Today the Star Tribune ran a nice article on Dakota Future and their plans to be one of the Top Seven Intelligent Communities as judged by the Intelligent Community Forum within the next three years.

I’m excited to see my fellow BoB blogger, Bill Coleman, quoted in the article. Bill, who is also the executive director at Dakota Future, was instrumental in getting Robert Bell from the Intelligent Community Forum to speak at the 2008 Blandin Broadband conference. Robert spoke about what makes an intelligent community and how an intelligent community can make a difference.

The Intelligent Community Forum receives applications from potentially smart communities around the world. The application process is rigorous and competitive but I have faith in Dakota County. In the article, Bill says, “This is a way to pull everyone together, to get us on the same page with the same kind of priorities.”

Win, lose or draw, the application process sounds like a good impetus to focus. I don’t’ want to make the job any tougher for Dakota County – but I’d love to see more Minnesota communities get inspired to think big!