Elena Yur evna Gorina/Getty Images
UP TO SPEED: Rural broadband projects in Minnesota are set to meet the state’s goals for minimum upload and download internet speeds. More than $20 million has been awarded to provide high-speed access to communities in greater Minnesota.
Feb 11, 2021
Gov. Tim Walz announced that the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development will award grants totaling $20,645,425 to 39 projects under the state’s Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant program.
State grant dollars are matched by $33,695,279 in local funds, for a total investment in broadband infrastructure. The projects will bring broadband access to 6,922 businesses, homes and community institutions. This is the sixth year for the program.
By Doug Barrett
Jan 31, 2021 9:33 PM
U.S. consumers slowed their spending by 0.2% in December, cutting back for a second straight month. The decline reported today by the Commerce Department followed a seasonally adjusted 0.7% drop in November. It’s the latest sign that consumers, whose spending is the primary driver of the U.S. economy, are hunkered down and avoiding traveling, shopping and dining out.
The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes declined slightly for the fourth straight month, but it was still a record high for December. The National Association of Realtors says its index of pending sales dipped 0.3% to 125.5 in December, an all-time high. An index of 100 represents the level of contract activity in 2001.