MIRC

MINNESOTA INTELLIGENT RURAL COMMUNITY (MIRC), as defined by Blandin Foundation and its Partners involved in the MIRC Project:

Connecting the world to Stevens County

Project Summary

The Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities project is a multi-sector, comprehensive approach to sustainable broadband adoption targeting residents, small businesses, local governments, and critical services providers in rural Minnesota. MIRC expects to reach each of Minnesota’s 80 rural counties through education, training, technical assistance, and by removing barriers to broadband adoption. The projects will nurture and support an enhanced “culture of use” of broadband-based services. The Economic Development Administration (EDA) Center at UMC will help track the impact of the project, including the number of subscribers generated.

 

Goal

Create technologically and economically vital rural communities, competing and thriving in the broadband economy, with sustainable broadband adoption, job growth and wealth creation.

Outcomes

Increased ‘culture of use’ of broadband-based services
Increased efficiency and effectiveness of digital literacy training service delivery
Increased economic vitality in rural Minnesota communities Outputs
13.5 jobs created or maintained
38,416 new household subscribers (an increase of 2% over its statistically anticipated growth)
155 new institutional subscribers
3,500 users of Public Access Facilities (public computer centers, workforce centers, etc)
3,640 people participate in at least 16 hours of training or education
1,000 refitted and licensed computers distributed to first-time computer owners
160,000 people reached through the project outreach and awareness efforts

 

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (SCEIC’ INVOLVEMENT IN BROADBAND AND THE INTERNET)

On 14 June 2010 SCEIC signed a grant contract with Blandin Foundation, Grand Rapids, Minnesota to participate in the Blandin Foundation’s Minnesota Rural Intelligent Community (MIRC) program. MIRC is a continuation of a Blandin Foundation/SCEIC partnership to address the telecommunication needs of the residents and businesses of Stevens County. Previously, the Blandin and SCEIC “Get Broadband” program provided $30,000 in grants to local businesses to provide the technical assistance needed to develop business web sites.

In 1992, SCEIC formed the Stevens County Technology Transfer Task Force (SCTTTF) in response to the Internet becoming available to the public. SCTTTF was comprised of 23 county governments, educational institutions, private businesses, non-profit organizations and local telephone companies who were brought together by Loren Carr, Executive Vice President, Morris State Bank. As a result of the SCEIC SCTTTF and, most important, the efforts of a great number of community individuals and businesses working to ensure that Stevens County was not left out of the Internet era, one of the first private Internet Service Provider’s (ISP) with dial-up (current technology for the day) service to the residents and businesses of Stevens County. Since that time, Info Link, Inc.  has formed a subsidary company (Info Link Wireless, Inc.). Info Link, Inc. has been sold to another Internet provider but still operates as Info Link, Inc. Info Link Wireless, has also been sold to a local company and it too is still operating throughout West Central MN providing wireless Internet services. SCEIC and Stevens County are committed to providing the best telecommunications resources available to Stevens County.

Federated Telephone Cooperative, a cooperatively owned local telephone company and business leader in the West Central Minnesota region, installed fiber optic to the premise throughout their territories which covers much of Stevens County.  With a recent Stimulus grant and loan, Federated Telephone is in the process of providing fiber optic to the premise services to the unserved remote rural customers in the County. Soon almost 100% of the households and businesses (including the most remote family farms) in Stevens County will have fiber optic cable to their home or place of business.

 

THE 2011 BLANDIN MIRC PROGRAM IN STEVENS COUNTY

Stevens County MIRC Steering Committee

Photograph coming soon

To coordinate, monitor and supervise the various aspects of the MIRC program in Stevens County including the disbursement of all grant funds in accordance with rules and regulations of the Blandin Foundation and the US Department of Commerce, SCEIC established an eleven-member MIRC Steering Committee. Committee members are Karen Arnold (Morris Area Chamber of Commerce), Kevin Beyer (Federated Telephone Cooperative), Jim Dieter (Tech Plus), Patty Kill (Riverwood Bank), Scott Monson (Morris Area Schools), Carolyn Peterson (Stevens Forward & UM Extension), Holly Witt (Bremer), Sheri Holm (West Central Initiative), Greg Wagner (West Central Initiative), Karl Samp (Blandin) and Michael Haynes (SCEIC Executive Director).

MIRC Projects in Stevens County

  • $100,000 in grants providing broadband access to all the residents and businesses of Stevens County through local non-profit agencies and groups

One of 11 Public Access Computers being installed in Stevens County. This one is at H&D Co. (the community grocery/convenience store) in Donnelly

BLANDIN MIRC DEMONSTRATION COMMUNITIES (population)

  • Benton County (34,266)
  • Cook County (5,168)
  • Grand Rapids/Itasca County (43,992)
  • Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe (?)
  • Stevens County (10,053)
  • Upper Minnesota Valley Region (50,011 – Big Stone, Chippewa, Lac qui Parle, Swift, Yellow Medicine counties)
  • Thief River Falls (8,410)
  • Willmar/Kandiyohi County (41,203)
  • Winona (27,069)
  • Windom (4,490)
  • Worthington (11,283)
  • CLICK HERE  – Blandin MIRC Demonstration Communities Map

Read Newsrelease, 14 December 2010 for more about MIRC in Stevens County.

SCEIC IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY PROVIDER