nobels county blandin broaband community upadate

Strut Your Stuff Tour

Blandin Broadband CommunitiesNEON/Nobles County

Agenda• 1:45 - Networking, informal discussion and refreshments

• 2:00 - Welcome, introductions and check-in by local hosts/attendees

• 2:10 - Meeting purpose ~ Bernadine

• 2:15 - Community presentation

• 3:30 - Blandin response

• 3:45 - The future

• 4:00 - Adjourn

How did we begin?• NEON (Nobles Economic

Opportunity Network) was the driving group initiating involvement.

• NEON’s first formal meeting Thursday, March 13, 2014.

• Within a few short meetings, broadband was identified as the top opportunity to focus efforts on.

• A small sub-committee was formed to complete the initial BBC application.

• We were selected as a Blandin Broadband Community in November of 2014.

Is…..• Townships

• Leota, Wilmont, Bloom, Seward, Graham Lakes, Lismore, Larkin, Summit Lake, Elk, Hersey, Westside, Olney, Dewald, Worthington, Lorain, Grand Prairie, Little Rock, Ransom, Bigelow, Indian Lake.

• Cities

• Adrian, Bigelow, Brewster, Dundee, Ellsworth, Kinbrae, Lismore, Round Lake, Rushmore, Wilmont, Worthington

• School Districts

• Adrian, Ellsworth, Round Lake/Brewster, Worthington

• Minnesota West Community & Technical College

• Nobles County

• State legislators are invited

Community Involvement• Project Committee

• Pat Demuth• Julie Foote• Cheryl Janssen• Tom Johnson• Doug Knuth• Kurt Lintleman• Gene Metz• Rod Sankey• Keith Stubbe

• Steering Committee• Sharon Johnson• Jaidy Kolander• Mike Kuhle• Fabio Lopez• Miguel Rivas• Aida Simon• Angelo Torres• Jessica Velasco• Kayla Westra

• (and the entire Project Committee)

• Many other individuals participated heavily in all the projects and planning

Planning Outcomes

• Roughly 60% of the population of Nobles County is considered “Served”.

• However, less than 20% of the land area is considered “Served”.

• Overall Goal - FTTP for the entire county!

Activity/Project Overview

• Digital Inclusion and Marketing & Advocacy were the 2 key areas of focus.

• A broad range of engagement

• It has been amazing watching projects take shape, seeing the passion in people and listening to the changing attitudes.

MINNESOTA’S BROADBAND VISION: “Everyone in

Minnesota will be able to use convenient, affordable world-

class broadband networks that enable us to survive and

thrive in our communities and across the globe.”

Activities/Projects PC’s for People

• Adrian and Ellsworth School Districts participated in identifying families and the distribution of PC’s.

• 28 PC’s were given out at an event hosted by the City of Adrian.

• The Civil Air Patrol was also given 4 PC’s for cadet training.• A cadet from the Civil Air Patrol

was able to pass his exam and receive his pilots license before his 18th birthday on one of these PC’s.

Activities/Projects Introduction to Digital Literacy

• Project Lead: Roxanne Hyenga, MN West C&TC

• Goal: The creation of a two-credit, college-level course taught through Minnesota West Community and Technical College.

• The first 20 students will participate tuition free.

• The course is comprised of 6 units including Digital Landscape, Cyber Safety, Information Retrieval, Digital Divide, Digital Citizenship, and Digital Profile

• Delay occurred when too many registrants dropped the class.

• Class now full, fist class was Sep. 27.

• Students come from Worthington, Fulda, Okoboji, Mountain Lake, RTR, Everly, IA, Adrian, Luverne, Fairmont, Redwood Falls, and Ortonville.

Activities/ProjectsDigital Inclusion through Community

Education• Project Lead: Sharon Johnson

• Goals: To increase knowledge and skills of small business owners, non-profits and individuals of online marketing and sales.

• Create a community network of individuals interested in pursuing social media for organizational growth.

• Address digital inclusion through adult enrichment technology classes.


Education• Technology classes were

offered at a reduced rate due to support from Blandin BBC grant.• Total classes offered 15• Total classes held 12• Total participants 74

• Technology classes were offered at Round Lake Community Center

• Total classes offered 6• Total classes held 4• Total participants 21


Education• #Market Smarter Events

• This event features keynote speakers, breakout sessions, lunch, and networking time.

• #Market Smarter was first held in June 2015 with 159 participants.

• 2nd Annual #Market Smarter was held in June 2016 with 96 participants.


Education• Northstar Digital

Literacy in Worthington ABE

• A licensed teacher is in the ABE computer lab on Tuesdays to assist people with digital literacy.

• Seventy two Northstar assessments were given during the grant period.

• Fifty Northstar digital literacy certificates were awarded to ABE students.

Activities/ProjectsDigital Literacy for Diverse Communities• Project Lead: Thi Synavone

• Goal: To train diverse community members in basic computer skills using the Saint Paul Public Library technology curriculum.

• Training expected to be conducted in Spanish, Tigrinya, Amharic, and Karen.

