Category Archives: bbc

BBC project check in – what’s happening with broadband in four communities.

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Earlier this week the Blandin Broadband Communities met to check in and check up. I took brief notes on the projects. They are innovative but hearnig about them is a sobering reminder that not everyone has broadband. In the cities and indeed in many well-wired rural areas, we forget that. But think of the general store that can finally process credit cards online. Think of the tourists who can finally use credit cards at the shop. Think of the kids on the school bus for 6 hours, who are now able to get something done on the ride.

Mahnomen County

  • Youth asset mapping – educators in Mahnomen worked with students to take pictures of cultural assets and map them.
  • Collaboration between city, tribe and entrepreneurs and a coworking space where folks could visit in person but also access digital training online.

Austin

  • Library privacy room for folks who need to have private remote meetings for telehealth or anything else. They have a new tech person on board to help.
  • Community Access Building (CAB) will house community services. It’s an actual space that will have access and again have a private space for remote meetings.
  • Expanding outreach to smaller communities through the libraries.

Pine County

  • Partners with ISP to bring fiber to a local general store for public access for community members. Now they can take credit cards!!! That also provides some middle mile. This was only done because of Blandin support.

Warroad

  • Wifi on busses has been a big hit. Students are on the bus for 3 hours (one way!) anytime they go anywhere. They are able to do homework, watch lectures and even see the end of tournaments when they leave early.

We even got a few testimonials on the bus wifi…

I have a lot of students, who prior to having wifi on the buses, would tell me how they wish they WIFI for watching lectures. And now my students let me know if they are going to be travelling for an athletic event. Will often remind me, to please make sure that I have for them on Schoology the lecture video for them to watch either to or returning from an activity so that they can do the assignment. 

I would say this is one of the most valuable educational assets that we can provide for our educational athletes and that our students do use this for keeping up with their College in the High School classes.
Thank you; Instructor

For our football players having wifi on the school buses is a gamechanger. Our varsity and jv games are 3 hrs away. Game nights are often on midweek school nights and our players spend 6 hrs on the bus in order to play. The wifi allows our students to keep up in their classes and make that time productive. Virtually everything we do is based around our online learning platforms and wifi is essential. Without it our kids would need to stay up once they get home after midnight after games or literally choose to fall behind. It makes a world of difference for the kids and helps make being a student athlete a little less burdensome.
Football Coach

The JH girls volleyball team used bus wifi to watch the varsity volleyball game when we left early from KCC. It was fun to still be able to watch when we weren’t there in person.
Volleyball Coach

 

 

BBC chat on digital equity projects in Big Stone, Lincoln and Pine Counties, Austin and Warroad

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Last week the BBC (Blandin Broadband Communities) final cohort met to catch up with what was happening in each community.

Here’s a very high level list of what happening:

  • Big Stone has smart rooms and training through PioneerTV. The are trying to get local government folks to join via streaming versus travel unnecessarily.
  • Lincoln is adding hotspots, adding an Internet safety class and an at-home at Lincoln County program and is getting fiber to some of the last areas.
  • Austin has hosted a PCs for People event (refurbished computer distribution), working on privacy internet kiosks so that people can privately get public access to the Internet, working on getting seniors more comfortable with technology with an online trivia event and digital literacy training.
  • Pine County held come “Going Google” classes, working with a provider to build towers for fixed wireless and working in another areas on deploying fiber.
  • Warroad is working on Wi-Fi on sporting fields to aid in livestreaming, completed Wi-Fi on school buses and enhancing backbone coming into Warroad.

 

Warm wishes on a cold night celebrating broadband in Le Sueur County

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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.

Blandin Broadband Communities (BBC) update with Austin MN

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It’s always rewarding to hear what’s happening on the frontlines of digital equity in Minnesota and I had a chance to do that with Jennifer Sims, who is managing the Austin BBC initiative. Jennifer comes from education and Adult Basic Education (ABE) background, which sounds like a fantastic fit for the role. She has the skills and knows the target audience. That audience includes families with kids, seniors and a school district where 48 languages are spoken.

