A groundbreaking ceremony marked the beginning of an important new chapter for Park Region Mutual Telephone Company and the residents of Fergus Falls, Thursday May 11th.
The ceremonial groundbreaking, which took place at the Tech Center for Park Region, signified the commencement of a multi-million-dollar project designed to bring high-speed, fiber-optic internet to the region’s rural communities.
The ceremony, held at 3 in the afternoon on May 11, featured speeches from several key figures involved in the project.
Among those in attendance were Dave Bickett, General Manager and CEO of Park Region, Bree Maki, the new Executive Director of the Office of Broadband Development, Amy Baldwin, the Ottertail County Community Development Director, and Ken Budd, the Network Operations Manager of Park Region.
$8.4 million has been raised for this project through state grants, local donations from community businesses, and the successful application for a broadband grant by the county and several local townships.
The project will benefit nearly 1,300 homes, with the aim of closing the current gap where approximately 82% of homes have fiber connectivity.
Bickett stated, “There are so many things people are using [the internet] for nowadays. It’s truly necessary in order to have a vibrant community and we’re just really happy to play our role in bringing it forward.”
The Fergus Falls contractor, Ripley’s, will be deploying miles of fiber optic cables, benefiting the local community through employment and the economic injection.
The pandemic has proven the need for stable broadband connections for telehealth services, e-commerce, education enhancements, and access to medical records.
As Maki pointed out, “over 275 miles of fiber is going in, meeting the state’s 2026 goal of serving underserved locations. You all in the community and organizations and partnerships have put in over 5 million dollars, and I think that what this program really stands for is to help support that local knowledge and contribution and importance.”
Amy Baldwin added, “The number of households is growing. This infrastructure will help move us into the future, and when you look at the county’s long-range goal, this type of investment is highly noted and is important for us to continue our vision into the future.”
It’s clear that Park Region Mutual Telephone Company and its partners are committed to further efforts to bring connectivity and broadband capabilities to every resident in the county.
