West Central Telephone Association Receives Grant to Complete Rural Broadband Project in Wadena County

ST. PAUL (KDLM) – Governor Tim Walz, Thursday announced that the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) will award grants totaling more than $20m to 39 projects including one in Wadena county.

The projects will bring high-quality broadband access to underserved and unserved areas of Minnesota, providing fast, reliable internet access for 6,922 businesses, homes, and community anchor institutions .

West Central Telephone Association (WCTA) received a grant totaling $465,050 that will complete their Rural Staples Phase 2 project and serve 56 unserved locations in extremely rural areas of Wadena and Cass counties. WCTA will bring service levels of 1 Gbps download and 1 Gbps upload, exceeding Minnesota’s 2022 and 2026 state speed goals.