Chippewa County Broadband Profile 2025: Yellow Rating: Ranking out 33 of 87

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

county 25/3 253 rank 100/20 10020 rank Gig gig rank Providers
Chippewa 93.85 36 93.64 33 24.48 79 13

 Chippewa County stays stagnant

Chippewa County’s coverage jumped up a lot last year and stayed stagnant this year.

At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 4 locations in Chippewa County. Some locations will get fiber and some locations will get a satellite or fixed wireless connection, which does not qualify as served in the MN statute. But the notable fact is that they will only get help for 4 locations.

One issue is that 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. So perhaps the federal maps are giving them credit for more coverage than the state maps would.

There is still Line Extension funding yet to be distributed, which helps connect handfuls of  houses just beyond existing infrastructure. That may be helpful since that is state funding. Another statewide issue is changes with local and national broadband providers, which also leads to uncertainty.

Chippewa has made such progress in the last couple of years, but it seems like there may be barriers in the future so they retain their yellow status.

2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 93.64 93.96 84.52 80.55 82.67 83.55 81.7 24.8 24.45
25/3 (2022 goal) 93.85 93.89 85.37 82.62 86.26 85.23 83.23 72.33 72.28

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 Chippewa: 4
The locations are getting satellite only.

County Amazon Kuiper Commercial Services LLC Locations         Grand Total County
Technology Type Low Earth Orbit Satellite
Chippewa                                         4                                         4 Chippewa

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 0 was invested over the years.

New Posts from 2025:

Highlights from Past Reports

  • 2023 estimates indicated that it would cost $6.8 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.)

Past Grants:

  • County: Chippewa, Renville – Hanson Communications – Hanson – Chippewa Cty W
    Grant: $2,081,494, Local Match: $2,544,150, Total Budget: $4,625,644
  • 2022: Farmers Mutual Telephone Company, $4,728,186.00
  • 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile, Grant award: $808,080

Find more articles on broadband in Chippewa County. (http://tinyurl.com/htwz58a)

The maps below come from the 

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)

Cass County Broadband Profile 2025: Red Rating: Ranking out 84 of 87

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Rank: 84
Code:  Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

county 25/3 253 rank 100/20 10020 rank Gig gig rank Providers
Cass 89.67 48 70.59 84 43.51 59 15

Cass County: back to bottom 10 ranking

After some increase in coverage last year, Cass County stays stagnant in 2025.

At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 91 locations in Cass County. Some locations will get fiber and some locations will get a satellite or fixed wireless connection, which does not qualify as served in the MN statute. But the notable fact is that they will only get help for 91 locations.

There is still Line Extension funding yet to be distributed, which helps connect handfuls of  houses just beyond existing infrastructure. (Cass has benefitted from earlier Line Extension awards. So that seems hopeful except that Line Extension is meant for last mile and Cass doesn’t have a lot of infrastructure to extend..) There have been changes with local and national broadband providers, which also leads to uncertainty.

Unfortunately, Cass if going to retain their Red status. I just don’t see anything in their current or proposed future that would indicate the needed increase in broadband to meet state goals.

2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 70.59 69.15 56.15 56.37 64.02 63.21 51.61 35.92 34.07
25/3 (2022 goal) 89.67 89.15 91.79 96.44 94.02 84.53 88.02 77.58 66.92

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 Cass: 91
The locations include a majority of satellite and fixed wireless connections. But what’s really telling is that only 91 locations have bids in an area that’s so unserved.

County Amazon Kuiper Commercial Services LLC CTC Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Locations         Grand Total County
Technology Type Low Earth Orbit Satellite Fiber Low Earth Orbit Satellite
Cass                                      46                                      42                                         3                                      91 Cass

 

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 $125,000 was invested on one project over the years.

New Posts from 2025:

Highlights from Past Reports

  • One concern over the years is that they have had decent access to 25/3 for many years, which may make some people feel complacent with the access they have and then broadband dips in community priority.

Past Grants:

  • 2-22: Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC) was one of the grant recipients, receiving $4,857,030 in funding (to cover St. Louis, Carlton, and Cass counties)
  • 2016 – TDS TELECOM CASS & CROW WING COUNTIES — GRANT: $3,000,000
  • 2014 – Consolidated Telephone Cooperative, Region 5 Virtual Highway Project – Award $2 million
  • 2020: CTC received CARES Act funding from both Crow Wing and Cass County.
  • 2019: Paul Bunyan Communications – North Central Minnesota Fiber Project– GRANT $2,562,916
  • 2019: WCTA (West Central Telephone Association) – Rural Staples Phase I Project – GRANT $555,355
  • West Central Telephone Association – Rural Staples Phase 2 – GRANT $465,050 This last mile project will serve 56 unserved locations in extremely rural areas of Wadena and Cass counties.

