Rank: 5
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Swift County: Top five broadband access status

Swift County’s partnership with Federated Telephone, supported by a MN State grant, has provided nearly ubiquitous coverage. Swift has also been working with the Blandin Foundation as Blandin Broadband Community.

Projected allocation of American Recovery Project ARP funds in Swift is $1,797,084; broadband is one possible use.

They have the opportunity to invest in broadband with federal funding. That would help them reach ubiquitous broadband. They might not need much. They are a code green community.

Broadband Access:

Computer Access:

Past grants:

• 2015 – Federated Telephone Cooperative – Swift County FTTP 2015 – Grant award: $4,950,000
• 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile – Grant award: $808,080

Checklist:

• Find more articles on broadband in Swift County (http://tinyurl.com/zfptnnz)
• 100/20 Mbps ranking: 5 (down 1)
• Has worked with Blandin: yes
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
• Household density: 4.9

Details:

• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 17
  House: 17A
• 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)

Rank: 14
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Stevens County: Good coverage but need a bump up

Stevens County has been involved with broadband for years – going back to working with Blandin Foundation-led, Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities (2009-2012) effort.

They have been stalled at 97 percent, which is quite good, unless you like in the underserved 3 percent. A little push might help them get to ubiquitous broadband.

Projected allocation of American Recovery Project ARP funds in Stevens is $1,901,619; broadband is one possible use.

Stevens County has the opportunity to invest in broadband with federal funding. That would help them reach ubiquitous broadband. They are a code green community.

Broadband Access:

Computer Access:

Past grants:

• 2017 – Advantenon – Rural Grant, Stevens and Wilkin Counties – Grant $316,554
• 2014 – Otter Tail Telcom, Swan Lake West – Award: $438,937.

Checklist:

• Find more articles on broadband in Stevens County (http://tinyurl.com/joutu2h)
• 100/20 Mbps ranking: 14 (down 3)
• Has worked with Blandin: yes
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
• Household density: 6.7

Details:

• 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)

Rank: 27
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Steele County: Decent coverage but not much community engagement

Steele County has not worked with the Blandin Foundation. They have never received a MN Border to Border grant. There were home to a local provider (Jaguar), which was acquired last year. There is activity happening in their area.

The good news is that Midco has extended gig access to parts of Le Sueur, Steele, Blue Earth, Freeborn, Waseca and Dodge Counties. The difficult news is that Steele County is centered in area that is in line for federal funding but whose potential recipient has stirred controversy.

LTD Broadband was awarded the opportunity to submit a long form to get federal funding (RDOF) to deploy FTTH throughout much of Minnesota, including parts of Steele County. So they are in a sticky situation where they don’t know if LTD will get the funding, they don’t know if LTD will succeed if they do and they don’t know if they will qualify for federal or start funding because of the potential RDOF award.

Projected allocation of American Recovery Project ARP funds in Steele is $7,107,848; broadband is one possible use.

Steele County has the opportunity to invest in broadband with federal funding. That would help them reach ubiquitous broadband. They may have providers that might help make that happen. They are a yellow code community.

Broadband Access:

Computer Access:

Past grant

none

Checklist:

• Find more articles on broadband in Steele County (http://tinyurl.com/zd4qhbu)
• 100/20 Mbps ranking: 27 (down 2)
• Has worked with Blandin: no
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: no
• Household density: 32.96

Details:

• 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)

Rank: 36
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Stearns County: steady, incremental improvement but new grant might help

Stearns County saw a leap in access in 2019. They have had very incremental improvement each year since. But there is some opportunity for change.

Stearns County will benefit from a 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.

Projected allocation of American Recovery Project ARP funds in Stearns is $31,239,504; broadband is one possible use.

Stearns County has the opportunity to invest in broadband with federal funding. That would help them reach ubiquitous broadband. The recent grant and consistent improvement supports their yellow sode.

Broadband Access:

Computer Access:

Past grants:

• 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

Checklist:

• Find more articles on broadband in Stearns County (http://tinyurl.com/z463nan)
• 100/20 Mbps ranking: 36 (down 3)
• Has worked with Blandin: yes
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: no
• Household density: 40.09

Details:

• 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)

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

Sibley County: RS Fiber should extend to the whole county

Sibley County has been working on better broadband for more than 10 years. They are a part of the original RS Fiber team. They have been a Blandin Broadband Community. But their connectivity has been stagnant since 2018. In fact, the East Sibley School District decide to go in-person sooner than other schools and mentioned poor broadband as a reason.

