As posted on the Mille Lacs Messenger…
People from across Mille Lacs County, representing all sectors of the community, are invited to help set the community’s path forward on broadband. The meeting is on Tuesday, Oct. 29, beginning at 11 a.m. until about 1 p.m., at the Northern Lights Ballroom & Banquet Center, just 4 miles south of Milaca off of Highway 169. A light lunch will be provided. Please contact Roxy Traxler at roxy.traxler@co.mille-lacs.mn.us with any questions.
As part of its selection as a Blandin Broadband Community, the Mille Lacs County Broadband Initiative leadership team encourages participants from all sectors — education, business, government, health care and residents within the county to join in this conversation to identify and prioritize opportunities for action.
On the agenda will be an overview of the county’s broadband projects to date, a visioning session of what comes next and what participants would like to see in terms of internet access, and finally a prioritizing and assignment of project ideas to submit for the next grant round in December.
Committee members say is extremely important that they include as many different voices as they can in this meeting, and that they represent all sectors of the community. The goal of this meeting is to further develop the broadband initiative priorities and projects. These ideas will come from those at the meeting. With these ideas generated, the leadership team will continue working with the community to focus plans, setting the county’s broadband initiative agenda for at least the next two years.
Mille Lacs County is one of nine rural Minnesota communities designated as Blandin Broadband Communities. This initiative is an intensive, two-year partnership between Blandin Foundation and these selected rural Minnesota communities. The initiative provides planning and organizing support to regions that demonstrate readiness and leadership to either bring robust broadband adoption to communities without it, or assist already connected communities make the best use of information and services broadband can deliver.