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Local tribe earns $3 million plus for broadband expansion

By Brian Hagen

10/20/2022

Kickapoo Tribal Chairman Lester Randall

(KAIR)--Kansas Governor Laura Kelly on Thursday announced today that the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas has received a grant of more than $3.7 million to connect over 350 Native American households and businesses with broadband.

Kelly, in a release, says that “connecting more than 350 Kickapoo households and businesses to high-speed internet” continues the goal “to make Kansas a top 10 state for broadband access by 2030,” with the funding helping to “ensure people in every corner of [Kansas] can connect to the world.”

According to the release, the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas was one of the 23 Tribal communities across the country who received an “Internet for All” grant to expand access to affordable, high-speed internet.

Kickapoo Tribal Chairman Lester Randall, in the release calls the ability to build strong connections “an important key to our future,”adding that the funds from the grant will provide the tribal community with accessible high-speed internet, “enhancing opportunities for economic development and educational achievement while increasing access to critical health and safety resources.”

In 2020, the release notes, Kelly established the Kansas Office of Broadband Development to connect Kansans in unserved and underserved areas to high-speed internet. That year, the Governor also launched the state’s only broadband investment program, the Broadband Acceleration Grant Program, which has since brought more than $70 million of broadband infrastructure investment to Kansas communities.

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