They have done an event with PCs for People distributing refurbished computers. They distributed 50 computers. A unique challenge for the area is the diversity of languages and number of English learners, especially when it comes to filling out the necessary paperwork to get the PC. So, before the distribution event, Austin held an event at the community college to fill out forms in advance; 20 people showed up and were ready for the distribution event with paperwork in hand.

Jennifer is new to the project. She has started planning with focus groups. She started the first focus group at summer block parties with Austin Aspires (BBC sponsor). She also is working through local agencies to meet folks for the focus groups. She has learned a lot; here are a couple of examples:

    • Helping people access the Affordable Care Program funds, she found that Spectrum requires that anyone who has been an existing customer for 30 days or more, has to end their current services and reapply if they intend on using ACP.
    • Parents want training or rules to help them manage technology access for their kids. It’s difficult when the technology is new to them. For example, parents found that YouTube for Kids, isn’t always safe for kids.
    • It has been tough to get seniors to participate in focus groups. But she has a plan to lure folks in with games/trivia opportunities.

 

Language

Work with local companies

Blandin Community Broadband Program Update

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From the Blandin Foundation…

As the rural broadband landscape transforms, so too is our broadband programming. While Minnesota plans for federal investments in digital equity and adoption, we will be exploring the ways we can adapt to make sure rural community interests are centered and supported. As we grow into a new chapter of our work, we will be phasing out existing broadband programming and grantmaking. Our October gathering will also mark the final broadband conference hosted by Blandin Foundation.

Big changes are on the horizon for broadband in rural Minnesota and Blandin Foundation remains committed. Digital access and literacy are essential to rural opportunity and prosperity, and we want to make sure our work is evolving with the needs of your community.

We look forward to celebrating at the October conference our big broadband milestones and dreaming together of a digitally equitable future as we reflect, recharge and inspire new generations of champions.

Updated Matrix of Blandin Broadband Community Projects

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Every year Blandin updates a list of Blandin-funded projects. It’s a fun list if you’re trying to brainstorm ideas for your own community. Here’s an abridged list:

  • Austin Area – Focus Groups with Traditionally Underrepresented Populations – Better understand the technology needs of diverse groups in the Austin Area by hosting a series of focus groups with underrepresented groups, including but not limited to senior citizens, non-English language speakers, and individuals with disabilities and their caregivers.
  • Austin Area –  Translation Software – Bridge the communication gap in the Austin Area through the use of translation software. Austin Public Schools currently serves families representing 45 home languages, and nearly 50% of students identify as a member of an ethnic minority. Translation assistance is needed throughout the community.
  • Austin Area – Public Access Privacy Rooms – Facilitate access to and use of technology through the creation of at least three “Zoom Rooms” strategically placed around the city that people can use to conduct private business including job interviews, parent-teacher meetings, medical appointments, etc.
  • Austin Area – Digital Literacy Training – Build digital literacy skills around the community by hosting digital literacy training classes. Targeted populations include the elderly, ESL families, and people wanting to improve their work skills. Austin Area Development Corporation of Austin Small Business Resiliency Through Technology Help small businesses innovate, update, and flourish by promoting the availability of Mower County’s micro-grant program. Participating small businesses will receive a technology assessment to pinpoint resiliency gaps in operations, marketing, or online presence, and have access to matching grants to address issues.
  • Austin Area – Community Tree Nursery – Promote the creative application of technology and address environmental justice by designing and constructing a gravel bed tree nursery to grow trees to augment loss associated with aging and dying trees throughout the community. The nursery will be used as an educational tool through videos, photos, and articles shared online.
  • Austin Area – Affordable Connectivity Program Promotion – Connect qualifying families to affordable internet service by promoting the Affordable Connectivity Program through various community engagement efforts, including assisting them with the application process.
  • Big Stone County – Smart Rooms – Expand technology access around the county by creating four Smart Rooms in four communities that residents can use for remote meetings, trainings, and connect with friends and family.
  • Big Stone County – Lakeside Apartment – Broadband Access Improve educational and career opportunities by ensuring low-income residents in public housing have access to computers and the internet. The project will expand Wi-Fi to the common areas of Lakeside Apartments for both building residents and residents of other public housing units in Ortonville.
  • Big Stone County – Assistance for Veterans – Increase access to educational opportunities and support services among veterans by offering technical literacy training.
  • Big Stone County – Training for Small Businesses and Organizations – Increase the sophistication of use of broadband to help small businesses and organizations, with a special emphasis on artists, sell and market their products and services.
  • Lincoln County – “At Home in Lincoln County” Website – Promote and market Lincoln County to residents and visitors by expanding the current countywide website to include a comprehensive overview of the county’s communities, resources for residents and visitors, business information, and events and activities.
  • Lincoln County – Ivanhoe Broadband Community Survey – Determine Ivanhoe residents’ satisfaction with current broadband offerings and gauge interest in a potential fiber optic network by conducting a community broadband survey.
  • Lincoln County – Public Wi-Fi – Access Increase access to the internet by providing public Wi-Fi access at parks and other spots where people gather around the county.
  • Lincoln County – Internet Safety Programs – Educate parents, students, and community members on internet safety by conducting training programs on Social Media Safety and Internet Fraud and Scams.
  • Mahnomen County – Conference Room Tech Upgrades – Improve the effectiveness and efficiency of community meetings by upgrading technology in the Mahnomen City Hall conference room, allowing them to host virtual meetings. The room will continue to be available to various community organizations.
  • Mahnomen County – Youth Asset Map – Build new technology knowledge and skills among youth in 4-6 th grades by conducting workshops where students will create 3-5 informational QR spots around Mahnomen educating visitors about attractions and traditions.
  • Mahnomen County – Food Shelf Computers and Inventory Software – Improve the efficiency of Helping Hands Food Shelf and improve access to food for community members by providing a computer and implementing a software program to track inventory and use, including allowing clients to pre-order food.
  • Mahnomen County – Library Technology – Upgrade Increase library-users’ access to technology through the purchase of a new machine capable of color printing, copying, scanning, and faxing.
  • Mahnomen County – Co-Working Services Launch – Provide support and services for entrepreneurs and small business owners by providing free access for two years to the co-working space for White Earth Nation tribal members and other qualifying Mahnomen County entrepreneurs.

