In America’s early days, our Founding Fathers recognized the importance of communication. They saw that it was so vital to the business of the people that they even included a provision in the Constitution to allow for the government to establish post roads.
Today’s business – and day-to-day life – is often done by a different kind of post road: the internet. Unfortunately, in some areas of South Dakota, people are being forced to choose between living in their rural community or having access to high-speed internet. This should not be.
Last year, I outlined a plan to connect more South Dakotans than ever before to high-speed internet.
In March, I worked with the Legislature to allocate $5 million to be used as matching funds for broadband improvement. The Connect South Dakota program, which launched in May, brought in a total of $12.2 million.
Additionally, because the state now has a plan in place, South Dakota companies have been awarded additional points on their applications for USDA Reconnect grants. In December, this federal program awarded another $9.5 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve connectivity for more than 1,750 homes in rural South Dakota.
Combined, that means our $5 million has resulted in a $25 million investment in unserved or underserved areas – connecting 6,500 homes and nearly 150 businesses to high-speed internet.
These aren’t just numbers. These are businesses and families that now have expanded online opportunities.
Take the Lindermans, for example. John and Patty own the only grocery store in Timber Lake, on the Cheyenne River Reservation. Because they didn’t have high-speed internet, it meant they couldn’t provide their customers with credit card, debit card, or WIC and EBT payment options. They even had to do all their orders for the store somewhere else. As you can guess, they lost a lot of business. But for Patty and John, they were most heartbroken about sending away moms who wanted to buy food for their kids.
Because of the good work of our Connect South Dakota program, the Linderman business is now connected to high-speed internet.
The great news is that there are about 150 businesses and 6,500 families that have been connected through this program.
But more work needs to be done. This legislative session, I will be working with your district senators and representatives to allocate another $5 million to address more of our connectivity needs.
Bringing our communities into the 21st century ensures that every person in our state has access to online opportunity no matter where they live. I hope you’ll join me in my efforts to preserve our state’s rural way of life.
