The West Central Tribune reports that the Willmar City Council finally votes to move forward with a broadband plan…

After nearly three years of planning, the  Willmar City Council,  in a split 5-3 vote on Tuesday, accepted the low bid from NC3 for the construction of phase one of the Willmar Connect broadband project.

The motion to accept the bid was made by Councilor Tom Gilbertson and seconded by Councilor Vicki Davis, who both voted in favor of the motion. Councilors Audrey Nelsen, Justin Ask and Carl Shuldes also voted in favor of the motion. Voting against the motion were Councilors Stephen Gardner, Rick Fagerlie and Tom Butterfield.

The Willmar Connect initiative is the city’s plan to construct a citywide, city-owned, open-access broadband network, which the city has been researching and planning for since early 2023.

The Willmar Connect initiative is the city’s plan to construct a citywide, city-owned, open-access broadband network, which the city has been researching and planning for since early 2023. …

The project is planned in three phases, with phase one covering all businesses and residences west of First Street South between U.S. Highway 12 and 19th Avenue. Phase one’s final estimated cost is a little more than $8 million, according to Willmar City Operations Director Kyle Box.

The low bid from NC3 of Clearbrook, Minnesota, for phase one is approximately $7.6 million.

The West Central Tribune reports…

The Willmar City Council on Monday, Jan. 5, is expected to consider awarding the bid for the construction of phase one of the Willmar Connect initiative to construct a city-owned, open-access broadband network.

At the Dec. 15 City Council meeting, Bob Enos was joined by approximately 10 people to speak against the initiative. Enos spoke while others held up signs stating, “Shame on you! Willmar City Council — $25 million for internet and you don’t ask?” The signs also had a graphic of people below the text.

Willmar has been working on better broadband for years…

The project is planned in three phases, with phase one covering all businesses and residences west of First Street South between U.S. Highway 12 and 19th Avenue. Phase one’s estimated cost is approximately $7.8 million. As of the Dec. 15 meeting, city staff were vetting a bid of $7.6 million.

Phase two will build out the network in the southern and eastern portions of the city and phase three will build it out to the north at a cost of approximately $7 million each.

During his address, Enos accused city staff of failing to conduct due diligence on the project and of withholding information from the City Council regarding failed municipal networks.

“The public is left with three questions. Number one, did the city staff fail to do the basic due diligence that I did at home in my spare time? If not, that’s pure laziness and incompetence,” Enos continued. “Number two, did the city staff, in fact, do its due diligence and then withhold information that didn’t support the desired narrative? If that’s so, that’s fraudulent. Or, has the City Council been fully aware of the financial damage other cities suffered — the risk of this infrastructure becoming prematurely obsolete in an industry evolving at hyper speed — and yet chooses to put the taxpayers at risk anyway? If so, that’s immoral.”

The City Council responded…

“With all due respect, I appreciate the opinions and the point of view that any member of the community may have on the project, that’s why we’re at this public forum or public setting to have these conversations,” Box said. “ … I can absolutely take criticism if I need to, but I feel we’ve done our due diligence. We have been very conservative in all of our project funding. We’ve tried to keep this as tight as we can without having to slow the project down too much, where we lose interest.”

He noted that he has never said there would be zero risk in completing this project, and if the council approves moving forward with it and nobody signs up for it, the city still has to pay the debt for it. He also noted there is a lot of data about both successful and failed projects.

The article goes on to outline several municipal networks.

I wrote about Golden Valley’s broadband expansion last week, but MinneapoliMedia has more information…

Residents of Golden Valley could see fiber internet installation begin in many neighborhoods as early as Spring 2026, as multiple companies prepare to lay high-speed fiber optic cables throughout the city. The project will bring advanced broadband connectivity to both local residences and businesses, marking a significant step in the city’s digital infrastructure development.

City Engineer Michael Ryan confirmed that the city has already received plans and permit applications for more than 15 miles of fiber optic cable. “Golden Valley is behind other neighboring cities in fiber installation due to our undergrounding policy for new utility installations, which prohibits the use of existing overhead utility poles,” Ryan explained. “Despite this, we are confident that significant construction will begin in 2026.”

Fiber internet is considered a private utility, similar to gas or electric service. Its installation is managed by multiple private providers, with the City of Golden Valley facilitating permits and right-of-way access. The city does not select a single provider and cannot deny a permit if a company meets City Code requirements.

Key details for residents include:

• Timeline: Construction is expected to start in Spring 2026.
• Disruption: Active construction in a neighborhood typically lasts one to two weeks.
• Installation Process: Utility marking via Gopher State One Call (GSOC), directional drilling to install underground conduit, fiber cable pulling, and splicing.
• Restoration: Installing companies are responsible for restoring affected property, including lawns, sprinkler systems, and pavement.