Sibley County will benefit from a MN State Grant awarded in 2021:

• 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

Projected allocation of American Recovery Project ARP funds in Sibley is $2,882,975; broadband is one possible use.

Sibley County has the opportunity to invest in broadband with federal funding. That would help them reach ubiquitous broadband. They just need to show the determination they had when RS Fiber was formed. They are a code yellow community.

Broadband Access:

Computer Access:

Past grants

• 2017 – Winthrop Telephone Company, Inc. – Cornish Township FTTP Project – GRANT $365,895
• 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile – Grant award: $808,080
• 2014 – R-S Fiber Cooperative, FTTH Project – Award: $1 million.

Checklist:

• Find more articles on broadband in Sibley County (https://blandinonbroadband.org/?s=sibley&submit=Search)
• 100/20 Mbps ranking: 70 (down 21)
• Has worked with Blandin: yes
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
• Household density: 9.78

Details:

• Districts: CD 6
  Senate: 14, 15, 30, 31
  House: 14B, 15A, 15B, 30A, 31A
• 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)

Rank: 23
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Sherburne County: Great improvement

Sherburn County has worked with the Blandin Foundation. They renewed their interest in broadband access in the last two years, certainly during the pandemic shut down. After being stagnant for a few years, they saw a leap of better broadband in the last year.

Projected allocation of American Recovery Project ARP funds in Sherburne is $18,858,711; broadband is one possible use.

Sherburne County has the opportunity to invest in broadband with federal funding. That would help them reach ubiquitous broadband and their renewed focus might make this the perfect time to do it. They are a code green community.

Broadband Access:

Computer Access:

Past grants

• 2017 – Palmer Wireless – Sherburne County Road 3 – GRANT $110,661
• 2016 – PALMER WIRELESS BIG LAKE INDUSTRIAL PARK – GRANT: $ 90,988
• 2016 – PALMER WIRELESS DEL TONE ROAD AND ST. CLOUD AIRPORT – GRANT: $ 179,400
• 2014 – Palmer Wireless, Becker Industrial Park – Award: $151,934.

Checklist:

• Find more articles on broadband in Sibley County(http://tinyurl.com/ztm6c9n)
• 100/20 Mbps ranking: 23 (up 44)
• Has worked with Blandin: yes
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
• Household density: 83.15

Details:

• 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)

Rank: 19
Code:  Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Scott County: Great government network working on residential service

As part of the 7-county metro area, Scott County is a fairly metro county, so they have the advantage of proximity to the Twin Cities and some higher population density areas. A report from the Institute for Local Self Reliance outlines at a high level their situation: the built a fiber backbone to save government spending, it has lured business to the area, and they have partners with providers to meet resident needs, especially during the pandemic.

Scott County will benefit from a MN State Grant awarded in 2021:

• Nuvera Communications, Inc. – Webster Rural FTTP – GRANT $431,260 This last mile project will serve 103 unserved and 178 underserved locations in Wheatland and Webster townships in Rice County, Euraka and Greenvale townships in Dakota County, and New Market and Cedar Lake townships in Scott County.

Projected allocation of American Recovery Project ARP funds in Scott is $28,900,154; broadband is one possible use.

Scott County has the opportunity to invest in broadband with federal funding. That would help them reach ubiquitous broadband and it sounds like they are already in conversations to collaborate to meet resident needs. Their renewed interest in residential need contributes to their code green status.

Broadband Access:

Computer Access:

Past grants:

• 2017 – Jaguar Communications – Sand Creek Township Area Broadband Project – GRANT $192,405
• 2019: BEVCOMM (Eckles Telephone Company) – Le Sueur County Project – GRANT $1,857,376

Checklist:

• Find more articles on broadband in Scott County (http://tinyurl.com/gt4afcy)
• 100/20 Mbps ranking: 22 (down 3)
• Has worked with Blandin
• Has received a MN Broadband grant
• Household density: 155.39

Details:

• Districts: CD 2
  Senate: 20, 55, 56
  House: 20A, 55A, 55B, 56A
• 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)

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

St Louis County: Incremental but consistent improvements

St Louis County was a big increase in broadband in 2019; but the improvement has been stagnant in the last couple of years. But towns in St Louis County have been participating in a special Iron Range cohort of the Blandin Broadband Communities, a broadband adoption program. It seems like that might be spurring deployment as well as adoption.