Fed broadband funding lessons from 2010 help with funding today: Madison & Appleton MN finally getting fiber!

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It feels like the before-times, out on the road talking to folks in rural Minnesota about broadband and more. Traveling with Mary Magnuson, we made a few stops this week, starting with the UMVRDC (Upper Minnesota River Valley Regional Development Commission) to chat with Dawn Hegland and Kevin Ketelson.

UMVRDC supports Big Stone, Chippewa, Lac qui Parle, Swift and Yellow Medicine counties in Western MN. Broadband-wise this list includes some of the best and worst served counties in Minnesota.

Communities need awareness and education

Dawn has been working with the Blandin Foundation since the early days of MIRC (2009); she knows her stuff. Yet, as I say some of their counties are well served and others aren’t. One reason is that some communities are willing to invest, and some have not been. It makes the case for continued need for awareness and education.

Communities like LqP were early into the game, getting ARRA funding back around 2010, when some communities were still asking what broadband was. Post pandemic few communities (or community leaders) need a definition for broadband but the ones who needed it before were at a serious disadvantage during the pandemic shut downs. Swaths of communities were left to try to work, study and stay healthy in communities with inadequate and unreliable Internet access. While just down the road, folks had fiber.

So, while generally people understand the need now (and it remains a top concern in the annual regional survey), people don’t understand the ins and outs of technology. People think “the government will take care of it” or don’t appreciate the difference between fiber and satellite. Decision makers are often consumers online (getting email or watching videos) not producers (uploading work files, homework videos or selling online). They think because they are happy with local connections that others will be as well. But that is often not the case, especially if they are trying to recruit new businesses or young families to the area.

Understanding the landscape helps

Understanding the technology is only half the battle for community leaders. Especially now, you need to understand the funding options because rural broadband is expensive and a lot of State and Federal money will be going to deploy broadband over the next few years. But the applications are onerous and it’s important to find the right fit to serve the whole community, which leads to a long broadband story in the area with a soon-to-be happy ending.

