Here’s the news from our latest newsletter. It’s mostly a compilation of Minnesota-related stories from the blog in the last month – but sometimes it’s nice to have it compiled.

Minnesota Broadband Bill
The Minnesota broadband bill was introduced in early February http://tinyurl.com/yla8ma5 in both the House and Senate. http://tinyurl.com/yg5wtxq  The bill proposed a ubiquitous speed goal for broadband in Minnesota of 10-20mbps down and 5-10Mbps up and sets goals for Minnesota to become a broadband leader nationally and internationally. The bill promotes the formation of a council to support broadband in the state and requests regular reports on the status of broadband in Minnesota. The bill has been cleared by the full House Committee and is expected to head to the Gov Committee this week. It is expected in the Senate floor in the next two weeks. http://tinyurl.com/yl7gnre

Kate Rubin, President of the Minnesota High Tech Association, outlined other policies that MHTA is watching this legislative session including the passage of a 25 percent tax credit for angel investors and funding for key science and technology higher education bonding projects. http://tinyurl.com/yhfarpe

ARRA Broadband Stimulus Update
Minnesota broadband providers and advocates have been busy this month preparing for the March 15 deadline for Round II applications to receive ARRA broadband funding, despite the fact that not all Round I applicants have been informed of the fate of their applications, and are now being urged to apply for Round II – just in case. The Southwest Minnesota Broadband Group (SWMBG) is one of the few initiatives celebrating in Minnesota. They received a $6,350,000 loan and $6,350,250 grant to provide service to eight rural communities throughout Southwest Minnesota. http://tinyurl.com/yb5jeut

Blandin Foundation is an organization in limbo. In early February, Blandin was contacted by the NTIA for further information regarding their proposal. http://tinyurl.com/y9o8u63 Last week, they were told that while the application is progressing, they may not hear more until mid to late March. http://tinyurl.com/ykehxru

FCC Reports on Importance of Broadband Adoption
A recent FCC survey confirms that broadband/Internet training is as important to non-users as access. The survey indicates only four percent of Americans have no access to broadband yet only 78 percent of adults are Internet users. Non-users cite a range of reasons for not connecting including cost, privacy concerns, unable to see reason to go online, unaware of how to use the Internet and more. http://tinyurl.com/yzq6rvw

The findings echo an earlier survey performed by Northfield-based ID Insight. They found that 40 percent of Americans don’t access broadband; of those who don’t, their survey found 38 percent said they don’t need it or are not interested, 26 percent said it is too expensive and only 3.6 percent said it is not available where they live. http://tinyurl.com/yb2r55q

Funding for Healthcare Technology
The Minnesota Department of Health is receiving $9.6 million to facilitate health information exchange at the state level. Bloomington-based nonprofit Stratis Health will receive $19 million so it can function as a “regional extension center” to aid Minnesota and North Dakota health professionals on adopting the technology. The U.S. Labor Department awarded more than $13 million in health IT jobs training grants to three Minnesota community colleges: Northland Community & Technical College, in Thief River Falls and East Grand Forks, $5 million; South Central College, in Faribault and North Mankato, $4.5 million, and Pine Technical College, in Pine City, $4.2 million. http://tinyurl.com/yg2lrhp

Broadband Applications
Testimony via YouTube was permitted in the Minnesota House this session. Rep. Andy Welti introduced a bill that would incorporate mental health education into physical education and health programs for students in grades 7 through 12. He was supported by Kayla Murphy, a Marquette University student, who testified via YouTube that she has suffered from anorexia nervosa, an illness that claimed her aunt’s life. http://tinyurl.com/ya67xwl  

Local Broadband News

Cass, Crow Wing, Morison and Todd Counties
With help from a federal loan, Consolidated Telecommunications Company (CTC) of Brainerd will install 1,524 miles of fiber optic cable in 6 communities in north central Minnesota over the next 5 years. http://tinyurl.com/ylgvtay

Crosslake
The local broadband provider in Crosslake sent an editorial to the local paper supporting the Ultra High-Speed Broadband Task Force recommendations for the Legislature. (Several similar editorials from local providers were seen in other local papers as well.) http://tinyurl.com/yzpvaf9

Dakota County
Dakota County has decided to apply to become a pilot community for a Google 100Mbps network. http://tinyurl.com/yg6nb8c

Duluth
Duluth/Twin Ports is the first Minnesota community to rally support to submit an application to become a pilot community for a Google 100Mbps network. http://tinyurl.com/yg6nb8c

Lake County
Lake County did not receive funding in Round I broadband stimulus funding; they are preparing to apply for Round II funding. http://tinyurl.com/yk5soeh

Minneapolis
Clearwire is planning to bring 4G into the Twin Cities. http://tinyurl.com/yzumh8d

Northeast Minnesota
Counties north of Duluth experienced a severe telecommunications outage in January when a fiber optic line was damaged or destroyed. The cause of the damage is uncertain and the outage lasted 12 hours. Providers and communities in the area are seeking answers. http://tinyurl.com/ykkqc4q

Ramsey County
The Ramsey County library director outlines steps needed to take to seriously address the growing information gap in our communities. http://tinyurl.com/yfonzm6

Rochester
The Mayo Clinic is investigating home monitoring of patients with chronic diseases to reduce hospitalizations and emergency department visits. http://tinyurl.com/yflh896

St Paul/Ramey County
St Paul/Ramsey County gears up to apply for Round II broadband stimulus funding. http://tinyurl.com/yggq53a

(Many stories are gathered from local online newspaper. Unfortunately each newspaper has a different policy in regards to archive news and therefore we cannot guarantee access to all articles cited.)

Coleman’s Corner

Over the next several weeks, broadband s¬eekers will be trying to peer into the black boxes of decision making at NTIA, RUS and Google. We are all seeking guidance in crafting applications for federal stimulus funds and Google gigabits. There are no crystal balls of transparency, only 100-page NOFAs and application guides from the feds and questions about poles, rights of way and average temperature from Google. How does one craft a winning application?
A compelling story is required to differentiate a project from the masses. That story includes the setting (community analysis), heroes (leaders), a MacGyver-like plan and plenty of action to overcome the adversity. If your community has a shared consensus around your story, writing a grant becomes an easier task. If your community’s story matches the grant program’s priorities, the application can be truly authentic and matching resources will be available from project stakeholders. You can apply with some confidence that you have a shot no matter how decisions are made.
Creating a community’s story from scratch under the time pressure of a grant deadline is not likely to yield positive results. Partners must be found, matching resources will be difficult to identify and key leaders must grant approval to initiatives with little community foundation. When a grant like this is submitted, all involved can only feel that there must be a better way.
What’s your community’s story?