SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — Gov. Kristi Noem is continuing her push for expanded state investment in broadband internet.
The governor highlighted South Dakota’s $5 million investment in rural broadband last year, which she says has already paid for itself. Her 2020 budget calls for another $5 million in funding.
Mona Thompson, the General Manager of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Telephone Authority, said broadband access made a big impact in the town of Timber Lake. Before, she said, students needed to wait all day for an educational video to download. Now, “they can download it at the speed of lightning.”
Noem called broadband access a “change of way of life” for rural people that can help them access education, job opportunities and grow businesses. The state currently ranks 35th in the country in the percentage of population with access to high-speed internet. About 88% of people in the state have access.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
