I was pleased to see Kathy Annette’s letter to the editor in the Minneapolis Star Tribune on the state of broadband at the State. Here is an abridged version…

The world is not backing away from broadband investment, so why would Minnesota?

Opportunity should not be limited by ZIP code. When it comes to broadband access, every community, every person, matters.

Alice Topness matters. At age 77, Alice spends her mornings connected to other seniors via a virtual exercise class in Winona.

Eddie matters. An aspiring coder at age 14, he shares his Ojibwe culture by creating mobile apps to inform and educate others on the Fond du Lac Reservation.

Kristin Fake matters. After overcoming her initial skepticism about how the Internet could help her Akeley home-staging business, Kristin is now connecting with new clients online, boosting her annual sales. She also has helped others in her community tap the power of broadband. …

At Blandin Foundation, we believe that broadband access — and the skills to use it — are fundamental to healthy, resilient communities. For 13 years, we have stood with Minnesota leaders as they rallied their communities to design and claim vibrant, broadband-enhanced futures. We have invested more than $4 million dollars of our own resources in support. We share the hope and confidence of the nearly 6,100 homes, 83 community institutions and hundreds of businesses statewide who will benefit from the $19.4 million in grant funding allocated by the Office of Broadband Development to ensure that no Minnesota community will be left behind.

There is more work to do. More than one-fourth of Minnesota households still lack broadband access that meets our state’s broadband goals. …

Legislative leaders must press on. And communities themselves must continue the hard work of education, awareness and broadband adoption.

I work closely with the Blandin Foundation on broadband efforts. I know they do good work and have been doing it for years. Sometimes I forget how unique it is to have a Foundation that is so instrumental in broadband. I was reminded of how lucky we are earlier this year at the Gigabit Cities conference in Kansas City. People outside of Minnesota are jealous. But as Bernadine Joselyn from Blandin is great for saying, “You have to do it yourself but you can’t do it alone.” That’s true of the communities, the Foundation, the providers. We need the State’s continued engagement to make sure that we achieve border to border broadband that will help everyone in Minnesota succeed.