There’s a longish article in The Bemidji Pioneer today talking about a recent DFL fundraiser. I thought I’d draw out the comments on broadband, made by State Rep. Brita Sailer, DFL-Park Rapids. I’m not really following any topics outside broadband up there and I don’t mean to give air time to one side over another but the story that she tells of the woman who could work from home if she weren’t on dialup illustrates the problem in many rural areas and I think it’s a story that could be used by Democrats or Republicans…

Sailer, who is seeking a third term and faces former Rep. Doug Lindgren, R-Bagley, said if re-elected she wants to focus on energy and technology. She was ahead of the curve, and now chairs or has important posts in House committees dealing with energy.

Improving energy and technology policies “will keep us ahead of the curve,” she said. “For economy, we’ve got to get more jobs. There is great technology that is available for us. But a lot of it isn’t here.”
Bemidji is well-served with broadband Internet, Sailer said, but outside Bemidji is a different story. “For those of you who don’t (have broadband access), life is little different for you.”

Sailer told of a woman whose employer in Bemidji said she could work from home two or three days a week, and save on transportation costs.

“Excellent — good for the environment, good for her pocketbook, good for everything,” Sailer said. “But one little problem — she has dial-up (Internet access) so she can’t use the files.”
The state of Minnesota needs to do what it can to change that, she said, “so that we can have more jobs all over in our rural area and use that technology that we have in place or should have in place and move that along to benefit people in rural areas.”