Midco activated more than 200 additional miles of fiber to create a Northern Minnesota fiber ring that adds diverse network paths in St Louis County.

St Louis County will benefit from a few 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.

Projected allocation of American Recovery Project ARP funds in St Louis is $54,330,132; broadband is one possible use.

St Louis County has the opportunity to invest in broadband with federal funding. That, and the recent state grants they have been awarded, would help them reach ubiquitous broadband. They are code yellow.

Broadband Access:

Computer Access:

Past grants:

• 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

Checklist:

• Find more articles on broadband in St Louis County (http://tinyurl.com/jnm9jah)
• 100/20 Mbps ranking: 44 (down 5)
• Has worked with Blandin: yes
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
• Household density: 12.36

Details:

• 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)

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

Roseau County: Incremental but consistent improvements

Roseau County saw an amazing leap in broadband in 2018 – from 0 to 67 percent. They have seen incremental growth since then.

Projected allocation of American Recovery Project ARP funds in Roseau is $2,941,158; broadband is one possible use.

Roseau County has the opportunity to invest in broadband with federal funding. That would help them reach ubiquitous broadband. They are code yellow.

Broadband Access:

Computer Access:

Past grants:

• 2017 – Wikstrom Telephone – Wiktel NW MN Broadband – GRANT $1,307,785
• 2016 – SJOBERG’S INC. ROSEAU AND LAKE OF THE WOODS COUNTIES — GRANT: $354,740
• 2016 – CENTURYLINK THIEF RIVER MIDDLE MILE – GRANT: $1,324,400
• 2016 – WIKSTROM TELEPHONE COMPANY WIKTEL NW MN – GRANT: $950,823
• 2014 – Sjoberg Cable, Broadband Grant Proposal – Award $261,575
• 2014 – Wikstrom Telephone, Kittson, Marshall, Roseau Broadband Extension Amount $425,000
• 2019: Wikstrom Telephone – Wiktel NW MN Broadband Project – GRANT $1,151,526

Checklist:

• Find more articles on broadband in Roseau County (http://tinyurl.com/gsq45ua)
• 100/20 Mbps ranking: 34 (up 4)
• Has worked with Blandin: no
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
• Household density: 3.57

Details:

• 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)

Rank: 1
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Rock County: Rocking it at Number One – again!

In 2014, Rock County Broadband Alliance received a MN Border to Border grant to bring Fiber to the Home (FTTH) to almost all of Rock County. The community worked with the cooperative. They worked on deploying broadband. They became a Blandin Broadband Community and they worked on broadband adoption.

They continue to work on better use and adoption of broadband.

Never mind green code, Rock County is the gold standard.

Broadband Access:

Computer Access:

Past grants:

• 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile – Grant award: $808,080
• 2014 – Rock County Broadband Alliance (RCBA), FTTP Project – Award: $5 million.

Checklist:

• Find more articles on broadband in Rock County (http://tinyurl.com/jjeesst)
• 100/20 Mbps ranking: 1 (no change)
• Has worked with Blandin: yes
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
• Household density: 7.53

Details:

• Districts: CD 1
  Senate: 22
  House: 22A
• 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)

Rank: 33
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Rice County: Ongoing conversation may open doors 

Rice County has a great leap of broadband in 2019. The last couple years have been stagnant but they have been in conversations with providers and those providers have gotten state grants in the last round.

Rice County will benefit from a few MN State Grants awarded in 2021:

• Nuvera Communications, Inc. – Webster Rural FTTP – GRANT $431,260 This last mile project will serve 103 unserved and 178 underserved locations in Wheatland and Webster townships in Rice County, Euraka and Greenvale townships in Dakota County, and New Market and Cedar Lake townships in Scott County.
• BEVCOMM (Cannon Valley Telecom, Inc.) – Rural Morristown Fiber Expansion Project – GRANT $210,692 This last mile project will serve approximately 14 unserved and 94 underserved locations in portions of Rice, Waseca, and Steele counties.

Projected allocation of American Recovery Project ARP funds in Rice is $12,988,807; broadband is one possible use.

Rice County has the opportunity to invest in broadband with federal funding. That would help them reach ubiquitous broadband. They have engaged providers who might be happy to make good use of the funds. They are code yellow.

