Director for Missouri's Office of Broadband Development gets to work on closing the state's digital divide

The recently named director for Missouri's Office of Broadband Development has been advocating for increased internet connectivity for years. Formerly working as the Missouri Farm Bureau's director of state and local legislative affairs, BJ Tanksley has witnessed the effects the lack of broadband has on thousands of Missourians firsthand. Tanksley was named director of the office in the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) in mid-January 2022 and will lead the state's efforts to implement Gov Mike Parson (R-MO)'s plan to invest more than $400 million in broadband. Tanksley and other members of the office are working on a gap analysis that is studying the current need for broadband and how to bridge those gaps across the state. He expects the analysis to be completed in late February 2022. A large chunk of the funding would go toward infrastructure with additional funds going toward increasing digital literacy, affordability and more. Along with increasing internet connectivity across the state, the investment in broadband would allow farmers to reduce the amount of resources they use and expand on animal and crop care, Tanksley said.