(Editor’s Note: The following article was submitted by Sherburne County.)

Sherburne County Commissioners approved a $1.5 million grant program to expand broadband service to unserved and underserved areas of the county.

The money will help bring reliable, affordable high-speed internet to more Sherburne County households and businesses, with the funds coming from the America Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The grants will be awarded to service providers for eligible projects that provide service designed to reliably meet or exceed a symmetrical 100 Mbps download and upload speeds or, where symmetrical 100 Mbps speeds are not practicable, 100 Mbps download and at least 20 Mbps upload speeds.

“We are committed to working with providers to expand and upgrade broadband service in the County,” said County Board Chair Raeanne Danielowski. “We will work as hard as we can to make sure these grant funds address disparities in affordable and reliable broadband access throughout the County.”

In order to be eligible for grant funds, all projects must be substantially completed on or before Dec. 31, 2024.

Sherburne County will accept applications for Broadband Access Grants through Dec. 31, 2021. The application can be found at the county’s website: www.co.Sherburne.mn.us.