Meeker Cooperative 90th Anniversary

Ninety years ago, Meeker Cooperative turned the lights on for rural families across Meeker County. Today, it’s helping those same residents connect to a faster, brighter future – delivering not just electricity, but fiber internet and innovative solutions that empower life in the world today.

Founded in 1935, Meeker Cooperative has grown from a grassroots effort to electrify rural farms into a trusted utility serving more than 8,000 members. With a legacy built on reliability, innovation, and community spirit, the Cooperative is proudly celebrating nine decades of powering progress.

In the 1930s, much of Meeker County was left in the dark – literally. While urban areas embraced electric power, rural residents relied on kerosene lamps and hand tools. That began to change in 1935 when local farmers and area leaders formed Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association. With funding from the newly passed Rural Electrification Act, the first lines were built and by the end of 1936, electricity was flowing to 300 farms over 175 miles of line. Electricity transformed rural life with access to modern equipment and homes became safer and more comfortable.

Over the decades, Meeker Cooperative has continued to evolve. The Cooperative introduced underground lines in the 1960s, implemented energy efficiency programs in the 1980s and launched Operation Round Up in the 1990s – contributing more than $1-million to local non-profits, projects and scholarships. In 2018, recognizing that internet access was now just as essential as electricity, the Co-op launched Vibrant Broadband – its own internet service designed for rural communities.

Since then, the Cooperative has secured more than $32-million in state and federal grants to expand broadband access – bringing high-speed connectivity to homes, farms and small businesses that had long been left behind. Today, Meeker Cooperative continues to power homes and fuel progress through reliable electricity, broadband and energy innovation. It remains deeply committed to the cooperative values it was built on – member ownership, local leadership and long-term community investment.