As I mentioned earlier, LqP was an early adopter. They got federal funding for FTTH more than 10 years ago … to most of the county. Unfortunately, Madison, the county seat, was not eligible for the upgrade because the maps showed that they were already “served.” In 2010, that meant they has access of speeds of at least 10 Mbps down and 1 up. So for 10 years rural LqP has had fiber and the county seat has not. They have been actively looking for help to funding to support fiber deployment (because even the county seat in LqP is pretty rural) but had not been successful until now.

Last summer, UMVRDC helped Madison and Appleton apply for CARES funding from the state to build better broadband. (Appleton was in a similar position as Madison, but in Swift County.) The requirements and conditions of the grants were different than other opportunities and it turns out a good fit for both areas. There were awarded the money and Acira is working on Madison now and soon to be moving to Appleton. (Mary and I happened to run into folks from Acira in town too. They were excited to finish the jobs they started 10+ years ago!)

While I’m happy to share the good news of Madison and Appleton, I offer it also as a cautionary tale. Again, unprecedented funding is going into broadband in the next few years but most folks I’ve heard from feel that it won’t cover universal broadband and areas left unserved (or underserved) will have a difficult time catching up once the money is gone. That gets me back to the first point – communities need awareness and education.

Cloquet Broadband Committee recommends partnership with CTC

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The Pine Journal reports…

During a Cloquet City Council work session Tuesday, April 5, the Cloquet Broadband Committee provided an update to the council about the responses to its broadband survey and the next steps the committee will be taking.

Holly Hansen, the city’s community development director and a member of the broadband committee, said the county at large struggles with broadband issues.

After receiving survey responses and continuing to research solutions, the next steps for the committee include finding a partner to help plan and work with the city to develop a better broadband infrastructure.

After interviewing companies in the area, Hansen said the committee recommends moving forward with a possible partnership with Consolidated Telephone Company.

Lincoln County students learn about downsides of Internet and Social media

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I’m thankful to the Tyler Tribute for letting me reprint their article on a recent meeting of students and lawyers about some tricky areas of internet and social media use by teens. I have done similar training in the past so I know how important it is. Often kids are given a very powerful tool with limited safety training, which can be dangerous. Lincoln County schools (with help from the Blandin Foundation) found a way to open dialogue…

Three schools gather at RTR for assembly on downside of the internet

Tuesday, March 22 the students in grades 5-8 from RTR Public school, along with Hendricks Middle School and Lake Benton Elementary, met in the RTR Performing Arts Center for an informative meeting about

the downside of the internet. The presentation was given by Joshua Heggem and Kristi Hastings of Pemberton Law Firm, located in Fergus Falls. The presentation was brought to the schools by the efforts of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department.

Hastings has represented numerous school districts for many years and talked about social media, technology and mistakes that other kids have made on social media that in turn will hopefully be a good learning tool to

prevent kids making these mistakes themselves.

This presentation came about as a response to the amount of cases they were seeing coming in, “When we started this, it came about because we were seeing so many disciplinary things coming across our desks. Expulsions and other serious consequences; Three kids getting kicked out of sports they love playing because of mistakes they were making on social media,” Hastings told the group. They came up with this presentation with a desire to get ahead of the rise they were seeing in cases based around social media, bullying using social media, and technology use and the dangers it presents.

Statistically, 97% of all kids in grades 5-8 are using social media of some sort every day. “I’m a huge fan of social media myself, so you’re not going to hear that it’s bad or that you shouldn’t use it at all because there are so many positive things that come with social media—the ability to connect with people all over the world, communicate with family and friends—these are all positive things that prior generations didn’t have.”

Hastings went on, “We are just focusing on the downside of social media and unfortunately, as lawyers, we see a lot of it.” Joshua Heggem shared a story of how quickly things can happen when social media is involved. “An instance I had once; a group of seventh graders who had made a Snapchat group for their class—they made it with the intent of bullying one classmate.

