By Sam Parsons

The Mahaska County Board of Supervisors met yesterday morning and discussed a contract with Musco Lighting and MCG for county-wide rural broadband services using ARPA funds.

The Board said that this contract has been in the works for at least a year. The project has already begun its initial phases, but a representative of MCG said at the meeting that the company’s goal was to complete the project by 2028.

The contract, which was approved unanimously by the board, provides MCG with a forgivable $2 million loan, taken from ARPA funds. The total cost of the project will be approximately $14 million, with MCG covering the remaining expenses.