A Minnesota state senator will propose a measure...

A Minnesota state senator will propose a measure that would create a $100 million competitive grant fund designed to extend broadband into underserved areas of the state. Sen. Matt Schmit, Democrat/Farm Labor Party, who plans to formally introduce the bill in coming days, said in an interview Thursday that the matching program could generate an additional $200 billion in broadband investments. Executive Director Dan Dorman of the Greater Minnesota Partnership, a coalition of businesses, nonprofits and cities that advocate for economic development policies, said the state had set the ambitious goal of being among the top five states nationally in broadband access by 2015. However, a Jan. 27 Minnesota Broadband Task Force report (http://bit.ly/1fujYwJ) found the state is falling short of meeting the target and faces a wide gulf in broadband access between urban and rural areas. Dorman, whose organization is supporting the fund, noted the state is expected to have a $1 billion budget surplus in the coming two-year budget cycle.