According to the Brainerd Dispatch, on a recent trip to Northern Minnesota Senator Klobuchar spoke about broadband, the need for action and its potential role in the presidential election…

The newly-arrived presidential election season makes it a more likely time for progress on broadband, Klobuchar said, because the issue is popular in debates and campaigns. However, there is a need for concrete action along with all the campaign talk, she said.

“We need to actually put … the money where your mouth is,” she said.

Brainerd-area attendees gave anecdotes about how the lack of broadband impacts the well-being of people who need it to get information related to health care, education and business.

Richard Schulman of Leech Lake Telecommunications Company described a drought of proper Internet access on the reservation. The two-year-old company is the first tribally owned telecom firm in Minnesota, he said.