Kansas Governor Mark Parkinson (D, formerly R) recommended most of the projects that go through his state. Parkinson obtained the seat when Kathleen Sibelius, who had worked hard for Obama, especially during the primaries, resigned to become secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, a job that became very important when swine flu hit the U.S.
Parkinson, who says he plans to step down in 2010, appears to have recommended most of the applications in the state of Kansas, including several multistate applications. Kansas is one of the few states to recommend EchoStar’s nationwide satellite deployment. The governor also recommended a large and costly cellular deployment. Several of the projects appear to overlap each other.
The state even recommended a project from Connected Nation, the telcos’ non-profit.
“We’re excited to recommend these 22 applications to the NTIA, and we’re optimistic that many of them will be awarded funding,” said Carole Jordan, Rural Development Division Director for the Kansas Department of Commerce. “All of them show great potential for increasing broadband access to rural Kansas, which will benefit our state economy, create new Kansas jobs and help us fulfill the mission of the federal Recovery Act.”
Tags: cellular, connected nation, kansas, satellite