This week I have been at the Thriving by Design conference in Granite Falls. It is…

A statewide gathering of Minnesota residents to begin and follow-thru on a six-month process – Thriving by Design – Rural & Urban Together – to create a comprehensive policy agenda and socioeconomic contract – the One Minnesota Equity Blueprint – for achieving rural-urban and racial economic equity and inclusive growth.

I have been taking notes – and will continue to take notes today as we work toward creating that blueprint. I wanted to share the discussion on broadband during the “deep dive table top discussion”.

There were 13 tables; 12 discussed topics from the Ignite Presentations and Pam from MVTV Wireless added broadband as a discussion. I sat at the table that discussed broadband and with their permission I recorded the conversation. It’s not structured and the room was loud but it will give a flavor of how the session went.

At the table was Pam from MVTV, a couple of people who are interested in getting better broadband and two CTEP workers (techie AmeriCorps folks) who have been working on investigating affordable options for better broadband in the Twin Cities and the social justice aspects of where broadband is available (in urban areas) and at what price.

Again – the quality is rough because the first priority was the keep the conversation “normal” but it’s interesting and it was a good excuse to talk about the conference. If you are interested in learning more about the process – let me know and I can connect you with the planners. This process will live beyond the week