Find more articles on broadband in Cass County. (http://tinyurl.com/hgtulgm)

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)

Carver County Broadband Profile 2025: Green Rating: Ranking out 17 of 87

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Rank: 17
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

county 25/3 253 rank 100/20 10020 rank Gig gig rank Providers
Carver 98.07 22 97.85 17 57.31 48 19

Carver County: CarverLink makes plans for 2024

Carver County is lucky to have CarverLink, a publicly owned broadband fiber optics network that celebrated a 10-year anniversary in September 2023.

At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 460 locations in Carver County. Some of the locations will get fiber while some locations will get a satellite or fixed wireless connection, which does not qualify as served in the MN statute.

There is still Line Extension funding yet to be distributed, which helps connect handfuls of  houses just beyond existing infrastructure. (Carver has benefitted from 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.

With leadership from CarverLink, Carver County retains its green ranking.

2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 97.85 98.38 91.15 93.2 90.2 89.37 86.51 85.09 81.04
25/3 (2022 goal) 98.07 98.62 92.22 94 93.32 93.73 92.14 89.81 98.51

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 Carver: 460
The locations include a majority of satellite and fixed wireless connections.

County Amazon Kuiper Commercial Services LLC IBT Group USA, LLC Midco Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Locations         Grand Total County
Technology Type Low Earth Orbit Satellite Fixed Wireless Fiber Low Earth Orbit Satellite
Carver                                   111                                   168                                   166                                      15                                   460 Carver

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.

Carver has not invested over the years.

New Posts from 2025:

Highlights from Past Reports

  • 2023 estimates indicated that it would cost $27.5 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.)

Past Grants:

  • 2013, Carver County received ARRA funding for Carverlink, a publicly owned 89-mile base ring with 33 miles of lateral lines. It was completed in Fall of 2013.

Find more articles on broadband in Carver County. (http://tinyurl.com/jxj9v9x)

The maps below come from the

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)

Carlton County Broadband Profile 2025: Yellow Rating: Ranking out 76 of 87

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Rank: 76
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

county 25/3 253 rank 100/20 10020 rank Gig gig rank Providers
Carlton 79.54 77 74.04 76 27.93 73 15

Carlton County: Continues slow progress forward

Carlton County’s rank continues to bump up, more importantly, they continue to increase the broadband coverage. For many years, Carlton County was served primary with one national provider, who may not be as invested locally as a local provider or cooperative. But a local cooperative has brough the competition.

At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 3,339 locations in Carlton County. The majority of locations will fiber, which will make a big difference. Also some locations will get a satellite or fixed wireless connection, which does not qualify as served in the MN statute. They will have to remember those locations are broadband continues to expand.

Statewide there have been changes with local and national broadband providers, which also leads to uncertainty. But those changes might be a benefit in Carlton County.

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

2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 79.65 66.77 54.47 48.71 52.08 52.02 47.57 58.22 52.32
25/3 (2022 goal) 74.04 74.26 63.33 59.41 72.79 75.17 71.71 67.29 62.74

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 Carlton: 3,339
The locations include a majority of fiber connections, although there is some satellite connections too.

County Amazon Kuiper Commercial Services LLC CTC East Central Energy Fiber IBT Group USA, LLC Mediacom LLC Midco Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Locations         Grand Total County
Technology Type Low Earth Orbit Satellite Fiber Fiber Fixed Wireless Fiber Fiber Low Earth Orbit Satellite
Carlton                                   292                                      52                              2,654                                   153                                   117                                      56                                      15                              3,339 Carlton

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 Carlton, $766,654 was invested over the years.

New Posts from 2025:

Highlights from Past Reports

  • 2023 estimates indicated that it would cost $59.5 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, Carlton ranked 73 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
  • Pine Knot News featured Carlton’s Broadband project in June, “The transformational $10.9 million project features 180 miles of fiber optic cable, and will bring higher internet speeds and greater reliability to households across a wide area of rural Carlton County, all the way north to Munger and Solway Township. Mediacom is responsible for the project that has potential to reach 1,679 homes, 420 of those in Thomson Township, should they choose to sign up for the service.”

