News – Page 19 – Western Nevada Development District

USDA ReConnect Program

January 6, 2022/in CARES Act, Industry, News/by JM@dmin

2022 Application Workshops Announced

The USDA Rural Development Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is providing two, three-day virtual workshops for those interested in applying for ReConnect Program funding. The ReConnect Program offers loans, grants, and loan/grant combinations to facilitate broadband deployment in areas of rural America without sufficient access to broadband.

Both workshops will present the same content. Register for the dates convenient for you. Workshop content will be posted on the ReConnect website as well.

Workshop Webinar 1: Tuesday, January 18th – Thursday, January 20th.

Workshop Webinar 2: Tuesday, February 8th – Thursday, February 10th.

Workshops will explore the ReConnect program application system and program requirements for FY2022.

Topics will include:

• Program Eligibility
• Evaluation Criteria
• Live Demonstrations of the Application System
• Overview and deep dive sessions on financial, network, environmental, and mapping requirements
• Compliance and Post-award Reporting

Space is limited. Register Today!

ReConnect Program Information

Workshop 1: January 18 thru 20, 2022

Workshop 2: February 8 thru 10, 2022

EDA Announces 60 Finalists for $1 Billion

December 15, 2021/in COVID-19, Industry, News/by JM@dmin

“Build Back Better Regional Challenge”

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced the 60 finalists for the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) $1 billion “Build Back Better Regional Challenge” the main component of the EDA’s American Rescue Plan programs.

The 60 finalists were selected from a pool of 529 applications and will receive a grant of approximately $500,000 each. Applications were received from 45 states and Puerto Rico. Additionally, the finalists will move on to Phase 2 of the challenge which will award a select group of 20 to 30 regional coalitions up to $100 million to implement 3 to 8 projects that support an industry sector.

The “Build Back Better Regional Challenge” seeks to boost economic pandemic recovery and rebuild American communities, including some that have been grappling with decades of disinvestment.

Build Back Better Regional Challenge

All Finalists

New Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

December 10, 2021/in Brownfields, Economic Development, News/by JM@dmin

Allocates More Than $1.5 Billion to Brownfields Program

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law last month, will dedicate more than $1.5 billion to the U.S. EPA Brownfields program. The Act includes hundreds of millions of dollars allocated to Multipurpose Grants, Assessment Grants, Cleanup Grants, Revolving Loan Fund Grants, and technical assistance and is intended to improve equity, stimulate redevelopment and reuse, create jobs, and mitigate environmental degradation.

U.S. EPA released an outline of how it will distribute the funding, including key information about funding limits for multi-purpose, assessment, cleanup, and revolving loan fund grants, plus upcoming grant timelines.

Check out the outline to the funding allocation below and join the National Brownfields Coalition for a conversation about opportunities arising from the Act and the state of brownfields nationally on Thursday, Dec. 16 at 10 a.m. (PT).

Registration: State of the Redevelopment Field

Read the funding breakdown here: Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: A Historic Investment in Brownfields

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

Take the Nevada Speed Test Today!

Infrastructure Act Broadband Grants

December 7, 2021/in Economic Development, News/by JM@dmin

Public Listening Sessions Set for Infrastructure Act Broadband Grants

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will host its first Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Broadband Programs Public Virtual Listening Session on:

Wednesday, December 15, 2021
11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time (PT)

There are five new broadband grant programs authorized and funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act:

• Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program
• Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program
• Digital Equity Act Programs (Includes the State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program)
• State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program
• Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program

Listening sessions will be hosted via NTIA’s virtual platform and conducted as a live public listening session. Registration information is required. The public virtual listening sessions are designed to collect stakeholder input to help inform program development and implementation. NTIA will hold additional public virtual listening sessions throughout January and February of 2022.

Registration: Public Listening Sessions

Nevada Speed Test

Without You, We Can’t Close the Digital Divide!

December 6, 2021/in CARES Act, Economic Development, Industry, News/by JM@dmin

Take the Nevada Speed Test!

Reliable, affordable broadband connectivity is vital to the development and well-being of all residents in the Western Nevada Development District (WNDD) region. However, not all communities are equally-well served with broadband connectivity.

The Nevada Speed Test is counting on fellow Nevadans to pinpoint those locations by logging on to NevadaSpeedTest.org, a mapping tool which measures internet speeds. By analyzing home and business connectivity, strategies can be identified and funding solutions pursued that improve regional broadband infrastructure.

