I attended Senator Schmit’s broadband talking tour in Mora last month so I was delighted to see follow up in the local paper, the Kanabec County Times. It looks like a rally and local call for action getting people to start thinking about how, why, when and where they could prepare to take advantage of the $20 million broadband development fund, which should be made available later this summer.

Nice to see the conversations starting – or in the case of Kanabec County continuing. I think luck is going to favor the prepared when it comes to the broadband funds…

“KBI is ready to go,” Peoples National Bank President Doyle Jelsing pointed out, spearheading local efforts to put together a local match that may include a combination of private investment, bonding, loans and in-kind services.

A feasibility study estimated that it could cost $2-$7 million to create an effective broadband network in the county that may involve both fiber and wireless.

Telecommunications providers like CenturyLink, MidContinent Communications, Genesis Wireless, and Kanabec Systems have a seat at the table and have expressed interest in working together to help achieve the ambitious goals.

“One of Kanabec Broadband Initiative’s goals is to utilize existing broadband to help make Kanabec County a great place to live, work, play and visit,” KBI Chair Marc Johnson said. “Providing our local businesses with a Web presence will assure that they can be found by residents and visitors alike. Johnson serves as executive director of the East Central Minnesota Education Cable Cooperative (ECMECC) — a consortium of 13 area school districts along with Pine Technical College.

He also praised the support of the Blandin Foundation, which provided $47,165 in local grants this year to help increase public access to the Internet in Kanabec County by creating Wi-Fi hotspots, furnishing area businesses with a Web presence, and assisting with the development of a Telework Center with high capacity bandwidth and technology for tele-commuting and after-school homework.