ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Starting Wednesday, Minnesota public schools will be closed for several days, and more people will work remotely because of coronavirus concerns. That has renewed calls for more broadband internet access in rural areas.

The state recently announced additional investments to establish more high-speed internet networks for rural residents and businesses. Nathan Zacharias, government relations liaison at the Minnesota Rural Broadband Coalition, said while that extra money is helpful, there still will be areas where folks will struggle to work or learn remotely during this period of restricted public gatherings.

"We're going to see more pressure and more stress with the COVID-19 outbreak," Zacharias said. "And that's putting pressure and stress on all our institutions, and it's going to show that, really, broadband is no different than some of the other basic services that people need."

Zacharias said it means some people won't be able to check or send important e-mails, in addition to missing out on video conferences.

The coalition estimates 17% of Minnesotans lack broadband access. In 2019, the Legislature approved $40 million in grants to address the issue. And the coalition hopes an additional $30 million will be approved in 2020 to help close the remaining gap.

As for remote learning, the education department lists more than 35 online programs on its website that target many areas across the state. But officials say learning outside the classroom won't just involve the internet.

Minnesota Education Commissioner Mary Cathryn Ricker said school districts are being urged to get creative in planning for a long-term situation

"We are not accommodating a couple snow days, we are planning for the potential of weeks of distance-learning delivery," Ricker said.

In making the announcement Sunday, Gov. Tim Walz noted the open question of how remote learning would impact areas where there's a gap in broadband access. He said that issue, along with other potential factors such as providing care for children of health-care workers and meals for low-income students, will be factored into the immediate planning.

Ricker also said she'll hold talks with leaders of the state's public-library systems to see how they can help kids keep learning while they are away from the classroom.

Steve Grove heads the Department of Employment and Economic Development. He said while they continue to push lawmakers to provide emergency assistance to businesses and their employees, they hope companies will be mindful of staff in tight situations.

"We know that employers are already demonstrating extraordinary creativity during this time of crisis, and we ask that they continue to be collaborative and creative and help parents navigate school closures," Grove said.

That could include providing flexibility to workers who don't have the capability or technology to work from home.

And while temporary solutions are found for remote learning and working, the Minnesota Rural Broadband Coalition hopes policymakers don't lose sight of long-term needs. Zacharias said while progress has been made, there's still a lot of work to do.

"You don't build a road overnight, and you certainly don't build a broadband network overnight either," Zacharias said.

He said projects started through grants awarded from the recent round of funding won't begin until this spring or summer. And he said the new coronavirus sheds light on the need to ensure all state residents are connected when an emergency arises.


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The long-delayed Farm Bill could benefit Virginia farmers by renewing funding for climate-smart investments, but it's been held up for months in Congress.

Some lawmakers want this bill to expand funding for such programs as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, or EQIP, which gives financial and technical help to farmers and ranchers to make conservation a priority. About $250 million was allocated for the program, but more than 9,000 applications were submitted, bringing it to $475 million.

Gabrielle Walton, federal campaign associate with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said these programs' popularity proves their necessity.

"This money allows them not only to practice more efficiently - and to preserve the environment that they love so much and they're so attached to - but it also saves them money that they can devote to other concerns," she said, "and provides them stability for their pocketbooks going forward."

One issue with the new Farm Bill is a proposed increase in so-called "reference pricing," which critics have said only benefits large farming operations and would come at the expense of more widely used social and climate-smart programs.

Walton said she thinks political divisiveness and competing priorities have held up the new Farm Bill.

The previous Farm Bill was extended to this September, but lawmakers have said they aim to have a bill ready by Memorial Day. Along with climate-smart investments, the Farm Bill also funds social safety-net programs.

Geoff Horsfield, a policy director at the Environmental Working Group, said people don't always know how helpful nutrition programs are to families.

"There's a misconception that things like SNAP only benefit urban communities," he said, "and we just know that that's not true - that folks in all counties rely on nutrition assistance programs, some of these social programs, to be able to make ends meet."

SNAP and other nutrition programs received 75% of funding in the 2018 Farm Bill. More than 876,000 Virginians use SNAP and EBT benefits, since food insecurity has been a longstanding issue in the state.

Today, groups working with lower-income families in Connecticut are raising awareness about the state's "benefits cliff" with a day of action.

The benefits cliff is when a person might get a raise, have a kid with a part-time job, or some other income increase which then makes them ineligible for certain benefits. The changes can have severe impacts on communities and disproportionately affect families with children.

Stephen Monroe Tomczak, professor of social work at Southern Connecticut State University, said it is part of a larger workforce problem.

"People, particularly people of low income, are in a sense disincentivized to participate in the labor force and denied adequate jobs and income when they try to do that," Tomczak explained.

Several General Assembly budget bills could have dealt with the issue but most failed, which inspired today's action, a mock funeral procession to the governor's office to eulogize the bills, including the refundable Child Tax Credit, a housing voucher funding boost bill, and a bill eliminating the asset limit on the HUSKY C medical insurance program.

Social service advocates know the bills will resurface in next year's budget process.

Rose Ferraro, program lead of health justice policy advocacy for the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, said people are taking alternate steps like going to food banks or avoiding medical care to cover lost benefits.

"Folks will lose their rental assistance and then, they will sort of have to make some tough decisions," Ferraro noted. "'Do I put food on my table or do I make sure to pay rent?' And, so it becomes a sort of untenable position."

Ferraro added interwoven state and federal funding makes it hard to reach the core of the issues leading to benefits cliffs. One eulogized bill would have established a benefits cliff pilot program. For two years, it would have provided subsistence for people who've reached the benefits cliff.

New York towns are reaping many benefits since the Inflation Reduction Act was passed.

Along with funds for larger clean energy projects, the state was awarded $158 million for the IRA's Home Energy Rebates program.

Smaller towns and villages use these grants to implement their climate action plans.

Brighton Town Councilmember Robin Wilt said an IRA grant they applied for will help upgrade the town's HVAC system.

"We will be implementing geothermal and then use a solar array to make the system close to net zero, not quite," said Wilt. "I think we'll get 55% of our energy back with the solar panels."

The bureaucratic process to access the funding was challenging, but some groups are working with the Department of Energy to improve it.

Wilt said feedback on the clean energy projects has been positive. Future projects using IRA funding include increasing walkability and sustainable redevelopment.

Critics have said the IRA includes multiple provisions to increase fossil fuel production.

Towns nationwide are using IRA grants to bolster clean energy projects.

Joel Hicks is a council member for the Borough of Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

They've just applied for a grant to work on energy efficiency and solar projects with Harrisburg. He said this will have positive impacts beyond establishing clean energy.

"We were really excited at this potential," said Hicks, "because we saw that the cost savings we would have for putting in substantial solar projects on our public property would actually fund many of our other public municipal goals."

These include purchasing an electric vehicle fleet and having more efficient solid waste programs.

One thing Hicks said he wants to see in future is state and local governments helping small towns and municipalities with putting together their IRA grant proposals.