Last night Le Sueur County held a celebration of broadband, headed up by Barbara Droher Kline. We were there to recognize a few key people who have helped bring better broadband to the area, starting with Barbara but we quickly realized that it’s a team effort. Everyone had a story. Some stories were of happy users working from home or not driving to the nearest fast food Wi-Fi to get homework done. Some stories were of frustration as Le Sueur has had its challenges with national providers getting (and subsequently losing) federal funding to serve the area when local providers were prepared to do it. A lot of the stories were of appreciation for Barb and other leaders, for the Blandin Foundation, for providers like Bevcomm and for policymakers who understand. It takes a village but it also takes a champion.

Le Sueur has been very vocal about what is working and what isn’t working for them. That has made it easy for folks like me to tell the story to help other leaders around the state (and beyond) recognize challenges and prepare for obstacles. It also helps policymakers understand where they can best channel support.

Barb’s speech below sets the stage.