Cass County
| Year | 100/20 Mbps | 1 Gbps |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #84 – 70.59% | #59 – 43.51% |
| 2024 | #76 – 69.15% | |
| 2023 | #80 – 56.15% | |
| 2022 | #79 – 56.37% | |
| 2021 | #71 – 64.02% | |
| 2020 | #67 – 63.21% | |
| 2019 | #68 – 51.61% | |
| 2018 | #70 – 35.92% | |
| 2017 | #61 – 34.07% |
Red dots represent unserved locations.
Cass County: back to bottom 10 ranking
After some increase in coverage last year, Cass County stays stagnant in 2025.
At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 91 locations in Cass County. Some locations will get fiber and some locations will get a satellite or fixed wireless connection, which does not qualify as served in the MN statute. But the notable fact is that they will only get help for 91 locations.
There is still Line Extension funding yet to be distributed, which helps connect handfuls of houses just beyond existing infrastructure. (Cass has benefitted from earlier Line Extension awards. So that seems hopeful except that Line Extension is meant for last mile and Cass doesn’t have a lot of infrastructure to extend..) There have been changes with local and national broadband providers, which also leads to uncertainty.
Unfortunately, Cass if going to retain their Red status. I just don’t see anything in their current or proposed future that would indicate the needed increase in broadband to meet state goals.
Household Density
9.6
Number of Providers
15
As of 2025 · Source: MN DEED
Households with Device Access
statewide
statewide
statewide
statewide
statewide
Has Worked with Blandin Foundation
Yes
See examples of community broadband adoption projects from Cass County and other communities participating in this 2015-2016 Blandin Broadband Communities cohort https://blandinfoundation.org/content/uploads/vy/BBC_2015-16_Project_Matrix.pdf
Has Received MN Grant(s)
Yes
2016 – TDS TELECOM CASS & CROW WING COUNTIES — GRANT: $3,000,000
2014 – Consolidated Telephone Cooperative, Region 5 Virtual Highway Project – Award $2 million
2019 – Paul Bunyan Communications – North Central Minnesota Fiber Project– GRANT $2,562,916
2019 – WCTA (West Central Telephone Association) – Rural Staples Phase I Project – GRANT $555,355
2020 – CTC received CARES Act funding from both Crow Wing and Cass County.
West Central Telephone Association – Rural Staples Phase 2 – GRANT $465,050 This last mile project will serve 56 unserved locations in extremely rural areas of Wadena and Cass counties.
2022 – Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC) was one of the grant recipients, receiving $4,857,030 in funding (to cover St. Louis, Carlton, and Cass counties)
Government Districts
U.S. Congress: CD 8
MN Senate: 02, 05, 06
MN House: 02B, 05A, 05B, 06A