By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
Federal funds have been provided across northwest Missouri to help in the mission of getting everyone high speed internet.
USDA Rural Development has given 58-million dollars over four different broadband companies to provide high speed internet to rural areas.
USDA Rural Development Missouri director Kyle Wilkens says at USDA they try to prevent any overlap with the FCC in providing broadband funds.
"We, before there's a problem, try to reach out to both applicants and explain there's overlap, we need to figure out who's going to take what, so one of the applications don't get kicked out for the other," Wilkens tells KFEQ Ag Director Dionne Bertling.
Funds provided in this round of broadband funding from USDA were given to Daviess, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Livingston, Mercer, and Nodaway counties among others.
Wilkens says the state of Missouri is starting to work closely with the Department of Commerce as it uses national telecommunication funds.
"We're trying to work as closely as we can with them on overlapping issues as well," Wilkens says. "And I think, I think, we probably have as open of a dialogue as we can and as we've had for a while, and we really hope that's going to help and make this process a little more efficient."
Wilkins says currently Andrew, Buchanan, Clinton, and Platte counties are not part of this round. However, Wilkens says applications for the next round recently closed.
"There is a chance that those counties could be funded through ReConnect fours program," Wilkens explains. "We won't know that probably until early spring how those applications worked out, so there's a possibility."