Koochiching, Le Sueur, and Waseca county teams will present what they’ve learned about options for broadband deployment in their communities.
Provider Respondent Panel Prospective partner telecom providers share their reactions to the work done by the charrette communities including tips for next steps, additional information required and key considerations for successful partnerships.
Learn why you want to become a member of and actively participate in the Minnesota Rural Broadband Coalition. Coalition leaders will provide an update on the coalition’s past efforts and future strategies for promoting rural broadband deployment.
Nancy Hoffman, Chisago County HRA EDA
Becky Lourey, Nemadji Research Corp.
Vince Robinson, Lincoln County Enterprise Dev Corp
Convincing a broadband provider to expand service in or to your area can be tough when the homes are few and far between. We will learn about tools that can help you quantify the interest that’s there and that will help build the business case.
Moderated by Diane Wells, MN Office of Broadband Development
In this hands-on session, we will go through the process of developing a message that you can use with local community leaders, policymakers and the general public to help them understand the importance of investing in broadband in the local community.
Communities still striving to get better broadband will tell their broadband stories – the trials, tribulations and successes. They will offer tips on how to keep the conversation alive and remain energized.
Facilitated by Mark Erickson
Nancy Hoffman, Chisago County HRA EDA
Jan Keough, Cloquet Valley Internet Initiative
Whitney Ridlon, MN Dept of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation
Prioritizing Digital Equity in an Age of Uncertainty Lisa Peterson-de la Cueva, St. Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN)-Community Technology Empowerment Project CTEP; Facilitated by Sam Drong
Promoting digital access and inclusion may have never felt more urgent, but achieving digital equity in an increasingly fragile democracy can often feel daunting. Lessons gleaned from the field and from social movements show how we are uniquely positioned to push for change and tell the story of a society in which technology is a tool for equal participation.
The Net Benefits of Broadband Adoption: An Empirical Case Study of Rural Indiana Alison Grant, Ph.D. Student, Researcher, & Instructor, Dept of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University
The presentation will provide an overview of a study conducted by Alison Grant, Dr. Wallace Tyner and Dr. Larry DeBoer of Purdue University that outlines and projects the statewide net benefits that could be obtained from installation of rural broadband in all of the areas served by Rural Electric Member Cooperatives (REMC) in the state of Indiana. If such a network were built, about 80 percent of the landmass would be served, and it could provide $12 billion in net present value benefits. From a societal perspective, the rural broadband investment is clearly quite attractive. However, the anticipated revenue from customers would not be adequate to cover the total system costs, so some form of external assistance would be needed to incentivize the investments.
There are two essential parts of a broadband plan – having it and using it. This session we’re going to talk about how to use it specifically by hearing from folks around Minnesota who have been creative about getting their community to make better use of broadband. We’ll get demonstrations and stories from a wide range of digital champions.
We will hear from each round of presenters, have time to mingle and ask follow up questions, then reconvene for the following panel.
1:00-2:00 – Digital Inclusion
PCs for Peoplehttps://www.pcsforpeople.com
Madeline Tate mtate@pcsforpeople.org
PCs for People refurbishes donated computers to distribute to low income households. They also offer affordable tech support and Internet access (where available). IN a partnership with the Blandin Foundation, PCs for People has been working with rural communities around Minnesota.
Project FINEhttp://www.projectfine.org
Fatima Said FSaid@Co.Winona.MN.US Project Fine focuses on integrating new Americans to their new home in Winona. They offer a range of classes and services including technology training from the ground up in multiple languages and opportunities for kids to learn how to code.
Cook Public Libraryhttps://www.alslib.info
Crystal Phillips crystal.phillips@alslib.info
Cook Public Library allows patrons to checkout mobile hotspots so that patrons can access broadband from home. She will tell us about the program and maybe some other innovative ways they are using broadband especially with teens.
Community Technology Empowerment Projecthttps://www.spnn.org/ctep
Katie Ward katieward@spnn.org & Gus Leinbach gusleinbach@spnn.org CTEP AmeriCorps members adopt long-term a technology project in the Twin Cities. They have done research, created portals, developed and deployed programs to get kids and adults to better use technology. Gus and Katie are CTEP members; they will talk about their experience as well as their peers’.
Ely/Hibbing Business Consulting, Entrepreneur Fund
Julie George, julieg@entrepreneurfund.org
Julie has worked with several BBC (Blandin Broadband Community) initiatives where local businesses have been paired with a consultant to work on digital marketing strategies and improvements – as well as business-focused technology classes.
Women’s March Minnesota https://www.womensmarchmn.com
Ann Treacy atreacy@treacyinfo.com
Women’s March Minnesota was born of the 2017 national march to action but has developed into a movement, largely based on use of the website, email list and social media. Learn how they are using online tools to encourage people to vote in the 2018 election through a campaign called Power to the Polls.
Boreal Corpshttps://www.borealcorps.org
Anne Brataas anneb@borealcorps.org
Boreal Corps is a program that is using technology to help kids help others to tell stories. Last year participating youth worked with the American Lung Association of MN to do online health messaging to reach their peers in Cook and Lake County about the dangers of vaping. Right now, they are working on a broadband multigenerational history project to unite the community behind a project in bringing a contingency to Uganda for the grand opening of the maternal-child clinic, sending kids text and photos that kids package into effective daily blog posts to keep the community engaged.
3:30 – 4:30 Digital Powerhouses
GigaZone Online Gaming Contest
Brian Bissonette bissonette@paulbunyan.net
Paul Bunyan is hosting their 3rd annual GigaZone Gaming Championship on Saturday, October 20 at the Sanford Center in Bemidji. It is the first and largest stadium style eSports event in northern Minnesota and last year over 3,000 in attended. All the fun is free. Guests can play in tournaments of Overwatch, Madden 19, Fortnite, Rocket League, Super Smash Brothers, Magic the Gathering, and more for cash and prizes. There is also open console and arcade gaming throughout and a Cosplay Contest for those who dress up and embrace their inner fantasy character with prizes of up to $200 for the top costume of the weekend.
Visualhttp://www.visualisgood.com
Chuck Olsen chuck@visualisgood.com
“Virtual Reality is Here.” Learn how this new medium opens up a world of new experiences with your smartphone. And here about how Chuck has used it for a wide range of purposes – music videos, promotions and social justice.
Precision Ag
Jake Rieke jacobrieke@gmail.com
Jake is on the board of RS Fiber, which has worked to bring Fiber to the Farm in Renville and Sibley Counties. He is also a farmer who uses improved broadband for precision agriculture applications.
Broadband is essential to a thriving community – but it is not a panacea and it won’t work in a vacuum. Like a treadmill in the basement, broadband is only helpful when you use it. In this session, panelists from a variety of organizations working to support tech-based economic development strategies will discuss their own efforts, and provide the audience with ideas on how they can engage with their own providers around broadband-fueled economic development.
Facilitated by Danna MacKenzie, MN Office of Broadband Development
This session will improve community leaders’ ability to make smart decisions and create partnerships to deliver wired and wireless broadband technologies.
Facilitated by Bill Coleman, Community Technology Advisors
In one week, Minnesota’s brightest and most experienced broadband thinkers and practitioners will gather at Madden’s on Gull Lake in Brainerd to learn from both formal presentations and active networking. This year’s conference will showcase and celebrate the transformative power of community passion fueled by high-speed broadband networks.
Check out the event agenda – there are so many reasons to attend. We hope that you do!
Blandin on Broadband 