Past Grants:

  • County: Carlton: Consolidated Telephone Company CTC Round 10 Wrenshall Community Broadband Project
    Grant: $2,127,530, Local Match: $2,127,530, Total Budget: $4,255,060
  • 2023: Carlton County Broadband Expansion – GRANT $1,271,835
  • 2022: Mediacom Minnesota LLC, $801,834.27 – for a project with a cost of $2,719,526
  • 2022: Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC) was one of the grant recipients, receiving $4,857,030 in funding (to cover St. Louis, Carlton, and Cass counties)
  • 2017 – Carlton County w/ Frontier – Phase I: Cromwell/Kettle River – GRANT: $569,058
  • Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa – Big Lake Road Project – GRANT $602,916

Find more articles on broadband in Carlton County. (http://tinyurl.com/z4me5k4)

The maps below come from the

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)

Brown County Broadband Profile 2025: Yellow Rating: Ranking out 59 of 87

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

county 25/3 253 rank 100/20 10020 rank Gig gig rank Providers
Brown 84.78 68 84.13 59 72.45 27 16

 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.

2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 84.13 84.12 78.4 79.96 75.99 74.6 74.5 73.76 72.89
25/3 (2022 goal) 84.78 87.5 83.31 84.88 84.66 83.67 83.66 96.31 95.92

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.

County Amazon Kuiper Commercial Services LLC AMG Technology Investment Group, LLC d/b/a Nextlink Internet Federated Rural Electric Association Nuvera Locations         Grand Total County
Technology Type Low Earth Orbit Satellite Fixed Wireless Fiber Fiber
Brown                                         1                                      26                                         2                                   914                                   943 Brown

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:

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.)

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

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)

Blue Earth County Broadband Profile 2025: Yellow Rating: Ranking out 68 of 87

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Rank: 68
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

county 25/3 253 rank 100/20 10020 rank Gig gig rank Providers
Blue Earth 85.9 65 80.52 68 61.94 42 17

Blue Earth County: Middle of the pack and dropping

Blue Earth County seems to be stuck or slipping in the last couple years but providers keep investing in the area. There was a 2024 MN State grant awarded last year and the impact of that should emerge soon. Mediacom also invested in the last year.

At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 782 locations in Blue Earth County. The majority of locations will get a fiber, which is going to help the county.

Statewide factors: There is still Line Extension funding yet to be distributed, which helps connect handfuls of  houses just beyond existing infrastructure. There have been changes with local and national broadband providers, which also leads to uncertainty.

While Blue Earth seems a little stuck, local providers continue to engage and assuming that the BEAD funding is disbursed in the next year, they should find themselves getting closer to goal.

2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 80.52 79.55 76.46 81.88 80.76 77.81 77.91 14.13 55.6
25/3 (2022 goal) 85.9 88.84 89.37 92.5 84.78 85.36 78.33 77.95 88.35

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 Blue Earth: 782
The locations include a majority of fiber connections.

County Amazon Kuiper Commercial Services LLC AMG Technology Investment Group, LLC d/b/a Nextlink Internet IBT Group USA, LLC Midco Nuvera Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Locations         Grand Total County
Technology Type Low Earth Orbit Satellite Fixed Wireless Fixed Wireless Fiber Fiber Low Earth Orbit Satellite
Blue Earth                                      10                                      71                                      17                                   622                                      58                                         4                                   782 Blue Earth

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.

Blue Earth has not invested over the years.

New Posts from 2025:

Highlights from Past Reports

  • Over the years, Blue Earth County (or cities within) has invested $39,249 (total) for matches for 1 successful MN Broadband grant. This is an indicator of local government that is engaged and (literally) invested in better, local broadband.
  • Blue Earth County will benefit from a 2024 435,838 MN Broadband grant (Round 10) award that will serve 101 locations between Blue Earth and Faribault Counties.
  • 2023 estimates indicated that it would cost $49.1 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.)

Past Grants:

  • County: Blue Earth, Faribault: Bevcomm (Easton) Telephone
    Bevcomm (Easton) Rural MN Lake: Grant: $435,838, Local Match: $1,016,956, Total Budget: $1,452,794
  • 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile Grant award: $808,080

Find more articles on broadband in Blue Earth County. (http://tinyurl.com/j5pe9kr)

The maps below come from the

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)

Big Stone County Broadband Profile 2025: Green Rating: Ranking out 11 of 87

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Rank: 11
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

county 25/3 253 rank 100/20 10020 rank Gig gig rank Providers
Big Stone 98.81 19 98.81 13 41.58 63 10

Big Stone County still hovering around 99 percent

Big Stone County coverage has hovered around 99 percent since 2018.

