The Pine and Lakes Echo Journal reports…
The Pine River Economic Development Corporation facilitated a legislative forum Monday, Jan. 19, in the Pine River-Backus High School Media Center, offering residents and businesses the opportunity to ask questions of area state legislators.
Legislators included District 5A Rep. Krista Knudsen, R-Lake Shore; District 6A Rep. Ben Davis, R-Mission Township; District 5 Sen. Paul Utke, R-Park Rapids; District 6 Sen. Keri Heintzeman, R-Nisswa; and District 6B Rep. Josh Heintzeman, R-Nisswa.
Broadband was one of the topics…
Five topics were prepared ahead of the two-hour forum, including: efficient communication with state agencies about underutilized state property, Minnesota Paid Family Leave Act and legislation, broadband funding, Highway 371 development, and the future of bipartisan communications in the Legislature.
And what was reported…
Legislators talked about the limits of broadband access in rural Minnesota in spite of federal and state programs supposedly designed to bridge those gaps. Josh Heintzeman said it is very difficult to pass bills for broadband expansion if it restricts those funds to outstate districts.
He said with current budget woes, it is unlikely that there will be funding in the near future for more state broadband grant money.
Utke said the money is sometimes directed based on decisions by the businesses in charge of installation.
“It’s a business decision in a lot of cases with how much work they can handle this season and what they are going to do, and in some cases they will go after certain grants that fit their business models,” Utke said.
Utke said those businesses might choose to expand in one place versus another based on existing infrastructure, weather, convenience and population density.
Because they have the chance of serving more customers, those businesses may be less interested in projects that capture a smaller number of rural customers as opposed to those living in a more densely packed city area.
Utke said state grants have requirements that federal grants do not, such as requiring contractors to pay prevailing wages, which can eat into the profit margins of a broadband project.