During these hateful comments aimed at the student, someone said they were going to put a hit out on the classmate. Within hours there were sheriffs at the school interrogating kids for terroristic threats.” Heggem recanted to the kids, “Some kids were charged with crimes; kids were getting suspended. The kid who made the threat, I believe was expelled from school.” Heggem made it clear that expulsion comes with heavy consequences, “That means you can’t set foot on school grounds, you can’t play any sports, you can’t even go to a sporting event, you can’t go to the football field.” Along with all those who faced charges and school consequences, there were also kids that needed mental health services after the ordeal, including the child who had been the subject of the bullying. Even if the kid who said the threat never meant it, the words were still out there on social media and have to be taken seriously. Heggem made it clear to the kids that things can’t be taken back once said on social media no matter how safe or secure you think it is. Hastings touched on things that don’t happen on school grounds; for instance, a kid initiating a fight at the park across the street of the school as opposed to on school grounds. “These school rules follow you when you are at a school sponsored event, when you’re here on school grounds, but also when you do things that negatively impact other kids’ ability to come here and learn,” Hastings explained.

This brought them to the next topic, “We do have a state law here in Minnesota that prohibits bullying of your classmates; things that are intimidating, threatening, abusive or harmful,” Hastings touched on. “Any bullying

that you carry over online is treated the same way. So, for instance, if you push a kid into a locker, that is the equivalent of bullying online and will carry the same punishment.”

They brought up “group thought” which is the concept that someone comes up with an idea and the group just goes along with it. “It happens a lot in our school cultures and climates because kids have not fully developed. Often times, the ability to say no I’m not interested in that idea/activity,” Hastings explained. An example used was one of another small school in Oakes, North Dakota which gained national news recognition.

“They had a tradition there of making a straw man before the homecoming game every year. So they would make the straw man and then burn it in a bonfire and then play their game,” Hastings told the kids. “A couple of

years ago, someone in a group came up with an idea—let’s make a noose and hang the straw man. Then someone comes up with the idea to put a jersey on it. Well, they put the number of the only player that is a person of color for the other team on the jersey. Someone in the group took a video of it, probably shared it with their close friends and contacts and someone recognized it was quite racist and it made national headlines. What it does, is it makes the world look at your school and question who lives there, what are they teaching here,” Hastings further explained to the kids.

The presentation touched on many topics that kids today are coming in contact with more and more every day—things like sending/receiving nude photos being a technical form of child pornography which is punishable by law, sharing pictures of your friends as a joke from the locker room is a form of privacy invasion and punishable by law. All the topics were relevant and appropriate.

Another presentation was given for the high school grades 9-12, after the middle school was done as it is a topic of discussion worth having from middle school on.

Community Conversation in Chisago County with Ben Winchester

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Last week I attended a great session in Lindstrom Minnesota (Chicago County) where Ben Winchester was keynote. Here’s the official description of the event …

MN rural sociologist Ben Winchester presents his “Rewriting the Rural Narrative” keynote speech at Chisago Lakes Performing Arts Center in Lindstrom, MN. Prefaced by Chisago Lakes Chamber Exec Director Katie Malchow and her description of local Blandin Foundation grant programs, Ben leads the audience through a fascinating dose of rural reality, unveiling all the media and anecdotal misinformation that gives rural Minnesota a bad rap. Speech followed by a panel discussion with 3 local newcomers and what it’s like to move out to the Chisago Lakes area. Video by Jack Doepke, Chisago Lakes Public TV.

[at the speaker’s request, this video may be taken down in 30 days – so late April 2022]

Ben is always an engaging speaker. He has more statistics than Carter’s got pills, he’s on the frontlines and he is able to make connections clear. His mission last week seemed to be to remind attendees that rural areas are not dying. As he said, how can rural areas be dying and yet, it’s so hard to find a house to buy in a small town?

The rural/urban/suburban population numbers get skewed because once a town grows too much – it slips into a new category. So the biggish small town suddenly becomes suburban or metro.

Rural folks have to help change the narrative that rural is dying. Recognize that your town isn’t in the middle or nowhere – especially with broadband – you’re suddenly in the middle of everywhere. On tactic is to think regionally, not hyper-locally. Your hometown may include you’re the towns of your home, school, work and hobbies.

Ben’s talk is inspiration and it’s fun to hear from the panel of transplants to Chisago County too.

