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USDA invests in Iowa and Minnesota rural broadband projects

The USDA will invest $11 million to improve broadband access in rural Iowa and Minnesota.

The money will be spread among three infrastructure projects that will create or improve connectivity for nearly 1,400 rural households and 120 businesses throughout several counties in northern Iowa and Minnesota.

Deputy Ag Secretary Stephen Censky says the task of providing rural Americans with broadband is of the highest importance for President Trump and his Administration.

The grants are part of USDA’s ReConnect program and will be used to construct a fiber network along the Iowa-Minnesota border, establish a fiber trunk line in Mitchell County, Iowa, and to construct a network of up to 1 gigabit of high-speed internet in Minnesota’s famed “Iron Range.”