Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $1.7 Million to Create Broadband Network to Support Business Growth in Montgomery City, Missouri, Opportunity Zone

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1.7 million grant to Montgomery City, Missouri, to construct a broadband fiber network to serve local businesses. The EDA grant, to be located in a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zone, will be matched with $421,681 in local funds, is expected to create 70 jobs, retain 8 jobs, and generate $12 million in private investment.

“The Trump Administration is committed to helping American communities impacted by natural disasters build the modern infrastructure necessary to attract new businesses,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “This project will allow Montgomery City to create a more resilient economy through broadband, and the project’s location in an Opportunity Zone will draw in business growth and private investment.”

“Montgomery City was impacted by devastating flooding in 2019,” said Dana Gartzke, Performing the Delegated Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “Providing fast and reliable broadband will support local business expansion, retention, and attraction efforts. It will also boost Montgomery City’s capacity to support tele-work, tele-medicine, and tele-education, and maximize the city’s Opportunity Zone to further diversify and transform the community.”

“Expanding broadband access is critical to a resilient economy, especially now with so many Missourians depending on the internet for health care, education, and work,” said Governor Mike Parson. “This grant to Montgomery City will not only build on Missouri’s broadband infrastructure but help also generate business expansion and economic growth in the region.”

This project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the Boonslick Regional Planning Commission, which EDA funds to bring together the public and private sectors to create an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment, and create jobs.

The funding announced today goes to one of Missouri’s 161 Opportunity Zones. Created by President Donald J. Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Opportunity Zones are spurring economic development in economically-distressed communities nationwide. In June 2019, EDA added Opportunity Zones as an Investment Priority, which increases the number of catalytic Opportunity Zone-related projects that EDA can fund to fuel greater public investment in these areas. To learn more about the Commerce Department’s work in Opportunity Zones, please visit EDA’s Opportunity Zones webpage. To learn more about the Opportunity Zone program, see the Opportunity Now resources webpage. To learn more about Opportunity Zone best practices, see the recently released White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council Report (PDF) to President Trump.

This project is funded by the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (Pub. L. 116-20) (PDF), which provided EDA with $600 million in additional Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) Program (PDF) Program funds for disaster relief and recovery for areas affected by Hurricanes Florence, Michael, and Lane, Typhoons Yutu and Mangkhut, wildfires, volcanic eruptions, and other major natural disasters occurring in calendar year 2018, and tornadoes and floods occurring in calendar year 2019, under the Robert T. Stafford Act. Please visit EDA’s Disaster Supplemental webpage for more information.

About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)
The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation's regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA makes investments in economically distressed communities in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.