Cloquet (MN) is asking residents to take broadband survey and speed test (Carlton County)

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Pine Knot News reports…

Cloquet schools superintendent Michael Cary spoke about how important reliable and affordable high-speed internet is for today’s students. The Cloquet Broadband Committee is asking residents for a few minutes of their time to complete a survey about their internet service. Local business people and public officials gathered Wednesday morning to talk about the need for reliable high[1]speed internet in today’s world, and how the pandemic has exposed some of the deficits in the city of Cloquet

Here’s more info on the survey…

Thanks to the selection of the city of Cloquet as a Blandin Broadband community, the city has more resources now to evaluate needs and options to improve service within city limits. But they need more information from residents and businesses about their access to the internet: cost, reliability, speed and more. The information gained will help guide the city and community leaders on opportunities to explore ways to improve broadband services. That’s where the survey comes in. Through Jan. 31, the city is reopening its broadband survey at https://www.goctc.com/cloquet for individuals and businesses within the eastern Cloquet city limits. A map puts the borders of eastern Cloquet at Kinden and West St. Louis River roads to the north, Crosby Road to the east, Moorhead Road to the south and Pinewood Drive and the St. Louis River to the west. Scanlon is not included, nor is the Fond du Lac Reservation, which will be rolling out its broadband fiber to all residents within the FDL Reservation territory, including the western municipal city limits of Cloquet. Those without internet access can get assistance with completing the survey at the Cloquet Public Library. Anyone who completes the survey will be entered into a drawing to win an iPad. People can test upload speeds at this website: https://broadband.ramsmn.org/mn-rural-broadband-coallition%5B1%5Dinitiative.

OPPORTUNITY: In Cloquet MN, please take the broadband survey to help plan for better broadband (Carlton County)

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Fox21 News reports…

 A foundation is recognizing Cloquet as an area of rural Minnesota that could use some help boosting its access to broadband internet.

The Blandin Foundation offers $75,000 matching grants to help advance technology goals for communities that apply to be a part of the program, and Cloquet is one of the newest cities to receive funding from it.

Now, Cloquet is asking residents to fill out a survey so city leaders can better understand what the internet needs are in the area, so they can help more residents connect to broadband services.

Leaders say that these past two years have shown how reliant society is on internet access to be able to work or learn from home.

“We forget sometimes that there are people in our communities who don’t have that same access,” Dr. Michael Cary, the ISD 94 superintendent, said. “And it becomes extremely critical in situations where we have to deliver education or learning through that medium.”

Dr. Cary added that 25% of Cloquet students don’t have access to reliable high speed internet.

The survey runs until January 31st, and you’ll be entered to win an iPad if you take it.

BBC Cohort meeting – learning about what’s happening with broadband communities in Minnesota

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Yesterday the Blandin Broadband Team met with incoming and outgoing Blandin Broadband Communities. The seasoned folks gave advice to the newbies, especially in how to make broadband planning possible in the pandemic world.

We also heard from each of the communities about some of their highlight projects for example, Ottertail spoke about their community smart room/zoom rooms and broadband availability mapping too, White Earth spoke about their elders initiative, Chisago Lakes talked about their community survey and broadband infrastructure work and the virtual manufacturing tours (for students looking at careers) and Le Sueur talked about their economic development summit and the Google Suite work.

Blandin takes a look at last two years with grantees such as White Earth Nation

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Regularly the Blandin Foundation takes a look at the various communities they have been working with to promote, deploy and use better broadband. They use the Mountain of Accountability Framework as a tool to help learn from the past two years. The graphic to the right gives an overview of the pieces of the assessment.  You can check out the full report to find out how many YouTube subscribers the Blandin Broadband channel has or total amount of grants awarded. But my favorite part is checking in on each of the communities helped – and for sake of archive and brevity of post I’m going to share them each separately:

