(KAIR)--More than $3.2 million in grants have been awarded for broadband expansion projects in Atchison County.

Governor Laura Kelly on Thursday signed an executive order to establish the Office of Broadband Development and announced the distribution of nearly $50 million in Connectivity Emergency Response Grant funds for 67 broadband infrastructure improvement projects across the state. The funding is through the Coronavirus Relief Fund of the federal CARES Act.

The Atchison Area Economic Development Corporation was awarded a nearly $391,000 grant to provide enhanced fiber broadband service from downtown Atchison to the campus of Amberwell Health ( Atchison Hospital) on the southern edge of the city.

A coalition made up of the Economic Development Corporation, Atchison Area Community Foundation, Amberwell Health, and Rainbow Communications is providing the local matching funds for the project.

In addition, Rainbow Communications, headquartered in Everest, was awarded $2.8 million in grant funds for an expansion of its fiber network to the towns of Effingham and Lancaster.