At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 24 locations in Big Stone County. The majority of locations will get a satellite, which does not qualify as served in the MN statute.

There is still Line Extension funding yet to be distributed, which helps connect handfuls of  houses just beyond existing infrastructure. (Big Stone doesn’t have a history of benefitting from Line Extension awards but they might help.) There have been changes with local and national broadband providers, which also leads to uncertainty.

Big Stone is so close; they maintain their green status.

2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 98.81 98.97 99.71 97.9 98.6 98.6 98.91 98.91 70.12
25/3 (2022 goal) 98.81 98.97 99.71 97.17 99.48 99.48 99.58 98.91 70.12

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 Big Stone: 24
The locations include mostly satellite connections.

County Amazon Kuiper Commercial Services LLC Mediacom LLC Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Locations         Grand Total County
Technology Type Low Earth Orbit Satellite Fiber Low Earth Orbit Satellite
Big Stone                                      21                                         1                                         2                                      24 Big Stone

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 0 was invested over the years.

New Posts from 2025:

Highlights from Past Reports

  • 2023 estimates indicated that it would cost $65,000 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.)

Past Grants:

  • 2014 – Federated Telephone Cooperative, Big Stone County

Find more articles on broadband in Big Stone County. (http://tinyurl.com/zfgwstd)

The maps below come from the

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)

Benton County Broadband Profile 2025: Green Rating: Ranking out 19 of 87

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

county 25/3 253 rank 100/20 10020 rank Gig gig rank Providers
Benton 97.85 25 97.54 19 43.49 60 16

Benton County: so close after steady progress for years

Benton County’s coverage dipped a little in the next year but it seem that it’s within a margin of error. They haven’t benefited from State Grants or Line Extension awards in the last couple years.

At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 361 locations in Anoka County. However, the majority of locations will get a satellite, which does not qualify as served in the MN statute.

There have been changes with local and national broadband providers, which also leads to uncertainty.

Benton County gets a green ranking because they are so close to the goal, but it feels as if they could use a burst of renewed engagement.

Broadband Access:

2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 97.54 97.95 94.14 89.94 90.25 89.36 88.18 25.83 14.28
25/3 (2022 goal) 87.85 98.38 95.46 90.96 92.88 92.05 91.47 87.49 87.61

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 Anoka: 361
The locations include a majority of satellite connections.

County Amazon Kuiper Commercial Services LLC East Central Energy Fiber Midco Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Tekstar Communications, Inc. (Arvig) Locations         Grand Total County
Technology Type Low Earth Orbit Satellite Fiber Fiber Low Earth Orbit Satellite Fiber
Benton                                   270                                      46                                      22                                      22                                         1                                   361 Benton

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 Benton $1,154,008 was invested over the years on four projects.

No new Posts from 2025:

Highlights from Past Reports

  • 2023 estimates indicated that it would cost $7 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, Benton ranked 30 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Past Grants:

  • 2023:  Cooperative Telephone – Benton County South of Trunk Highway 23 – GRANT $2,988,275
  • 2017 – Benton Cooperative Telephone Company – Rice Ramey – GRANT $765,015
  • 2017 – Palmer Wireless – Duelm Hwy 95 – GRANT $162,814
  • 2014-CenturyLink Foley, Benton County–Balkan Township – Award: $382,883.
  • 2020: Benton Cooperative Telephone Company – Ramey Phase I – GRANT $936,759
  • Benton Cooperative Telephone Company – Ramey Phase 2 Project – GRANT $338,011

Find more articles on broadband in Benton County (https://blandinonbroadband.org/?s=benton+county&submit=Search)

The maps below come from the

MAPS

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)

Beltrami County Broadband Profile 2025: Green Rating: Ranking out 7 of 87

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Rank: 8
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

county 25/3 253 rank 100/20 10020 rank Gig gig rank Providers
Beltrami 99.64 8 99.6 7 99.6 4 9

 Beltrami County well served thanks to Paul Bunyan

Beltrami County ranks 7 for broadband access; up two places from last year. There are 9 broadband providers in Beltrami County. However Beltrami is hometown to Paul Bunyan Communications.

