Duluth News Tribune reports on the race between Rep. Jason Rarick and DFL challenger is Michelle Lee of Moose Lake for Minnesota Senate District 11…

A high priority for Rarick — “since the day I was elected” — has been expanding high-speed internet access into rural Minnesota. He helped alter a state grant process to prioritize unserved and underserved areas and is working now with the city of North Branch on a pilot project to create a wireless service the city could then lease out.

“These last nine months have proven just how needed (broadband) is,” said Rarick, who lives in Brook Park, Minnesota, about nine miles southwest of Hinckley. “If our rural areas are going to stay vibrant, that’s something, going into the future, that we absolutely need.”