Last fall I mentioned that Frontier Communications and Dish Network had developed a $10 million partnership set on driving growth and revitalization in rural towns and cities within the telco’s 27-state territory – including Minnesota. It’s called the Americas Best Communities.
Eligible communities had to apply by Jan. 12, 2015, to qualify. Then judges selected up to 50 qualified applicants; each of which was awarded $35,000 to develop their plans and proposals. These communities have months to refine and submit their final proposals in September 2015.
Good news – Chisago Lake Area made the cut!
Frontier Communications announced the Chisago Lakes Area is 1 of 50 recipients of the America’s Best Community (ABC) award. It is a $35,000 grant. They also have a Corporate sponsor now that will provide the $15,000 grant match as well as technical assistance and expertise. It is a very exciting opportunity for the Chisago Lakes Area. The funds are used to prepare extensive plans to go on to be 1 of 8 for the $100,000 grant. The winners then go on to take 1st , 2nd , or 3rd place for a $3, $2, or $1 million grant respectively.
I know that they got support from the Blandin Foundation in the form of consulting from Bill Coleman for the effort. It would be great to see Chisago go all the way. It seemed like a long shot in September but the odds are getting better and they are learning more and getting closer to the funds but also to iterative improvement at every step of the game.