They have hovered around 99 percent access to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up since 2019. They got a little closer in the last year. They maintain their green status.

At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 0 locations in Beltrami County.

There is still Line Extension funding yet to be distributed, which helps connect handfuls of  houses just beyond existing infrastructure. (Beltrami has not benefitted from earlier Line Extension awards. So that seems like a strategy worth considering to reach the last households.)

2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 99.6 98.73 98.75 98.86 99.25 99.25 98.79 96.3 96.35
25/3 (2022 goal) 99.64 99.06 98.93 98.92 99.49 99.49 99.41 99.4 99.36

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.)

Beltrami is not listed as a beneficiary of BEAD funding.

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.

Beltrami has not invested in MN State Grant matching over the years.

No New Posts from 2025:

Highlights from Past Reports

Past Grants:

Find more articles on broadband in Beltrami County. (http://tinyurl.com/z5yvec6)

The maps below come from the

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)

Becker County Broadband Profile 2025: Green Rating: Ranking out 44 of 87

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

county 25/3 253 rank 100/20 10020 rank Gig gig rank Providers
Becker 91.61 44 84.4 57 33.18 65 10

Becker County: starting to stall?

It looks like Becker’s map corrected in the last year, after a slight drop in 2024, which may have been due to mapping changes or irregularities.

At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 1,443 locations in Becker County. The strong majority of locations will get fiber from Midco; although a few will get a satellite, which does not qualify as served in the MN statute.

There is still Line Extension funding yet to be distributed, which helps connect handfuls of  houses just beyond existing infrastructure. (Becker has benefited from 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.

Assuming that BEAD funding will be disbursed in 2026, I’m going to upgrade Becker to Green status based on the 1000+ locations that should be getting connected to fiber based on BEAD funding.

2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 84.4 82.62 84.75 78.45 73.42 73.41 6.22 12.95 6.58
25/3 (2022 goal) 91.61 89.92 93.96 92 92.53 78.99 91.36 88.94 69.41

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 Becker: 1,443
The locations include a majority fiber!

County Amazon Kuiper Commercial Services LLC Midco Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Tekstar Communications, Inc. (Arvig) Locations         Grand Total County
Technology Type Low Earth Orbit Satellite Fiber Low Earth Orbit Satellite Fiber
Becker                                   188                              1,043                                         5                                   107                              1,343 Becker

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.

Becker has not invested local government funds in the past.

New Posts from 2025:

Highlights from Past Reports

  • Becker County benefitted from 89 line extension awards (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations. This is a high number of awards. (Arvig was awarded 69 of the awards.)
  • 2023 estimates indicated that it would cost $27.5 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.)

Past Grants

  • 2016 – PAUL BUNYAN COMMUNICATIONS HUBBARD, BECKER & ITASCA COUNTIES – GRANT: $1,742,232
  • Arvig (Loretel Systems, Inc.) – Cormorant Lakes Area Project – GRANT $430,780

Find more articles on broadband in Becker County. (http://tinyurl.com/jkah37b)

The maps below come from the

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)

Anoka County Broadband Profile 2025: Green Rating: Ranking 18 out of 87

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

county 25/3 253 rank 100/20 10020 rank Gig gig rank Providers
Anoka 98.81 18 97.82 18 27.76 74 15

 Anoka County Inching closer

Anoka County has the advantage of being part of the 7-county metro area which doesn’t mean the county doesn’t have rural areas but proximity to urban areas helps build a market case to deployment.

At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 1,437 locations in Anoka County. However, the majority of locations will get a satellite or fixed wireless connection, which does not qualify as served in the MN statute.

There is still Line Extension funding yet to be distributed, which helps connect handfuls of  houses just beyond existing infrastructure. (Anoka has benefitted from 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.

Anoka gets a green ranking because they are so close to goal. The population is fairly large, they just need to make sure that some locations don’t fall through the crack.

Broadband Access:

 Anoka 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 97.82 97.34 98.93 96.64 97.41 97.14 97.45 97.86 96.1
25/3 (2022 goal) 98.81 98.35 99.22 97.72 98.72 98.57 98.8 98.87 97.56

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 Anoka: 1,437
The locations include a majority of satellite and fixed wireless connections.

