High-speed internet is coming to farmers, rural homeowners and businesses in Crow Wing and Morrison counties.

Consolidated Telecommunications Co. in Brainerd, a rural broadband cooperative, was awarded a $5.5 million loan and $5.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service. Federal officials visited Brainerd this week to announce the funding as part of $313 million awarded nationwide through President Joe Biden's Investing in America agenda and USDA's ReConnect Program.

Andy Isackson, the co-op's chief marketing officer, said nearly 600 homes will be connected to broadband with the funding. That includes 2,831 people, 67 businesses and 78 farms, the USDA said.

"It really helps people that want to live in rural areas get the connectivity they need to work and to stream and to do schooling and telehealth," Isakson told the Minnesota Star Tribune. "It's still a big challenge that we're trying to fix in rural America."

This is the fifth round of funding from the ReConnect Program, which has invested $4.4 billion in bringing high-speed internet to more than 680,000 people in the most rural and remote areas of America. The Biden administration's Internet for All initiative aims to connect everyone to high-speed internet by 2030.

Isackson said the co-op has served the Brainerd lakes area for 75 years, first connecting rural folks with telephone service. Now the company will use the funding to install fiber optics.

"It's kind of future-proof technology for them," he said.

Construction is expected to start in 2026, with all next year dedicated to engineering the project that will cover about 43 square miles. Within the project area, Isackson said there are very few homes per mile, and that's how it can get costly to create the technology infrastructure.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a news release announcing the funding that these projects create good-paying jobs and support rural communities.

"Through these investments, we are connecting the most rural and remote communities to a global marketplace and bringing new opportunities within reach," Vilsack said.