The USDA announced a series of broadband grants yesterday as part of the larger broadband stimulus aimed to expand high-speed Internet access to every American home and business. Here is a closer look at the new projects being announced.

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Four more states recently announced broadband infrastructure projects, which will bring high-speed Internet access to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses. The projects include several job creation efforts and a plan to expand broadband access to the most underserved state in the nation.

In Idaho: $9.8 million in funding will be used to build out fiber lines to connect local medical facilities and libraries in underserved rural areas of Whitman County. “Port of Whitman is thrilled to have these dedicated broadband infrastructure funds to help bridge the digital divide in our area," said Joe Poire, Executive Director of Port of Whitman. "This will help provide our citizens and our rural region the same opportunities for economic growth that you see in metropolitan areas.” The project’s developers noted its long-term economic growth potential, which will see the same lines available for commercial use connecting to county homes and businesses. Read the full KLEW TV report here.

In Maryland: Using a combination of federal grants and private investments, Coppin State University will invest more than $1 million to build a campus-based community broadband center. The funding will support 60 computer labs. "The idea is for people to use IT to grow in all of those areas," said York Bradshaw, the university's director of the Institute for Local to Global Community Engagement. "This will allow us to engage with the surrounding neighborhood in many new ways." Read the full Baltimore Sun story here.Read more

Here is a look at four more states launching broadband deployment and Health IT projects:

In Michigan: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded the state a federal grant of $14.9 million dollars toward building a statewide health information technology network:

The goal is to give residents and health care providers greater access to patient records and health care information and enable providers across the state to share electronic records.

In New Jersey: The Commerce Department also awarded the Garden State $2 million toward their broadband mapping projects, which extend over five years.

In Pennsylvania: The state will receive $99.6 million in federal funding toward a 1,700 mile, statewide broadband network that will bring broadband access to 22 underserved counties. The funding comes after a joint request from Pennsylvania universities, health care organizations and economic development groups. In addition, $29 million in private funds will go toward building the Pennsylvania Research and Education Network (PennREN).

In Utah: The Commerce Department awarded the state a $13.4 million grant designed to “boost economic growth, create jobs and improve education,” in the state through a “Broadband Technologies Program.” Primarily, the project will allow Utah to expand broadband access through public schools, community institutions, libraries and Head Start centers.