counties)
• MN State Grant awarded in 2021: BEVCOMM (Blue Earth Valley Telephone Company, Easton Telephone Company & Cannon Valley Telecom) – Rural Faribault County and Martin County Fiber Expansion Phase 2 Project – GRANT $1,182,818 This last mile project will serve approximately two unserved households, 203 underserved households, 46 underserved businesses, and 181 underserved farms in portions of Faribault and Martin counties.

• 2017- BEVCOMM (Granada Telephone Company) — Granada Rural Final – GRANT: $202,410
• 2016 – GRANADA TELEPHONE COMPANY (DBA BEVCOMM) SOUTH RURAL GRANADA – GRANT:  $157,920
• 2016 – MARTIN COUNTY (WITH FRONTIER) RURAL BROADBAND INITIATIVE – GRANT: $1,677,823
• BEVCOMM (Blue Earth Valley Telephone Company & Easton Telephone Company) – Rural Faribault County Project – GRANT: $579,781

Find more articles on broadband in Martin County (http://tinyurl.com/h37zf6l)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2024. Red dots represent locations unserved locations. Above I have tracked wireline access because that is the Minnesota definition of broadband. The info below includes wired and wireless. BEAD includes fixed wireless connections as served locations. (I wrote more on the distinction between the two last year, which may be if interest in the numbers range greatly for your county.)

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)

Rank: 53
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Mahnomen: From red to yellow ranking with latest momentum

Mahnomen County ranks 47 (down 6 places) for broadband access out of 87 counties. Mahnomen saw a dip in broadband coverage but that may be due to mapping differences. Mahnomen went from almost 19 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up in 2019 to 71 percent coverage in 2021. Growth has been incremental and slow since.

Mahnomen will benefit from two 2024 MN State grants in the near future; hopefully that will get them a yellow ranking next year.

• Over the years, Mahnomen County (or cities within) has not invested in matches for any successful MN Broadband grants.
• Mahnomen County will benefit from two MN Broadband grants:
  $4,626,012 award that will serve 287 locations and
  $4,626,012 award that will serve 137 locations.
• Mahnomen County will benefit from 29 line extension awards (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $2.8 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
• In 2022, Mahnomen ranked 85 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

2024 Grants:

• County: Clearwater, Mahnomen
  Garden Valley Telephone Company 2024 Rural Mahnomen County
  Grant: $4,626,012
  Local Match: $1,542,008
  Total Budget: $6,168,020
  This Low Density Garden Valley Telephone Company in Mahnomen County project is a combination middle mile and last mile Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) which will serve locations within the borders of the White Earth Reservation in Mahnomen County. This project recognizes broadband has become essential to economic prosperity in the rural communities and would allow employees to work from home, provide children with access to homework and essential internet related research and improve access to telemedicine at 287 locations, of which 181 are unserved and 106 underserved. Partner funding total of $250, from local community members.
• County: Mahnomen
  Arvig
  Arvig – Naytahwaush Area
  Grant: $326,111
  Local Match: $326,111
  Total Budget: $652,222
  This Border-to-Border project will bring fiber to the home near Naytahwaush in Mahnomen County. Arvig will bring broadband to 137 passings via an all fiber-to-the-home construction project. All locations would be able to receive up to 10 Gbps download speeds and 1 Gbps upload. This area consists of mostly residential customers (some of whom work from home) with a few businesses. The White Earth Tribe is in support of the project.

Past grant:

• 2017 – Garden Valley Telephone Company – Bejou – GRANT $1,304,421

Find more articles on broadband in Mahnomen County (https://tinyurl.com/4bfrr34x)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2024. Red dots represent locations unserved locations. Above I have tracked wireline access because that is the Minnesota definition of broadband. The info below includes wired and wireless. BEAD includes fixed wireless connections as served locations. (I wrote more on the distinction between the two last year, which may be if interest in the numbers range greatly for your county.)

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)

Rank: 54
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Le Sueur County: When Federal Funding gets in the way

Le Sueur County ranks 54 (down four places) for broadband access out of 87 counties. Le Sueur has been working hard on better broadband in 2018. In 2020, they became a Blandin Broadband Community.

The community (especially Le Sueur County Broadband Initiative county) is active with an annual booth at the County Fair and other activities. They were hit hard when LTD Broadband was awarded federal funding and then funding was revoked. They lost the funding but also lost time when they were unable to apply for grants because of LTD Broadband’s award.

They are also concerned about being in a potentially precarious position because looking at access in Le Sueur County using the FCC National Map there is a big discrepancy between wireline access (78.43 percent coverage) and wireline with fixed wireless (96.24 percent). Minnesota doesn’t currently take fixed wireless into consideration when defining areas eligible for grants; the federal government does include access to fixed wireless.