Broadband Access:

Computer Access:

Past grants:

none

Checklist:

• Find more articles on broadband in Rice County (http://tinyurl.com/jg6q8gs)
• 100/20 Mbps ranking: 33 (down 2)
• Has worked with Blandin: no
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: no
• Household density: 51.21

Details:

• Districts: CD 1
  Senate: 20, 24
  House: 20B, 24B
• 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)

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

Renville County: Hovering near the bottom of the ranking list

Renville County has been working on better broadband for more than 10 years. They are a part of the original RS Fiber team. Border to Border grants have helped support incremental improvement. They received an award in the last round.

Renville County will benefit from a 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.

Projected allocation of American Recovery Project ARP funds in Renville is $2,821,495; broadband is one possible use.

Renville County has the opportunity to invest in broadband with federal funding. That would help them reach ubiquitous broadband. They just need to show the determination they had when RS Fiber was formed. They are a code yellow community.

Broadband Access:

Computer Access:

Past grants:

• 2016 – RENVILLE COUNTY HBC & RS FIBER – GRANT: $807,966
• 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile – Grant award: $808,080
• 2014 – R-S Fiber Cooperative, FTTH Project – Award: $1 million.
• 2019: Nuvera Communications, Inc. – Hutchinson W Project – GRANT $346,282
• 2019: Midco (Midcontinent Communications) – Renville Project – GRANT $230,835

Checklist:

• Find more articles on broadband in Renville County (http://tinyurl.com/hfazdvf)
• 100/20 Mbps ranking: 63 (up 2)
• Has worked with Blandin: yes
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
• Household density: 5.78

Details:

• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 16, 17
  House: 16B, 17A
• 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)

Rank: 85
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Redwood County: Hovering near the bottom of the ranking list

Redwood County has been working on broadband for many years; they were a Blandin Broadband Community in 2013. They have benefited from a few broadband grants, including the most recent round but they have a long way to go.

Redwood County will benefit from a 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.

Projected allocation of American Recovery Project ARP funds in Redwood is $2,942,128; broadband is one possible use.

Redwood County might benefit from intervention, such as the Blandin Accelerate program, a process to spur community acquisition and deployment of federal and state broadband funds, to find an alternative solution. That might help them to invest the ARP funding in broadband. They are code red.

Broadband Access:

Computer Access:

Past grants:

• 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

Checklist:

• Redwood County has worked with the Blandin Foundation
• 100/20 Mbps ranking: 85 (up 1)
• Has worked with Blandin: yes
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
• Household density: 6.74

Details:

• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 16, 22
  House: 16A, 16B, 22B
• 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)

Rank: 18
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Red Lake County: Well served and in a position to pull for more

Red Lake County has nearly ubiquitous access to 25/3, which means they didn’t need to think about broadband for a while. But they also just saw an increase from 83 to 93 percent access to 100/20. They have never received a state broadband grant. They have service providers that are engaged with providing service with minimal community support.

Projected allocation of American Recovery Project ARP funds in Red Lake is $786,442; broadband is one possible use.

They are in an enviable position with their providers but they are also in a position to use their ARP funding to invite providers to do more. They are code green.

Broadband Access:

Computer Access:

Past grant:

none

Checklist:

• Find more articles on broadband in Red Lake County (http://tinyurl.com/gt8g24c)
• 100/20 ranking: 18 (up 8)
• 25/3 ranking: 1
• Has worked with Blandin: no
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: no
• Household density: 3.58
• Number of providers: 4

Details:

• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 01
  House: 01B
• 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)

Rank: 2
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Ramsey County: nearly ay 2026 goal already

Ramsey County is a metro-based county where the market makes it feasible for broadband providers to serve broadband profitably.

Ramsey County focuses on digital equity and affordability. Their recent TechPak initiative, which provides technology for folks who needed saw a $2.40 return for every $1 spent.

Broadband Access:

Computer Access:

Past grants:

none

Checklist:

• Find more articles on https://bit.ly/2kgeboX
• 100/20 Mbps ranking: 2 (no change)
• Has worked with Blandin: no
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: no
• Household density: 1373.49

Details:

• Districts: CD 4
  Senate: 38, 41, 42, 43, 53, 64, 65, 66, 67
  House: 38A, 41A, 41B, 42A, 42B, 43A, 43B, 53A, 64A, 64B, 65A, 65B, 66A, 66B, 67A, 67B
• 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)