Apply for DEED broadband grants by August 4
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) has launched a Request for Proposals (RFP) that will award $95 million in broadband grants across the state. Applications must be submitted by 4 p.m. August 4, 2022.
Building on appropriations from both the 2021 and 2022 legislative sessions, this grant round contains the highest-ever amount of funding for the Border-to-Border Broadband Infrastructure grant program. Funding from two sources — state and federal — can be used to reimburse for up to half the cost of the broadband infrastructure deployed. Funding for a single project is capped at $5 million.
On the state funding side, Governor Tim Walz in May 2022 signed legislation appropriating $50 million — $25 million in fiscal year 2023 and $25 million in fiscal year 2024 — from the state’s general fund for broadband. This bolsters the state’s practice since 2014 of providing state funds to build out broadband service in areas of the state where it is challenging to do so.
For federal broadband funding, the remaining $70 million available for grant awards in this round is federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Capital Projects Fund, administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury.
Visit https://mn.gov/deed/programs-services/broadband/grant-program to access requirements and application materials for this competitive grant program.
Source: Association of Minnesota Counties