Thanks so much to Ann Higgins for sending me the following announcement/invitation. The commute is too much for me (from Dublin) but I hope that those who are nearby and/or available will attend. In fact if anyone does and can send a few notes from the sessions – please do send them and I’ll post them!

State Rep. Sailer Announces House Telecommunications Committee Coming to Park Rapids and Bagley

In an effort to get a clear picture of telecom issues facing Northern Minnesota residents, the House Telecommunications and Infrastructure Finance Division will be spending an entire day in Northern Minnesota on Tuesday, September 18.
The visit on September 18 will begin with a private tour for committee members to the Arvig Communications Systems (ACS) facility in Park Rapids. Following the tour, the committee will hold a public meeting to hear from area businesses, local government officials and individuals at the Hubbard Courthouse in Park Rapids from 11:30AM – 1:00PM.

From there, legislators will travel to Douglas Lodge in Itasca Park where, from 2:00-3:15 p.m., they will hear from Emergency Management Services, Law Enforcement and other local and state government staff discussing communications issues that are affecting their ability to provide services to area residents. The last stop of the day will be a public meeting at the Clearwater County Courthouse in Bagley from 4:00 – 6:00PM.

Residents are strongly encouraged to attend the meetings in their area. The sessions are designed to give individuals and businesses in this area a chance to talk about things that work well and to speak to the challenges they face with telecommunications infrastructure concerns.

For more information or to sign up to speak please contact Rep. Brita Sailer at (800) 920-5867 or (651) 296-4265, 577 State Office Building, 100 Martin Luther King Boulevard, St. Paul, MN 55155 or via e-mail at rep.brita.sailer@house.mn