Broadband Access Increasing For Low Income Neighborhoods

By Steve Burger, WNIN

May 25, 2021

Thanks to a grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs, the new wi-fi hotspots will provide broadband internet access for people within a six hundred foot radius of the hotspot.

Department of Metropolitan Development Executive Director Kelly Coures told the Evansville City Council that the lack of internet access often keeps low income residents from accessing essential services.

“Any more if you want to apply for a job, you have to use the internet to do it. People applying for benefits, people doing homework. So, we thought that would be a good use for that money.”

The council voted to appropriate $245,552 in grant funds for the project. The five hotspots will be located at Memorial Baptist Church, the Progressive Holy Temple, the Dream Center, the Learning Center and at Young and Established, all in Evansville.

New regulations for what and where you can build, and how you use your property are being written in 2021.

Renters and landlords who are behind on their water bills may be eligible for emergency assistance.

WNIN is the NPR/PBS affiliate in Evansville, Indiana. We serve Southwestern Indiana, Western Kentucky and Southern Illinois from our multimedia facility located on the Ohio River in downtown Evansville. For the past several years, the recognized quality of our local news has placed us among the best small market radio news organizations in the nation.