White Earth Nation is the largest reservation in Minnesota.
The broadband situation across the reservation is uneven.
While nearly 90% of residents have access to fixed, non-mobile broadband that meets the 2026 state speed goal of
100 MBPS download and 20 MBPS upload, there is a broad
swath across the middle of the reservation that is un- or
underserved (red in the figure to the left.) Cellular service is
also a concern across the reservation.
The Steering Team’s focus was increasing Wi-Fi access across the reservation and getting devices and internet connections to those who need it most, which they deemed to be families with students, and elders.
The team instituted an elder lending program to provide devices and mobile hotspot access to older residents on an as-needed basis, with recipients being allowed to check out the devices for several weeks at a time. Along with the device lending, digital navigation services are provided on topics such as telemedicine, online classes or meetings, and social engagement.
The lending program for students and families focuses primarily on internet hotspots rather than devices, since
younger people often have device access through schools or
cell phones. The hotspots allow students access for schoolwork. Families living in tribally owned and operated
housing units were given priority.
Public access projects include installing Wi-Fi hotspots in communities to provide safe and secure locations for
residents to access the internet and installing cell signal boosters in communities with poor cell service. They will also install televisions in White Earth Public Transit buses to improve communications across the reservation, including announcements, daily information, and marketing of community events.

Blandin takes a look at last two years with grantees such as Otter Tail County

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Regularly the Blandin Foundation takes a look at the various communities they have been working with to promote, deploy and use better broadband. They use the Mountain of Accountability Framework as a tool to help learn from the past two years. The graphic to the right gives an overview of the pieces of the assessment.  You can check out the full report to find out how many YouTube subscribers the Blandin Broadband channel has or total amount of grants awarded. But my favorite part is checking in on each of the communities helped – and for sake of archive and brevity of post I’m going to share them each separately:

Erin Smith, Otter Tail County BBC team member and Director of the Viking Library System, had this to say about her BBC experience during a meeting with Foundation staff in April 2021:
“During this past year broadband and these tools are how people have stayed connected. It’s so imperative that everyone has that opportunity – [both] during the pandemic and going forward too. I just think there’s a lot of purpose and meaning to the work… it’s been a bright spot!”
Indeed, as the pandemic took hold in 2020, participants in the county’s visioning process identified as priorities getting broadband access to families and individuals without
(through subsidized services, public Wi-Fi), enhancements to help kids be successful in the distant-learning environment imposed due to COVID, and public education around why broadband is important to everyone in the county – for schools, healthcare, attracting and retaining businesses, and more.
The Otter Tail County team implemented a number of projects to redress equity issues that came to light due to the COVID pandemic. For example, the county distributed one hundred Tech Packs to residents impacted by the pandemic. The packs contained a laptop computer, wireless hotspot device with six months of prepaid internet service, and digital resources for jobseekers from CareerForce. This
project was identified through the BBC visioning process, but the County primarily used CARES funding to pay for it, extending the reach of the overall BBC effort. Of the tech-pack recipients, 54% reported not having internet access at home.
Two other projects were identified through the BBC program but funded by CARES. The first was Smart Rooms – six indoor public meeting spaces with audiovisual equipment for use for job interviews, virtual meetings, distance learning, and more. The rooms are located at four public libraries, the Battle Lake City Hall, and the City of Vergas Event Center. More spaces may be identified and funded with Blandin dollars.
New public Wi-Fi access was made available in four locations: Battle Lake Public School parking lots, Underwood School activity buses, Kirkbride Park in Fergus Falls, and downtown New York Milles. More locations are being explored.
Two projects implemented address knowledge workforce. The first was a Virtual Career Fair and additional STEAM offerings in summer childcare programs. In previous years Greater Fergus Falls and the School District hosted in-person career fair to introduce students to local career opportunities. Shifting the fair to a virtual format actually allowed them to expand to six businesses outside the Fergus Falls area and expanded marketing efforts county-wide. The STEAM element allowed Fergus Falls YMCA to expand coding education and other technology education offerings. Also, Perham Boys & Girls Club added coding robots to their programming, and they explored digital media and arts in other kids’ programming. Another project focused on improving business resilience through technology by offering technology audits to local small businesses, and then using what they learned to provide specialized learning opportunities for participating businesses.
The Otter Tail County team made good use of the fifty PCs for People computers provided by Blandin Foundation. They targeted senior citizens and families receiving human
services assistance. They purchased webcams to complement the computers and offered tech support and digital literacy resources.