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May 2005 Ely The Ely Wiki has suffered serious blows. Perhaps the name invokes thoughts of wickedness, or perhaps it’s too radical a concept to “sell” at the beginning of this kind of project. Instead of wasting energy selling the Wiki, we’ve removed it from being the main focus of our educational efforts and training. We will still use it as a tool to work directly with community groups, but will work individually with those groups and not mention “Wiki”. Instead, we’ll call it a “collaborative community website”. The first group to give it a try will be the Ely Garden Club. Meanwhile, we’ve
sent-in our activities and budget and will begin those in May. The highlight
of the events will be a “Tech Talk” segment on WELY radio with
prizes awarded to listeners. We’ll announce the link to the streaming
audio over the internet so you can all listen in. Windom - Launch Party is Great Success From the minute the doors opened, 1,200+ people streamed into the Windom Community Center to learn the latest information on high speed internet. The purpose of the Windom “Launch Party” was to present information and to provide an opportunity for city residents to sign up for telephone, video and internet services being offered through the new Telecommunications System operated by the City of Windom. City staff assisted residents as they completed signup forms for the new services, and the waiting line did not dwindle until the end of the day-long event. Almost 300 signup forms were received for the three services. Of those, 201 signed-up for the internet and only seven selected dial-up internet; 95 percent selected some type of high speed internet. The Windom “Launch Party” featured a vendor and technology area where local vendors provided information on computer repair, virus and spam protection and the latest equipment that can be utilized by home and business computers. In addition, the Blandin laptop computer lab was setup and allowed individuals to experience high speed broadband access. The recurring comments heard from the participants were “Wow that was fast!” or “I didn’t know that information was out there.” To complement the experience, the Blandin Committee used a laptop computer with webcam and PowerPoint, a high-speed internet connection and a projector to present half hour preview demonstrations of classes they will offer this spring and summer. The curriculum includes: “Track a Stock Portfolio On-Line”, “On-Line Banking & Bill Paying”, “Video Conferencing”, “Virus and Spyware Protection”, “Tracking Family History”, U of M Extension Service Local On-Line Class program, “What is a Forum & How To Use It” and “iValley Health Program”. The preview classes were well-attended by 150 individuals, who were eligible to enter the drawing for six months of free high speed internet. The entry form included a survey of future classes the participants would like to see offered, and as entry forms where returned, participants received a coupon for $5 off any future Blandin class. The Blandin Committee
was impressed by the public interest and is excited about establishing
the curriculum for upcoming classes. Sleepy Eye - Get Broadband is up and running The Sleepy Eye “Get Broadband” Program is up and running. Our market needs survey was recently completed by the Center for Rural Policy and Development, and we anticipate receiving the results in the next couple weeks. In the interim, our Steering Committee has completed the CSPP Readiness Guide and at our May 6th meeting we will be setting our goals and creating our activity plan. We are fortunate to have a knowledgeable and dedicated Steering Committee to direct our program. The Blandin Get Broadband
Initiative has spurred a great deal of conversation and action in rural
Minnesota. Bridging Brown County, an organization sponsored by the University
of Minnesota Extension and Brown County, will hold their spring workshop
on May 10th in Comfrey. The workshop will focus on tourism and telecommunications
and include a telecommunications panel facilitated by Bill Coleman and
featuring five telecom/broadband providers in Brown County. Their focus
will be the need for rural communities to become entrepreneurial in their
approach to survival. For Brown County communities, this means acting
regionally, using technology and capitalizing on tourism dollars. For
more information go to www.bridgingbrowncounty.com. The Thief River Falls Broadband Steering Committee has had several meetings in the past two months. Most recently, the Committee heard a presentation by Ryan Pesch, Minnesota Extension Service, on internet workshops and seminars available through Extension. The Steering Committee decided to schedule three workshops — e-broadband, e-commerce and e-Internet — and will work with Ryan to bring them to the Thief River Falls community. Dates and locations are yet to be determined. Another meeting focused a great deal on what was called “The Dark Side of the Internet: Sexual Predators of Children”. The general purpose was to inform the public about what can happen on the net if families are not careful. This topic will be explored in greater detail as the year progresses. Our web address is
www.visitthiefriverfalls.com.
It will soon list our activities and a schedule of events. International Falls - Planning for upcoming community events underway The International Falls steering committee is meeting regularly and busy planning upcoming events. Here’s a summary of our activity:
We are interested
to know if other groups use food, coffee, cookies, etc. to attract people
and if door prizes or other prizes are being awarded. We welcome any ideas
and help from other cities that are ahead of us. It is important to share
news about your successes as well as your failures. We, as a group, can
possibly prevent each other from failed events. Cohasset - Setting goals and planning community events Cohasset’s goals are based on some of the numbers from the survey. One goal that the committee is looking forward to having some fun with is lowering the percentage of people who have never tried Broadband. The committee is also looking at the possibility of having several mini-sessions over the year and holding a small Technology Day. We have met with two
local ISP’s and found that they are very excited to work with us.
One ISP commented that our goal of having 100 percent of businesses that
participate in the follow-up survey reporting that broadband is available
in their area is realistic. We are discussing setting up one or two internet
stations in our community that would allow people see and experience broadband
if they haven’t already. Grand Rapids - Communicating with local broadband providers The Grand Rapids Area Steering Committee recently held a meeting with broadband providers to introduce them to the Get Broadband Initiative and notify them that the committee's area technology fair, "Cast a Broad-Net: Reeling in Innovative Communications" will be held on September 15, 2005.
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