Rank: 59
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

 Brown County: maybe some deployment will spur more

Brown County has not seen movement since last year. They did get grant funding in the area last year, perhaps that impact will be apparent soon. But not yet.

At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 943 locations in Brown County. However, the majority of locations will go to fiber, which will help quite a bit.

There is still Line Extension funding yet to be distributed, which helps connect handfuls of  houses just beyond existing infrastructure. (Although, Brown has not benefited from Line Extension awards in the past.) There have been changes with local and national broadband providers, which also leads to uncertainty.

I am boosting Brown County’s status to Yellow, based on the expectation that the BEAD funding will be disbursed in the next year.

Possible BEAD support

The Minnesota BEAD Final Proposal has not yet been approved so the information below is subject to change; it includes the number of locations by county specifying provider and broadband type. (Learn more.)

Locations in Brown: 945
The locations include a majority of fiber connections.

Local Government Match for State Broadband Grants:

Over the years, many local governments (County, Municipal, Tribal) have invested in broadband deployment. This year, I have tracked how much local investment has been used to match MN State Grants. Local governments invest in other ways too, but this was one number I could realistically find and quantify investment by county, which means investment in that county, whether by county, cities or other local government entity.

Brown has not invested over the years.

New Posts from 2025:

• Mediacom Communications today announces multi-gig broadband in Blue Earth, Brown, McLeod, Meeker, Nicollet, Redwood, Renville, Rice, Scott, Waseca, Watonwan Counties and Lower Sioux Reservation

Highlights from Past Reports

• 2023 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, Brown ranked 34 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Past Grants:

• County: Brown, Cottonwood – Hanson Communications – Hanson – Comfrey FTTP
  Grant: $395,138, Local Match: $592,711, Total Budget: $987,849

• 2107 – New Ulm Telecom, Inc.– Hanska A&D FTTP – GRANT $324,894
• 2016 – New Ulm Telecom, Inc. – Hanska – GRANT: $ 200,397
• 2019: Nuvera Communications, Inc. – New Ulm SW Project – GRANT $385,600
• 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.

Find more articles on broadband in Brown County. (http://tinyurl.com/z2wwkye)

The maps below come from the

• Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2025 – tracking wireline access.
• The FCC National Broadband Maps, reflecting data updated November 28, 2025 – tracking fixed wireless access.

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: 50
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Ranking according to MN maps
(learn more about MN vs National maps)

Aitkin County Still Engaged and Better

It looks like Aitkin’s map corrected in the last year, after a significant drop in 2024, which may have been due to mapping changes or irregularities. In 2024, they were awarded a Minnesota State Grant and received 69 Line Extension grants, which likely have helped reach more households in 2025.

Aitkin is engaged and investing in broadband in their community and they have been for many years.

At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 1,255 locations in Aitkin County. However, while some of that will go to fiber, some will go to satellite, which does not qualify as served in the MN statute. So that’s a mixed blessing.

There is still Line Extension funding yet to be distributed, which helps connect handfuls of  houses just beyond existing infrastructure. (Aitkin has done well with earlier Line Extension awards. So that seems hopeful for them as well.) There have been changes with local and national broadband providers, which also leads to uncertainty.

Aitkin County’s continued engagement helps them maintain their yellow status; Otherwise less than 90 percent coverage to 100/20 OR 25/3 would indicate red status. Engagement from local providers has helped as well.

Broadband Access:

Possible BEAD support

The Minnesota BEAD Final Proposal has not yet been approved so the information below is subject to change; it includes the number of locations by county specifying provider and broadband type. (Learn more.)

Locations in Aitkin: 1,255
The locations include a mix of fiber and satellite.

Local Government Match for State Broadband Grants:

Over the years, many local governments (County, Municipal, Tribal) have invested in broadband deployment. This year, I have tracked how much local investment has been used to match MN State Grants. Local governments invest in other ways too, but this was one number I could realistically find and quantify investment by county, which means investment in that county, whether by county, cities or other local government entity.

In Aitkin $50,000 was invested in 6 Projects over the years.

New Posts from 2025:

• Stacy Cluff, IT & Broadband Manager, MLEC is interviewed on Aitkin County Podcast NaturallyBetter. It’s a firsthand account of broadband coming to Aitkin County. It is as much of an introduction to MLEC and the local economy as it is broadband, which makes sense as it’s intersectional.
• Aitkin County providers received $689,620.88 in the first three rounds of Line Extension awards

Highlights from Past Reports

• 2023 estimates indicated that it would cost $19.5 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county.
• In 2022, Aitkin County worked with Blandin Foundation as an IRBC (Iron Range Broadband Community) and they were cohorts in Blandin’s inaugural Accelerate! program.
• In the past, a roadblock for Aitkin was that the county is widely served by a national provider that had not been upgrading the connections in their area.
• In 2022, Aitkin ranked 84^th using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Past Grants:

• Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative MLEC Fiber – Cedar Lake: Grant: $1,808,768, Local Match: $2,266,272, Total Budget: $4,075,040
• 2023: SCI – Aitkin County Broadband Expansion – GRANT $794,822
• Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative, $1,231,818.00
• Paul Bunyan Communications, $3,052,120.00 (also serves Itasca and Louis)
• $4.8 million block grant McGrath Project that is scheduled to be completed by fall 2023

• Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative (MLEC) – Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative Phase 4 FTTH – GRANT $198,607. This fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) project will serve 80 unserved and five underserved locations along the southeast side of Farm Island Lake in Aitkin County. Through a funding partnership with the State of Minnesota, MLEC will bring 1 Gbps speeds to 84 homes and one business on the fiber route, exceeding the State’s 2022 and 2026 speed goals.
• 2017 – SCI – Shamrock Township Broadband Expansion – GRANT $148,503
• 2016 – MILLE LACS ENERGY COOPERATIVE FTTP PROJECT – GRANT: $1,757,640
• 2020 – Emily Cooperative Telephone Company – Round Lake Fiber Project – GRANT $376,000
• 2020 Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative (MLEC) – MLEC Phase 3 FTTH Project with CTC – GRANT $1,253,955
• 2020: SCI Broadband (Savage Communications Inc.) – Glen Township Broadband Expansion Project – GRANT $195,848

Find more articles on broadband in Aitkin County. (http://tinyurl.com/hdqdmhr)

The maps below come from the

• Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2025 – tracking wireline access.
• The FCC National Broadband Maps, reflecting data updated November 28, 2025 – tracking fixed wireless access.

I am doing the annual look at broadband in each county – based on maps from the data and maps from MN Office of Broadband (updated on Deb 16, 2025) and news gathered from the last year. I’m looking at progress toward 2022 (25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up) and 2026 (100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up) MN speed goals and will code each:

• Red (yikes)
• Yellow (warning)
• Green (good shape)