• Over the years, Le Sueur County (or cities within) has invested $ 814,000 (total) for matches for 3 successful MN Broadband grants. This is an indicator of local government that is engaged and (literally) invested in better, local broadband.
• Le Sueur County will benefit from a 2024 $1,101,801 MN Broadband grant (Round 10) award that will serve 148 locations.
• Le Sueur County will benefit from 3 line extension awards (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $21 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
• In 2022, Lake ranked 26 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
• In May 2024, Le Sueur was awarded $1 million for the Le Sueur County Broadband Initiative. These funds will be used to expand broadband access throughout the county.

Broadband Access:

2024 Grants:

• County: Le Sueur
  Bevcomm Inc Tyrone Township Fiber Expansion Project
  Grant: $1,101,801
  Local Match: $367,267
  Total Budget: $1,469,068
  This Low Density Bevcomm Inc. Tyrone Township project will build underground fiber-to-the-premise technology that will enable data rates of up to 1Gbps (1,000Mbps) symmetrically to each subscriber on the network with unlimited data in Tyrone Township in Le Sueur County. This project will serve 148 unserved rural locations including 104 homes, 36 businesses, and 9 farms. Funding partner, Tyrone Township will be contributing $164,000 to this project.

Past Grants:

• 2022: Bevcomm – Rural Le Sueur County Broadband Expansion Project – Phase Two – GRANT $941,576 (Learn more)

• 2016 – ECKLES TELEPHONE COMPANY (DBA BEVCOMM) RURAL HEIDELBERG– GRANT:  $188,000
• BEVCOMM (Eckles Telephone Company) – Le Sueur County Project – GRANT $1,857,376

Find more articles on broadband in Le Sueur County (http://tinyurl.com/jbg7ghy)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2024. Red dots represent locations unserved locations. Above I have tracked wireline access because that is the Minnesota definition of broadband. The info below includes wired and wireless. BEAD includes fixed wireless connections as served locations. (I wrote more on the distinction between the two last year, which may be if interest in the numbers range greatly for your county.)

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)

Rank: 34
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Lake of the Woods County: Progress in the last year

Lake of the Woods County ranks 34 (up 19 places) for broadband access out of 87 counties. After hovering about 78 percent for many years, Lake of the Woods saw nice progress in the last year and that is why their ranking went from red to yellow.

I don’t hear much about their broadband efforts and they have had no Line Extension or MN Broadband grants in 2024 but I’m hoping the latest success build a momentum leading up to BEAD opportunities.

• Over the years, Lake of the Woods County (or cities within) has not invested in matches for any successful MN Broadband grants.
• Lake of the Woods County will not benefit from a 2024 MN Broadband grant.
• of the Woods County will not benefit from any line extension awards.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $5 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
• In 2022, Lake of the Woods ranked 82 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
• Lake of the Woods was a Blandin Broadband Community.

Broadband Access:

Past Grants:

• 2022: Wikstrom Telephone Co. Inc, $665,699.00 (to serve Beltrami, Kittson, Lake of the Woods, Marshall)
• 2016 – SJOBERG’S INC. ROSEAU AND LAKE OF THE WOODS COUNTIES — GRANT: $354,740
• 2016 – WIKSTROM TELEPHONE COMPANY WIKTEL NW MN – GRANT: $950,823
• 2019: Wikstrom Telephone – Wiktel NW MN Broadband Project – GRANT $1,151,526

Find more articles on broadband in Lake of the Woods County (http://tinyurl.com/gpfu7dd)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2024. Red dots represent locations unserved locations. Above I have tracked wireline access because that is the Minnesota definition of broadband. The info below includes wired and wireless. BEAD includes fixed wireless connections as served locations. (I wrote more on the distinction between the two last year, which may be if interest in the numbers range greatly for your county.)

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)

Rank: 74
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Kandiyohi County: bumped up to yellow ranking

Kandiyohi County’s rank has bumped up from 74 to 60 for broadband access out of 87 counties.

Led by the Kandiyohi County has been working on better broadband for years but it seems as if they were able to get traction with a couple of providers last year that is continuing based on grants awarded.

Kandiyohi is creating partnerships that should help them get better broadband, especially when federal (BEAD) funding becomes available. The county continues to plan for better broadband in the future.

