According to the Daily Globe, Legislators are going to hit the ground running talking about rural issues on February 25. On the top of the list of issues is property tax on farmland. But broadband made the list as well…

Economic development aid also is in the legislative agenda.

“We still have not seen all the economic developments they saw in the metro area,” [Rep. Paul] Marquart said.

[House Speaker Paul] Thissen suggested that lawmakers take action to improve fast Internet access, known as broadband, in rural areas. He said grants to fund Internet infrastructure construction could be considered and local governments may be given an easier route to borrow money for internet expansion.

The speaker also proposes several low-cost programs to provide aid for small businesses, mostly in greater Minnesota.

One would add money to a loan fund for businesses. Another would provide “innovation vouchers,” basically state subsidies to help manufacturers pay for private or college consultants that can provide specific expertise the business may not have.

It would be a good opportunity to be prepared – especially since in the of rural economic development broadband is a solution, not an issue! That being said, a recent article in Ars Technica indicates that for some folks rural broadband is always an issue. They report that lobbyists in 20 states have successfully campaigned to increase barriers to public broadband, which is one way small, rural towns have to get broadband…

To prevent this assault on their lucrative revenue streams, ISPs have teamed up with friends in state legislatures to pass laws that make it more difficult or impossible for cities and towns to offer broadband service.

Attorney James Baller of the Baller Herbst Law Group has been fighting attempts to restrict municipal broadband projects for years. He’s catalogued restrictions placed upon public Internet service in 20 states, and that number could be much higher already if not for the efforts of consumer advocates.