Goodhue County
| Year | Rank | 100/20 Mbps |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | #62 of 87 | 80.13% |
| 2023 | #51 of 87 | 80.51% |
| 2022 | #47 of 87 | 78.56% |
| 2021 | #48 of 87 | 76.09% |
| 2020 | #47 of 87 | 75.15% |
| 2019 | #36 of 87 | 79.44% |
| 2018 | #47 of 87 | 55.99% |
| 2017 | #34 of 87 | 60.33% |
Red dots represent unserved locations.
Wired (wireline) and wireless (fixed, non-mobile) served location percentage at various speeds.
Goodhue County: Still Holding Onto Haves and Have-Nots
Goodhue County ranks 62 (down 11 spots) for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have been stalled at about 80 percent coverage for several years and therefore maintain red ranking. There’s a great difference between Red Wing and more rural parts of Goodhue County.
- Over the years, Goodhue County (or cities within) has invested $15,000 to matches one successful MN Broadband grant. This is an indicator of local government that is engaged and (literally) invested in better, local broadband.
- Goodhue County will benefit from a 2024 $1,8 million MN Broadband grant award that will serve 73 locations.
- Goodhue County will benefit from 6 line extension awards (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations.
- Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $33 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
- In 2022, Goodhue ranked 11 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
- In July 2023, Goodhue County Commissioners decided to invest $112,138 ARPA funds in broadband for Southeast MN Wifi LLC in Welch Township. However, they declined a larger project in March.
Household Density
23.3
Number of Providers
23
As of 2023 · Source: MN DEED
Households with Device Access
statewide
statewide
statewide
statewide
statewide
Has Worked with Blandin Foundation
Yes
See Blandin Foundation’s matrix of community broadband adoption projects:
https://blandinfoundation.org/content/uploads/vy/BBC_2015-16_Project_Matrix.pdf
Has Received MN Grant(s)
Yes
2015 – New Ulm Telecom Goodhue Fiber Project – Grant award: $115,934
2016 – NEW ULM TELECOM, INC. GOODHUE-BELLECHESTER – GRANT: $ 332,328
2017 – Midco (Midcontinent Communications) – Wanamingo – GRANT $768,600
2017 – New Ulm Telecom, Inc. – White Rock Rural East FTTP – GRANT $411,704
BEVCOMM (Pine Island Telephone Company) – NE Pine Island Fiber Project Phase I – GRANT $222,222
Nuvera Communications, Inc. – Goodhue Welch FTTP – GRANT $340,790 This last mile project south of Welch will serve 100 unserved and 15 underserved locations in Goodhue County.
Nuvera Communications, Inc. – Goodhue West FTTP – GRANT $532,232 – This last mile project will serve 148 unserved and two underserved locations in Goodhue, Zumbrota, Minneola, and Belle Creek townships in Goodhue County and Chester Township in Wabasha County.
$3.2 million for Goodhue County to provide broadband coverage to multiple rural unserved and under-served areas.
2022 – $4 million grant Red Wing Ignite received to encourage broadband-based entrepreneurship and innovation.
2024:
- County: Goodhue
Nuvera Communications, Inc.
Nuvera White Rock
Grant: $1,884,429
Local Match: $628,143
Total Budget: $2,512,572
Nuvera’s White Rock Low Density project will bring fiber to rural areas West of White Rock MN in Goodhue County. The project is located in Goodhue County: Belle Creek, Cannon Falls, Leon, and Vasa Townships would be partially covered. There are 73 unserved households, 13 underserved households, 8 unserved businesses, 1 underserved business, 32 unserved farms & 9 underserved farms. Nuvera is headquartered in New Ulm, MN and has been providing communication solutions for both home and business for over 119 years. As of December 31, 2021, the company served 32,520 broadband connections and 17,216 access lines in the Minnesota communities of Bellechester, Courtland, Elko, Evan, Goodhue, Hanska, Hutchinson, Klossner, Litchfield, Mazeppa, New Market, New Ulm, Prior Lake, Redwood Falls, Sanborn, Savage, Searles, Sleepy Eye, Springfield, and White Rock, as well as the adjacent rural areas of Blue Earth, Brown, Goodhue, McLeod, Meeker, Nicollet, Redwood, Rice, Scott and Wabasha counties in south-central Minnesota. Goodhue County is contributing $277,733 toward the project.
Government Districts
U.S. Congress: CD 1
MN Senate: 19, 20, 58
MN House: 16A, 20A, 20B, 58B