BLUE EARTH– More residents of Faribault County are getting closer to having improved Internet capabilities in their homes.

“The construction for the broadband grant is approximately 50 percent complete,” county Economic Development Authority specialist Annie Nichols told the Faribault County Board members at their meeting on Tuesday.

“The cable has been run up to the homes in Delavan and Frost and Elmore and Bricelyn are not far behind.”

Because the broadband project is at its halfway point, Nichols was at the meeting to request a second public hearing to ask for citizen input on the project.

“The second hearing is part of the requirements which are attached to the grant,” she explained.

After some discussion the board set the public hearing for Dec. 20, at 5:50 p.m. in the commissioners room of the Faribault County Courthouse.

The board also took action to approve change order No. 2 for the courthouse heating, ventilation and air conditioning project in the amount of $5,157.

The change was necessary because of extra pipe which was needed for the county attorney’s building.

In other business:

— Board members approved the request of Erin Beske of the Sheriff’s Department to attend a training session on defeating NIBRS (National Incident-Based Reporting System) errors and warnings.

— A request by Thomas Elmer of the Sheriff’s Department to attend the Minnesota South Central Investigators Coalition Winter Conference was also approved.