• Over the years, Kandiyohi County (or cities within) has invested $3,144,780 (total) for matches for 3 successful MN Broadband grants. This is an indicator of local government that is engaged and (literally) invested in better, local broadband.
• Kandiyohi County will benefit from four 2024 MN Broadband grant:
  $662,430 to serve 167 locations,
  $744,965 to serve 188 locations,
  $8,202,000 to serve 1,289 locations and
  $590,709 to serve 124 locations.
• Kandiyohi County will benefit from 35 line extension awards (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $19.5 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
• In 2022, Kandiyohi ranked 84^th using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Broadband Access:

2024 Grants

• County: Kandiyohi
  Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association Gennessee Township
  Grant: $662,430
  Local Match: $809,637
  Total Budget: $1,472,067
  The Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association Gennessee Township project will provide fiber-to-the premise broadband access to rural sites in Gennessee Township in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota. This project will improve unserved/underserved levels of service up to 1 gigabit per second download and upload speeds resulting in more efficient and effective e-learning, telemedicine options and enhanced precision agriculture tools to 167 locations, including 120 unserved and 47 underserved addresses. Kandiyohi County has pledged $327,692 and Gennessee Township has pledged $71,200 towards this project.
• County: Kandiyohi
  Representative Dave Baker, Senator Andrew R. Lang
  Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association 58 – Kandiyohi Township
  Grant: $744,965
  Local Match: $910,513
  Total Budget: $1,655,478
  The Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association Kandiyohi Township project will provide fiber-to-the premise broadband access to rural sites in Kandiyohi Township in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota. This project will improve unserved/underserved levels of service up to 1 gigabit per second download and upload speeds resulting in more efficient and effective e-learning, telemedicine options and enhanced precision agriculture tools to 188 locations, including 136 unserved and 52 underserved addresses. Kandiyohi County has pledged $224,000 and Kandiyohi Township has pledged $71,600 towards this project.
• County: Kandiyohi
  Federated Telephone Cooperated
  Federated Tel – W Kandiyohi
  Grant: $8,202,000
  Local Match: $8,202,000
  Total Budget: $16,404,000
  The Kandiyohi County Western FTTP Project is a buried Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) high-speed wireline broadband development project that will serve 1,289 locations in the five Kandiyohi County Townships of Colfax, Dovre, Lake Andrew, Norway Lake and St. Johns. Funding partners include Kandiyohi County ($2,423,575), Colfax Township ($483,600), Dovre Township ($11,700), Lake Andrew Township ($1,103,700), Norway Lake Township ($3,510) and St. Johns Township ($45,500). Of the total 1,289 locations that will be served, 458 are currently unserved (including at least 35 farms, 22 businesses, and 2 community anchor institutions) and 831 are underserved (including at least 23 farms, 27 business, and 2 community anchor institutions). At the completion of this project, all 1,289 locations will have access to service packages up to one (1) gigabit symmetrical speeds. Currently, FTC’s service area includes eight different Minnesota counties covering approximately 2,000 square miles with 2,800 miles of fiber.
• County: Kandiyohi
  Meeker Coop Light & Power Association
  Meeker Fahlun
  Grant: $590,709
  Local Match: $590,710
  Total Budget: $1,181,419
  Meeker’s Fahlun project includes $333,587 of Kandiyohi County ($283,986.50) and Fahlun Township ($49,600) ARPA funds in order to provide fiber-to-the-premise broadband to 124 rural sites in Fahlun Township in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota. The project area includes several businesses and farms, as well as a township hall. Meeker has provided electrical power to its members since 1935 and satellite internet service since 2005. As VIBRANT Broadband, they launched fixed wireless and fiber to the home broadband services in July 2019. VIBRANT Broadband is currently installed in over 5100 locations in rural central Minnesota.

Past Grants:

• 2023: Meeker Coop Light & Power – Lake Elizabeth-East Lake Lillian Townships – GRANT $1,428,066
• 2023: Meeker Coop Light & Power – Harrison Township – GRANT $533,959
• 2022: Federated Telephone Cooperative, $4,913,505.50

• 2016 – FRONTIER KANDIYOHI INITIATIVE – GRANT: $1,015,275
• 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile – Grant award: $808,080
• 2017, Consolidated Telecommunications Co. (CTC) was awarded a $4.94 million grant to improve serves in New London, Spicer and Willmar, and Frontier was awarded a grant of $1.02 million to improve service in rural Kandiyohi County. Unfortunately, the CTC project did not work out.

Find more articles on broadband in Kandiyohi. (http://tinyurl.com/z9wk7bm)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2024. Red dots represent locations unserved locations. Above I have tracked wireline access because that is the Minnesota definition of broadband. The info below includes wired and wireless. BEAD includes fixed wireless connections as served locations. (I wrote more on the distinction between the two last year, which may be if interest in the numbers range greatly for your county.)

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)