(NAFB.com) – USDA’s Undersecretary of Rural Development, Dr. Basil Gooden, announced nearly $173 million in funding to connect rural residents, farmers, and business owners in the Dakotas and eight other states to high-speed internet. “Keeping the people of rural America connected with reliable, high-speed internet brings new and innovative ideas to the rest of our country and creates good-paying jobs,” Gooden says. “Thanks to the ReConnect Program, we are connecting the most rural and remote communities in our country to a global marketplace.” He also says the funding will drive economic security and rural prosperity for generations to come. The ReConnect Program is designed specifically to fund the most difficult high-speed internet projects in the nation in the most rural, remote, and unserved communities. The USDA has invested more than $4 billion in 345 ReConnect Projects that will help bring high-speed, reliable internet access to more than 600,000 people throughout rural America.