I attended a few of Senator Matt Schmit’s broadband listening sessions in rural Minnesota communities last week. I was unable to attend the session in Annandale so I was glad to see if covered in the St Cloud Times. The story highlighted a number of things Senator Schmit discussed…

Schmit, a first-term DFLer from Red Wing, says he expects to introduce legislation on the issue in the 2014 session of the Minnesota Legislature, which starts Feb. 25.

Schmit says he expects to propose changes to state telecommunications law. He says current laws make it unclear how local communities can partner with providers to upgrade broadband service or if they can borrow for certain broadband infrastructure upgrades.

Schmit says he also expects to propose new ways the state can fund broadband upgrades. He says that could come through state borrowing to fund upgrades or by creating a state program to issue grants or loans for broadband projects in local communities.

And shared an update on broadband work in progress in Annandale…

With a grant from the Blandin Foundation, a Grand Rapids-based rural development foundation, Annandale recently completed a feasibility study of steps the city could take to bolster Internet service. They include having the city take the lead in building a broadband network, partnering with Windstream to upgrade its network or enticing a competing provider to serve Annandale.