This AP story briefly reports on Missouri’s quest to secure federal stimulus money for broadband internet expansion. The state is accepting applications from contractors, and here are the criteria by which they’ll be judged:

The first is to ensure eligibility with the federal program. Then the state will check technical expertise and experience, and finally, applicants will be reviewed for their ability to meet the project’s requirements.

In other words, ability to bring in stimulus money is the first thing looked at. Last of all, the state considers whether the contractors can actually do the job.