Pope County

Table of goal data by year

Year	25/3 Mbps	100/20 Mbps
2020	#61 of 87 80.81%	#52 of 87 73%
2019	#64 of 87 76.99%	#54 of 87 68.92%
2018	#77 of 87 61.27%	#78 of 87 23.67%
2017	#67 of 87 62.73%	#70 of 87 24.33%

Coverage Map

Rank: 51 (out of 87) for access to 100/20 megabits per second (Mbps)

In 2017, Pope County unveiled a feasibility study that found that installing fiber everywhere in the county would cost about $29.3 million.  If the combination of wireless and fiber were used, the cost would drop to about $9 million.  And in another scenario, the study excluded the city of Glenwood and used a wireless and fiber combination for the rest of the county and that was estimated to cost about $6.5 million. Policymakers have publicly recognized the need for improved broadband, especially during COVID.

What we learned in the past:

Pope County had a feasibility study done in 2017, supported by the Blandin Foundation. They found that installing fiber everywhere in the county would cost about $29.3 million.  If the combination of wireless and fiber were used, the cost would drop to about $9 million.  And in another scenario, the study excluded the city of Glenwood and used a wireless and fiber combination for the rest of the county and that was estimated to cost about $6.5 million.

Pope County has benefited from one state broadband grant:

• 2017 – Hanson Communications – Minnewaska Area FTTP – GRANT $4,996,791

Update from 2020:

Pope County hasn’t had much news to share related to broadband but Paul Gerde, chairman of Minnesota Rural Counties and a member of the Pope County Board of Commissioners, had a letter to the editor that recognizes that rural MN needs broadband to survive coronavirus.

Find more articles on broadband in Pope County.