The Nevada Speed Test may be performed on any device that has an internet or cellular connection and takes less than one minute to complete. No personal information will be collected. Repeated speed tests are encouraged during the one-year initiative to better capture variations in internet speeds and collect more statistically valid data.

If you haven’t taken the test, please log in today. If you have, please share with your friends, family and business colleagues. To help you help us, below is a copy/paste blurb ready for sharing on your social media platforms or e-mail outreach.

Nevada Speed Test

Copy and Paste Blurb Below to Help Spread the Word!

Please join me in being part of the Western Nevada Broadband Initiative, a coalition of local governments working to improve broadband connectivity. Your help is needed to pinpoint the region’s most unserved and underserved homes and businesses. By logging on to NevadaSpeedTest.org, a mapping tool which measures internet speeds, we can analyze home and business connectivity to identify strategies and funding solutions to improve our regional broadband infrastructure. It takes less than a minute and thanks for your help!

Connectivity in Nevada

November 24, 2021/in CARES Act, News/by JM@dmin

Broadband Funding Could Help Our Rural Communities

Connectivity is a crucial element for students and educators, particularly in rural Nevada. KTVN’s Paul Nelson profiled Western Nevada Development District (WNDD) member Pershing County and its school district’s reliance on the internet and the obvious gaps in digital service.

The Nevada Speed Test can help affected communities access funds being made available through the American Rescue Plan and the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Improvement and Jobs Act.

WNDD is urging everyone to be counted and be connected. Take the Speed Test Today!

KTVN: Broadband Funding

Nevada Speed Test

Five for Friday: Grant Opportunities – November 2021

November 12, 2021/in CARES Act, COVID-19, News/by JM@dmin

In our Nevada Speed Test edition of Five for Friday (Be counted and be connected at NevadaSpeedTest.org) we share economic development grants and loans which can help revitalize and build sustainability in urban, rural, and tribal communities. In this edition, the Western Nevada Development District shares grant programs that can help rural broadband connectivity, bolster school nutrition programs with locally-sourced food and promote water efficiency in the arid West.

ReConnect Program
US Department of Agriculture

USDA Rural Development recently announced that it will begin accepting applications on November 24, 2021, for up to $1.15 billion in loans and grants to expand the availability of broadband in rural areas. $350 million in grant funding – with no matching funds requirement – is being made available for Tribal governments and socially vulnerable communities.

Application Deadline: February 22, 2022

ReConnect Program

Telecommunications Infrastructure Program
U.S. Department of Agriculture

USDA Rural Development is accepting applications for loans and loan guarantees to build or update broadband and telephone infrastructure in rural areas where financing can be used for the construction, improvement, or expansion of telecommunications infrastructure serving rural areas with a population of 5,000 or less.

Application Deadline: Ongoing

Telecommunications Infrastructure Program

Farm to School Grant Program
U.S. Department of Agriculture

USDA Food and Nutrition Service Grants to plan, establish, and/or sustain a Farm to School program that improves access to local foods and nutrition/agriculture resources in schools. A Frequently Asked Questions document will also be available through the Farm to School Grant Applicant Resources Page of the FNS website. Please keep an eye on The Dirt e-newsletter for updates about the Farm to School Grant application!

Application Deadline: January 10, 2022

Farm to School Grant Program

WaterSMART
Bureau of Reclamation (USBR.gov)

Through WaterSMART, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation works cooperatively with states, tribes, and local entities as they plan for and implement actions to increase water supply through investments to modernize existing infrastructure. Through WaterSMART, Reclamation provides financial assistance to water managers for projects that seek to conserve and use water more efficiently and accomplish other benefits that contribute to sustainability in the western United States. Up to $2 million is available for projects that must be completed within three years.

Application deadline: December 9, 2021

WaterSMART

Investing in Food

America’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative offers resources such as grants, loans, technical assistance services, programming, and other forms of support to projects that will improve access to fresh, healthy foods in underserved rural and urban areas. The Targeted Small Grants Program (TSG Program) is making available at least $4 million will be available for grants for innovative fresh food retail and food system enterprises Grants will range from $20,000 to $200,000.

Letters of Interest due: December 7, 2021

America’s Healthy Food Finance Initiative

Take the Nevada Speed Test

KOLO TV Covers Nevada Broadband

Latest News

USDA ReConnect Program

EDA Announces 60 Finalists for $1 Billion

New Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

Infrastructure Act Broadband Grants

Without You, We Can’t Close the Digital Divide!

Connectivity in Nevada

Five for Friday: Grant Opportunities – November 2021

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