Walz announces nearly 40 Border-to-Border Broadband grants for Greater Minnesota

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Walz announces nearly 40 Border-to-Border Broadband grants for Greater Minnesota

Governor Walz has taken another step toward achieving his goal of bringing high-speed internet to every Minnesotan by 2022.

Walz announced Thursday the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development will award grants totaling more than $20.6 million to 39 projects in the sixth year of the Border-to-Border Broadband Development program.

The Governor says the pandemic has made it crystal clear that fast, reliable broadband access is critical for people living in Greater Minnesota, for everything from education and healthcare to business operations and telecommuting.

The projects will bring high-quality broadband access to underserved and unserved areas of the state.

The Border-to-Border Broadband program is primarily targeted towards rural communities, where broadband infrastructure is not as likely to be at a level needed to support economic equity.

Minnesota Farm Bureau says broadband is a focus area for 2021 and is calling for expanded investment to increase access to reliable broadband.

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