Governor swings through Hartley

Representatives from two local telecommunication companies had the ear of Gov. Kim Reynolds Aug. 30 in Hartley.

Officials from Evertek and TCA hosted the two-term Republican governor at Savings Bank, where they gave an update on a joint fiber internet project that's ongoing in the area. Evertek Assistant General Manager Chris Dodd said Reynolds' visit gave both companies a unique opportunity to share ground-level observations regarding the installation of fiber in rural Iowa.

"We got quite a bit of her time to talk about the project and discuss some other positives we've had with it as well as some of the obstacles," explained Dodd. "It was critical that we not only had the governor's ear, but also her representatives from other agencies so they know what's going on."

The contingent toured a site north of Hartley where fiber internet cable is being buried to connect rural customers with high-speed service. A portion of funds for the project was made possible by Broadband Grants Program – Empower Rural Iowa, which aims to upgrade internet service across rural portions of the state.

The governor's office in 2022 awarded Evertek more than $11.9 million to expand its fiber network in rural areas near May City, Melvin, Hartley, Primghar, Sioux Rapids, Paullina and Early. The company partnered with TCA and North West REC on the grant.

Once in place, fiber internet will provide much faster speeds to rural customers than their current wireless service. Though costly to bring to rural areas, customer demand for faster internet has exploded in recent years.

Dodd said workers are wrapping up the Sioux Rapids portion of the project and just recently started in rural Hartley. He said those in attendance at the governor's visit gave an update on progress, which has been slowed by a variety of factors.

Dodd explained that getting permission to bury fiber lines, contacting customers and spreading awareness about the benefits of fiber internet have topped the list. More concerning has been getting other utilities to respond to line locates in a timely manner, as finding and maintaining quality employees has been a multi-industry issue.

"The workforce is depleted, and these companies are no longer locating their services like they're supposed to," said Dodd. "It's extremely frustrating. Sometimes it takes two weeks to get someone to a location, which just slows everything down."

Dodd said workforce recruitment was a topic of emphasis, as was the impact inflation rates are having on the project.

"Everything has skyrocketed," he said. "It really hurts the business plan and it's going to take more to pay for these projects even with grants."

Others in attendance last week included representatives from the O'Brien County Board of Supervisors, TCA Board of Directors, Office of the Chief Information Officer, and other staff members from the governor's office.

"It was a fantastic opportunity and great visit," Dodd said.