WILLMAR — Kandiyohi County is seeking grants to extend broadband service to three more townships.

The County Board voted Tuesday morning to use nearly $400,000 of federal funds held by the county and to seek other funding to provide high-speed broadband to addresses in Lake Elizabeth, East Lake Lillian and Harrison townships.

Mark Boeschen, broadband chair for the Kandiyohi County and City of Willmar Economic Development Commission, described the two projects.

Funding would come from the county’s share of federal American Rescue Plan Act funding and from the state’s Border-to-Border program. Vibrant Broadband from Meeker County, which will provide service to the area, will pay a portion, as will the townships.

For Lake Elizabeth and East Lake Lillian townships, the county will be seeking a 75% grant from the Border-to-Border program, a total of $1.4 million. The county’s federal funding would be $148,000 on the project. In addition, $282,000 would come from Vibrant, $20,800 from Lake Elizabeth and $19,000 from East Lake Lillian. In all, the project would total $1.9 million.

Read the full story by the West Central Tribune.