Kalamazoo Times

Michigan will add $3.3 million more in funds in order to provide high-speed internet access to more areas of  the state.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently made the announcement that the money comes from the Connecting Michigan Communities (CMIC) grant program, which will provide 781 homes and organizations with access to high-speed internet, a press release from the governor’s office said.

“Access to reliable, affordable high-speed internet is critical for families, small businesses, and communities across Michigan,” Whitmer said in the release. “The funding in the Connecting Michigan Communities grant program helps us connect more Michiganders to high-speed internet that meets their needs and empowers them to succeed. I am also proud of the bipartisan broadband investments we secured in the Building Michigan Together Plan I signed earlier this year that will help us expand high-speed internet to even more families and small businesses so we can keep growing our economy.”

Three projects in the state will receive the funds that should ultimately lead to $1.4 million in yearly economic benefits from the internet infrastructure initiatives, the release said.

“With access to affordable, high-speed internet as our tool, we can connect Michiganders to opportunity,” Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II said in the release. “We can uplift communities, grow our economy, and boost access to education and healthcare. Governor Whitmer and I are committed to expanding access to high-speed internet in Michigan through Michigan’s High-Speed Internet Office and recent Building Michigan Together plan investments, which have already connected tens of thousands of families and small businesses. Today, we are proud to announce further investments through the Connecting Michigan Communities grant program. These funds will make a difference for Manistee, St. Clair, and Menominee.”

Gilchrist added that the state would continue in its efforts to provide every Michigander with internet access.

The CMIC grant program was created in order to meet that goal, and this was the fourth time the program has awarded funds.