New grant program to help expand high speed Internet

State officials are developing a new grant program to help expand high speed Internet service in parts of rural Minnesota.

Lawmakers approved $20 million for the effort as part of a larger supplemental spending bill that they passed on the last day of the 2014 session.

The state Department of Employment and Economic Development will oversee the program. The funding is a significant step forward in addressing access disparities, said Danna MacKenzie, executive director of the department's Office of Broadband Development.

"We'll take this opportunity and learn from it, take a look at who steps up to really want to provide service into these areas that don't have service, and learn from their applications where we may want to head from this point going forward."

MacKenzie said the application process could begin this fall. The legislation limits grants to 50 percent of the cost of a given project. The maximum award will be $5 million.