Senator Tina Smith announces new rural internet grants

ABC 6 NEWS — In a step to bring what she refers to as a “necessity” to rural Minnesota, Senator Tina Smith is announcing new grants focused on rural internet.

According to a press release from her office, Smith is announcing three grants from the United States Department of Agriculture that will see over 5,000 people benefit. The grants come from the USDA’s ReConnect Loan and Grant Program, andsaw a total of $44.4 million distributed.

The goal of the grants — which were given to Consolidated Telephone Company, MiEnergy Cooperative and Red River Rural Telephone Association — will be the deployment of high-speed fiber optics to businesses, farms and schools across Minnesota, including to Fillmore, Winona and Crow Wing.

“Internet access is not just a luxury in the 21st century, it’s a necessity,” Senator Smith said in a statement. “In Minnesota and across the country, people in rural areas, small towns, and Tribal communities need access to reliable, high-speed internet. Investing in broadband infrastructure with the ReConnect Grant Program will help connect communities in every part of the country to high-speed internet and I am proud to have helped bring this funding back to Minnesota.”