By Daniel Wilson
Rushford, MN
The State of Minnesota recently passed a state budget that will include up to $215 million over the next several years to expand internet access. With an additional $650 million coming from the federal government, there will be a lot of resources dedicated to solving the problem of broadband access. To make sure that this money is spent on the communities that need it the most, the MN Dept of Economic Expansion has set up Digital Connection Committees to receive input from the most impacted communities. I organized a committee in southern Winona County, and we had a great conversation with rural residents that live without access to broadband internet.
The group discussed the burden of living without the internet in our digital world. The lack of rural broadband creates significant hurdles to new farmers and new businesses. Rural residents are unable to take remote work jobs that they are qualified for. And the lack of broadband can decrease the property value for rural homes as this has now become an essential service for home buyers. In many cases, farms without cell service rely on spotty satellite internet which puts them at greater risk of being unable to connect to emergency services during periods of low bandwidth (storms, power outages, and cloudy days).
Living without internet is emotionally and mentally exhausting for rural families. Keeping lists of what tasks that need to be done on “town internet” or driving to the local school to send one email is a fact of life for thousands. Being unable to Facetime with family leaves many of us feeling isolated. The digital divide has only gotten wider over the past couple of years leaving our rural communities behind.
Increasingly there are more grants available for local internet providers to expand their coverage, but one of the issues our group identified is the unwillingness of local providers to apply for those grants to dig in fiber optic to rural homes. It is the same struggle that rural communities faced during the 1930’s to electrify the countryside. I believe that broadband is the “electricity” of our generation. Greater MN will not have the full economic and social participation it deserves until every home has access to broadband internet. Our local governments and internet service providers must prioritize providing this essential service to every home, farm, and business in the county.
Anonymous says
Those who claim to be intelligent all too often utter words that call into question such a claim.
I suppose the naysayers still lament that the Rural Electrification Act was passed by Congress in 1936. After all, that legislation had its detractors. One of the two sp0nsors was U. S. Senator George Norris, who at the time was a Republican representing Nebraska. The article linked in the next paragraph included the verbiage, “The Rural Electrification Act was drafted by two prominent New Deal policymakers – U.S. Senator George Norris (R-NE) and U.S. Congressman Sam Rayburn (D-TX). The former paid a price for his legislative work aimed at improving the lives of rural Americans: “Pro-business Republicans, such as Henry Ford, who called Norris a ‘socialist’ for supporting public electric power through the 1933 Tennessee Valley Authority Act and the Rural Electrification Administration, forced Norris out the Republican Party and compelled him to run as an independent in 1936” (Norris won re-election anyway)”
Here’s the link, provided courtesy of The Living New Deal website: https://livingnewdeal.org/glossary/rural-electrification-act-1936/
Those opposing this improvement for the lives of underserved people in this country would have likely agreed heartily with Henry Ford, who was quite cozy with Nazi Germany, as detailed in this article, published by History.com: https://www.history.com/news/henry-ford-antisemitism-worker-treatment
If Ford were alive today, he’d likely be in full agreement with the two commenters who oppose this change, since anything that might level the playing field would purportedly work to their disadvantage.
No one is going the force those who currently lack broadband access to take advantage of this opportunity, in much the same way that none of us are ever required to set foot inside a public library, nor to ever check out, let alone, read a book. And if they are to be believed, anyone who gains internet access as a result of this legislation should know that such would not be the case if it was entirely up to the Republicans.
Finally, it would appear that those two commenters have internet access, or they wouldn’t be commenting on this story. As long as those two have access, nothing else apparently matters, which all brings to mind the following quote…
“Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” – H. L. Mencken, U. S. Editor (1880-1956)
Ken says
Before you insult others intelligence you should check you own neither one of us wrote against internet for rural people it’s the cost ! I find it hard to believe that there is anyone out there that wants it can find it . Satellite internet is one example. On day you will reap what you sow!!
Ken says
We are spending $865 million to give 5.7 million people internet most already have it, these a-holes must think we are dumb!
Proud American says
Broadband internet access is brought to you by Democrats. Every single Republican member of Congress from Minnesota voted against the infrastructure bill.
Donna Hasleiet Halvorsen says
Daniel Wilson did an excellent job of explaining how important internet access is and how difficult life is without it, for farmers and new businesses and their families who can thrive with the subsistence that comes from connection to the economic world; how “emotionally and mentally exhausting” it is for rural families to live without the internet. I think of seniors especially but all rural residents who could connect with their families, keep up with community life, sign up for online jobs or volunteer work. Can the rest of us really fathom what this is like? Daniel can. Thank you!