county commission

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

The Clay County Commission lined up with rural broadband provider Red River Communications Tuesday to ask Minnesota’s senators to help force the FCC to correct an error made two and one-half years ago. The Abercrombie, North Dakota-based cooperative rural customers in the southeastern corner of the county.

The problem goes back to an error on an annual report to the federal goverment filed in 2019 by the city of Barnesville. It was soon caught and corrected. But in the meantime, that slip-up prompted the Federal Communications Commission to withhold USF – Universal Service Funding – from the co-op, which provides broadband internet services to rural customers surrounding Barnesville and Rollag.

Despite persistent efforts to correct the error, Red River Communications CEO Tom Steinolfson told commissioners, the federal agency still has not reversed its faulty decision based on the now-corrected error. “Lack of USF funds has eroded our services in that area. Unless they are restored, we will be forced to raise rates for approximately 1,000 customers in the Barnesville and Rollag areas,” he said.

Commission chairman Kevin Campbell emphasized how essential rural broadband service has become, citing its role in continuing children’s education during the Covid shutdown.

“This was just a mistake. It has been corrected,” Commissioner Frank Grosz added. “Why can’t they just fix it?”

Steinolfson said his organization has gathered more than 600 letters of support urging the agency to do just that – to no avail. “Now we’re appealing to Minnesota’s senators to get this taken care of.”

The commission voted unanimously to throw its full support behind the effort.