Activities/ProjectsWireless Hot Spots

• Project Leads: Cheryl Janssen & Julie Foote

• Goal: Provide access point so no student has to travel more than 5 miles to access broadband.

• Partnered with MVTV.• 8 sites across the county

are up and running and in use, we get monthly usage reports.

Activities/ProjectsWireless Hot Spots

• Emmanuel Presbyterian uses the wifi for Sunday School classes. They were able to install an interactive projector for special projects.

• Dundee was the last hotspot to be installed due to line of sight (LOS) issues that had to be overcome by installing a utility pole on the NW corner of the city park. Since it’s installation, local students have been using it nonstop!

• Reading’s Community Theatre was able to bring their annual play to the next level. According to Reading Community Theatre member, Terri Odell, the play required sound effects/music that could not be ran over a smart phone. By having access to the wifi, they were able to use a laptop and run the needed applications to give the play a more professional setting.

Activities/ProjectsFeasibility Study

• Project Lead: Tom Johnson• Goal: Complete a

professional analysis of the county to determine if FTTP is feasible for a provider.

• Contracted with Finley Engineering and CCG Consulting.

• A number of volunteers gathered 180 surveys.

• Results demonstrated high take rate and desire for broadband.

Activities/ProjectsCommunity-Wide Reading Through the

myON Digital Library• Project Lead: Sharon Johnson• Goal: Purchase the myON digital

library access for the Worthington. • Training for Community Education teachers

& staff• Individual login and tracking for ABE

students• Community login for use by Early Childhood

programs (84 children) and community members.

• ECFE introduced the information to parents in the program

• EL Teachers have used the community log-in at middle school, high school and summer school. They are thrilled to have access to a broader selection of level-appropriate books for their students to use for reading practice!

Activities/ProjectsCommunity-Wide Reading Through the

myON Digital Library• ABE has been using myON with their

students to practice reading at their actual reading level.

• 480 students have used myON.

• ABE students have spent 675 hours reading on myON.

• They have finished reading 2,735 level-appropriate books.

• Business cards were printed to promote the program

• Cards were distributed at Children’s Fair

• Ad was placed in Community Ed catalog and newspaper

• Radio interview was done

• Fliers were distributed to all day care centers and elementary schools.

iPads for Public Use@ the Nobles County Library

• Project Lead: Clint Wolthuizen

• Goals:• 1. Make digital technology

(iPads) available to all people in the County on a lending basis.

• 2. Digitally connect all Nobles County residents to improve their quality of life, their education, their relationships, and their daily commerce.

• 3. Train county residents and library patrons on how to use digital devices effectively.


• Library Patrons and residents are utilizing the devices and usage is trending up.

• The children’s librarian will be implementing the Daycare iPad kit outreach this fall.

• Device trainings have aided residents in operating their own digital devices as well as the iPads offered at the library.

• iPads have been used for a variety of activities including (but not limited to) communication with loved ones, language learning, current information awareness, eBooks, and education.

Outcomes to date:

• Numerous Community partnerships including (but not limited to): Kids-R-It, We Care Daycare, & Adult Basic Educa-tion• A fall focus on marketing the iPad service and additional patron training sessions will keep the program growing.


• Continue marketing the iPad program to Nobles County citizens to increase its effectiveness

• Allow for out-of-library usage • Adapt the use of the devices

to changing community needs • Partner with the Center for

Active Living to teach seniors how to connect to the internet and effectively utilize current technology

Future Goals & Out-comes • Create a WiFi park in the green space

next to the library so devices can be used in an outdoor environment. The wireless connectivity will be utilized by patrons & residents during and after normal library hours.

Activities/ProjectsBAC Fiber

• Project Lead: Abraham Algadi

• Goal: Provide best internet connection speeds to best utilize the Biotechnology Advancement Center as a meeting place and to help business startups.

• The BAC houses a state-of-the-art training/meeting room.

• Requested price quotes for “Broadband” service to BAC.

• Efforts under way to identify an ISP and acceptable terms.

Activities/Projects• Technology Education for

Round Lake• Project Lead: Becky

Strandberg• Goal: Our goal is to provide

the opportunity to the Round Lake Community and surrounding rural area to develop computer and technology skills, while enjoying social interaction.

• Most of the efforts and management of the center are through local volunteers.

Activities/Projects• Changing Main Street through

Technology and Education• Project Lead: Sharon

Johnson• Goal: Enable Community

Education to plan and implement educational opportunities designed to help existing business owners with succession planning and prospective business owners with business planning.

Activities/ProjectsRegional Data Center visioning

• Project Lead: Tom Johnson• Nobles County

Administration Building has a vacated jail space with no identified use.

• Create a vision for a regional government data center.

• Take the vision on the road to determine if enough interest exists to propose a remodel project.

Reflection• We wish we would have begun years earlier.

• If it was not for Blandin and the BBC program continuing to encourage, set deadlines and partner on projects, combined with recent Leadership programs, none of this would be where it is today.

• A ‘connected’ community with endless opportunities is around the corner.

THANK YOU BLANDIN FOUNDA-TION