By Per Peterson
Thanks to a round of state grants totaling $26 million, Balaton and Milroy received some good news on the broadband front last week.
Lt. Gov. Tina Smith and the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) announced the grants last week, of which the two small towns are beneficiaries.
Gov. Mark Dayton has proposed $211 million in funding to expand affordable, reliable broadband Internet access in Greater Minnesota since 2014, according to a news release from Dayton’s office. The Dayton-Smith Administration has secured a total of $85 million in total for broadband infrastructure expansion. This funding expanded reliable, affordable broadband access to 33,852 households, 5,189 businesses, and 300 community institutions since 2014. The latest round of funding will also get a $34 million local-match boost.
Balaton will benefit from the $413,099 state grant through Woodstock Telephone Company to go along with a local match of more that $1 million. More than 300 underserved households, 28 underserved businesses and six other community entities will be served. Service levels will by 1 Gbps down and 1 Gbps up. The total project cost is $1,424,169, with a $1,011,160 local match.
For more on this article, see this week’s Headlight-Herald.