Goodhue County
| Year | Rank | 100/20 Mbps |
|---|---|---|
| 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% |
Goodhue County: Still Holding on to Haves and Have-nots
Goodhue County ranks 51 (down 4 spots) for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have 80.51 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 3546 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $33 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.
Goodhue County has seen incremental progress over the last few years including 2023. Rural Goodhue County been lagging behind Red Wing, a hotspot of gigabit access for too long, which is how they find themselves in code red.
In July, 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.
Goodhue could benefit from a Border to Border grant; both Hiawatha Broadband or Nuvera Communications have applied for funding in the current round, where grants are still in process.
Household Density
23.3
Number of Providers
23
As of 2023 · Source: MN DEED
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.
Government Districts
U.S. Congress: CD 1
MN Senate: 19, 20, 58
MN House: 16A, 20A, 20B, 58B