County Ace Telephone Association Amazon Kuiper Commercial Services LLC IBT Group USA, LLC Midco Midco Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Locations         Grand Total County
Technology Type Fiber Low Earth Orbit Satellite Fixed Wireless Cable Coax Fiber Low Earth Orbit Satellite
Anoka                                   496                                   717                                      10                                   194                                      20                              1,437 Anoka

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 $164,795 was invested in 1 project over the years.

New Posts from 2025:

Highlights from Past Reports

Previous Grants:

  • 2024: County: Anoka, Chisago: Midco: Midco North Central
    Grant: $801,700, Local Match: $801,700, Total Budget: $1,603,400
  • 2023: Comcast-Xfinity – Comcast/City of Nowthen – GRANT $2,549,413
  • 2022: Tekstar Communications Inc, dba Arvig, $219,727
  • 2013: The County received federal (ARRA) funding in 2013. In partnership with Zayo, the County was able to build a 287-mile broadband network for government facilities.

Find more articles on broadband in Anoka County.(http://tinyurl.com/zuvt4x7)

The maps below come from the

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)

Aitkin County Broadband Profile 2025: Yellow Rating: Ranking 50 out of 87

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

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

county 25/3 253 rank 100/20 10020 rank Gig gig rank Providers
Aitkin 87.49 56 86.13 50 69.46 32 14

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:

Aitkin 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 86.13 73.35 84.75 60.36 52.96 46.66 37.74 17.55 11.52
25/3 (2022 goal) 87.49 76.63 93.96 68.13 64.32 63.62 60.17 45.68 27.48

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.

County Amazon Kuiper Commercial Services LLC CTC East Central Energy Fiber Johnson Telephone Company Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative PAUL BUNYAN COMMUNICATIONS Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Locations         Grand Total County
Technology Type Low Earth Orbit Satellite Fiber Fiber Fiber Fiber Fiber Low Earth Orbit Satellite    
Aitkin                                   261                                         4                                      99                                   200                                   130                                      325                                   236                              1,255 Aitkin

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:

Highlights from Past Reports

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

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)

2025Minnesota Broadband County Profiles – from Aitkin to Yellow Medicine

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The 2025 County Broadband Profiles are done! I wanted to give folks who get an email alert each time something is posted on the blog that today is the day you’re going to get a lot. Also, I wanted to share some notes.

Minnesota has two broadband speed goals:

  • Ubiquitous access to speeds of 25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up (25/3) by 2022
  • Ubiquitous access to 100/20 by 2026

Using data from the Office of Broadband Development (OBD) and stories collected on the Blandin on Broadband blog, I have created a broadband snapshot of each county and their progress, especially on meeting the 2026 goal and ranked each green (good shape), yellow (warning) and red (yikes). There’s no formula involved in the ranking, but factors include percentage covered, progress toward the goal over the last few years, upcoming investments (awarded grants and other funding) and community engagement. And the goal posts move as opportunities arise and disappear.

Each report includes:

  • Rank for coverage at speeds of 100 /20
  • Code: Red/YellowYellow
  • Broadband according to MN maps (earlier I compared National and MN maps but used MN to keep consistent with earlier reports)
  • Summary 
  • Historical Table of Broadband Access
  • Proposed funding from BEAD by provider and technology (Learn more)
  • Local Government Match for State Broadband Grants (Learn more)
  • New Posts from 2025
  • Highlights from Past Reports
  • Past Grants
  • MAPS (visuals)

The MN BEAD (Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program) proposal was approved when I was about halfway through the reports. I write the reports in three days to try to avoid big changes; so, I forged ahead.

You can check out links to Minnesota Ranking:

I plan to do more analysis of the reports in the New Year.

Hubbard County Veterans Service Officer telehealth program was nominated for two awards

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The Park Rapids Enterprise reports…

“Bjerke is the embodiment of ‘service over self’ and brings that level of commitment to his job every day, serving veterans,” wrote Hubbard County Administrator Jeff Cadwell.

The VSO’s Accessing Telehealth through Local Area Stations program was nominated for the AMC Outstanding County Achievement Award.

“The VSO jumped at the chance to create this unique service for area veterans. Assistant VSO Aaron Majors was instrumental in navigating the project’s requirements to get this service up and running,” Cadwell reported. “While not chosen for the awards for which they were nominated, we thank them, their entire department, and their dedicated volunteers, for their sacrifice and commitment to our country and to Hubbard County.”

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

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Broadband Breakfast reports…

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

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

Here’s what they said about Minnesota…

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

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

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