Dunn county to expand broadband access with four grants

MENOMONIE — With the help of four grants, Dunn county will be able to expand their broadband access to hundreds of homes and businesses.

In the press release announcing Dunn County securing the grants, Dunn County assistant county manager Dan Dunbar said hearing about the four grants was a surprise but great news.

In March, Governor Tony Evers and the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin announced in a press release $43.2 million from the American Rescue Plan Act would be going towards 30 projects in the state to increase the scope of broadband.

Dunn county has been awarded four out of the 30 available projects.

“Dunn County accounted for over 10 percent of all the awards,” said Dunbar. “The broadband providers that cover our county have done a wonderful job making compelling applications.”

The county has gotten an unexpected amount of grants, especially when considering the size of the county, said county chair Kelly McCullough

“As chair of the Dunn County Board I am very excited at the level of engagement we have gotten with our requests,” said McCullough.

According to the press release, the funds will cover 124 homes and 43 businesses in the Town of Grant and 40 homes and five businesses in the town of Colfax. 51 homes and ten businesses will be covered in the Town of Lucas, and finally the 158 homes and 42 businesses will be covered in the Village of Knapp.

The grant funds combined are over two million dollars. The Town of Grant secured the highest of the four, with a $816,954 grant.

Mosaic Technologies will cover the extension of broadband in the Town of Grant, while the other three expansions will be covered by 24-7 Telcom.

The broadband providers and others will have to fulfill a “match requirement” for the grants, according to the press release.

$182,500 was “pledged” by Dunn County for the grants, said Dunbar.

“Since 2022… the county will have contributed $194,000 to broadband projects in Dunn County,” he added.

Other recent moves Dunn County has made towards establishing broadband, according to the Dunn County Broadband page on the county’s website, include establishing a broadband task force in March 2023 to create a plan for broadband in the county.

Dunbar said there have also been 29 projects concerning broadband in Dunn County which were “awarded grants” after 2017. The projects were in many municipalities, including The Towns of Menomonie and Colfax, and the village of Boyceville.

The grants will allow broadband access to expand to a combined over 350 homes and around 100 businesses within the county.