EXCERPT: “While cities and towns in Koochiching County might have fast and reliable internet service, large parts of the northern Minnesota region currently have no good options. Paul Nevanen, director of the county’s Economic Development Authority, says that translates to headaches for the area’s economy. Just miles from International Falls, where broadband access has attracted a significant data storage business, Nevanen said resorts and recreation outfits that rely on tourism to Rainy Lake and Voyageurs National Park have struggled to cope with poor internet connections. ‘We’ve got resorts that have their systems connected to the internet and can’t process credit cards at certain times because they don’t have the capacity,’ Nevanen said.There is no shortage of stories across Minnesota like the ones in Koochiching County, where uneven access to high-speed internet, sometimes called broadband, persists despite a decade of study and more than $85 million in state spending (plus more in local, federal and private money) since 2014.” FULLSTORY: http://bit.ly/2QTgpVe
