Grant to help fund Burns broadband

A $900,000 state grant awarded Friday will help finance a 40-mile fiber network that will provide broadband Internet to 600 residents and businesses in and around Burns, Elbing, and Whitewater.

IdeaTek, based in Buhler, will install the network. It was one of 12 recipients of the first round of $10 million in state funding for broadband access in rural areas.

In a news release, Burns City Council member Travis Bailey, said broadband connectivity would give Burns “a fighting chance” to prosper.

Burns has pledged an additional $10,000 for the project. Marion County commissioners in February expressed support for the project but did not set a dollar amount.

At the time, total cost of the project was estimated to be $1.6 million, and it was estimated that the project would serve 125 Marion County households.

“A dirt road is no longer an excuse for poor broadband service,” IdeaTek co-founder Daniel Friesen said in a release.

IdeaTek has built fiber networks in more than 60 communities, including Goessel.