The Minnesota Star Tribune writes about Credit River, a new MN city contemplating hiring a lobbyist. While, this isn’t directly related to broadband, I think the article points out a difficulty that smaller towns can have with fewer staff members than larger towns have when addressing so many issues, including broadband…

Credit River shed its township designation in 2021, incorporating as a brand-new Minnesota city sandwiched between Lakeville to the east and Prior Lake to the northwest.

Now, the city’s sewer and water lines are steadily aging, interim City Administrator Eric Johnson said. Nitrate pollution is impacting one development. And fixing those issues could add up.

So elected officials are mulling an idea some of their larger, neighboring cities have embraced for years: hiring a lobbyist — a professional presence at the Capitol who could help Credit River snag state money for its local infrastructure needs.

“We’re basically a new city, still, without a whole lot of services,” Council Member Jay Saterbak said at a recent meeting, before adding: “I think we should really consider finding other funding that’s outside that’s available to us. If it’s available to everybody, why shouldn’t we also take a look at that?”

Nearly 150 Minnesota local governments employed staff or hired contract lobbyists in 2023, according to a state auditor’s report. Those governments spent $7.6 million to pay lobbyists to promote their individual legislative wishes, while a collective $5 million funded their membership in lobbying groups, such as the League of Minnesota Cities.

And you can see above, the article quotes Perry Mulcrone, Scott County’s staff lobbyist, who also manages the county’s fiber network and broadband assets, which also hints at an innovative approach, find folks with many skills.