Premier Communications of Sioux Center received a $7 million dollar federal grant Friday to expand broadband internet to rural areas of northwest Iowa and southeast South Dakota.
The announcement was made at a Sioux County family livestock farm near Hawarden by former Iowa Agriculture Secretary, and now USDA Under Secretary, Bill Northey:
OC…………7 million dollar grant. ;26
Congress allocated $600 million dollars to be invested to introduce high-speed broadband internet into rural regions.
He says so far, only a handful of companies nationwide have benefited from the rural investment:
OC…………more to come. :21
Northey says in order to be eligible for the U-S Department of Agriculture Rural Development grant, an investment partnership of state and local funding also had to be secured.
Premier Communications made an initial investment of $2.5 million, however a company spokesman says the actual investment when completed may be closer to $12 million dollars.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds also attended the ceremony.
