Minneapolis Star Tribune today ran an editorial that calls out the importance of broadband and the importance of broadband policy specifically vis a vis the upcoming election and the Governor’s Race. They list a couple of issues they see as getting in the way of broadband expaion in Minnesota…

• The state still has a piecemeal strategy — one relying too much on individual city or county initiative or luck getting grants — for making high-speed Internet available across wide swaths of Minnesota.
• An antiquated state law also stands in the way of communities that want to pursue their own version of FiberNet Monticello. With research increasingly demonstrating that high-speed service boosts rural economic development, communities underserved by current providers should not be held back by the unfair 65 percent threshold for popular support the law requires to go forward. A simple majority would suffice.

They go on to really highlight the importance of raising the issue in the Gubernatorial race and give a nod to Tom Horner for getting the discussion going…

So far, broadband speed and access has been a sleeper issue in this year’s watershed governor’s race. That needs to change. A landmark paper this year by Jed Kolko of the Public Policy Institute of California solidly linked broadband to employment growth, particularly in rural areas where it’s needed most. Bristol, Va., is a compelling real-world example of jobs following high-speed networks. The fiber optic cable laid by a utility there played a key role in Northrop Grumman and the consulting firm CGI hiring 700 people in the area.

Too often the link between jobs and Internet speeds goes unrecognized. This is not about surfing faster on the Web; it’s about building technological infrastructure for the state’s current and future businesses, institutions and entrepreneurs.