There is only one person who I know for sure has attended more MN Broadband Task Force monthly meetings than I have over the years, and that’s the Office of Broadband Development’s Deputy Director, Diane Wells. Diane is retiring this week. She has earned it, and Jenn Frost will be amazing at the job, but Diane will be missed.

Diane has been working for the State for the better part of 40 years. She has a depth of understanding of the technology, policy and regulation of broadband in Minnesota. Diane was recognized recent for her service to DEED (Department of Economy and Economic Development) and last year for her commitment to broadband access and deployment in Minnesota by the Minnesota Telecom Alliance.

Taking calls from unserved rural residents, she has connected them to providers and/or community resources to help them get connected. Working with grant applications, she has helped communities and providers find ways to fit their technology needs and offerings into legislative guidelines in a way that smoothed the path for better broadband for more Minnesotans. Diane has presented and spoken to numerous policymakers over the years about broadband. It’s a tough subject for most folks to tackle. And even for those of us who think we “get it,” Diane has always been patient with updates on complicated policy issues or even just remembering which town it was when they did the vote of broadband on the hottest day of the year.

I will miss Diane. I’ll miss her calling me out (quietly) when I get something wrong, I miss her sharing news with me and while post COVID, we haven’t been in the same room as often, I’ll miss her dry sense of humor. Mostly, I’ll just miss seeing her and knowing that she can help us all better understand the technology and the rules to get us closer to ubiquitous broadband. She is part of the secret sauce!

The video below is from the last MN Task Force Meeting where the recognized Diane and her work.