Tribal economy chosen for broadband program — survey participation needed

Published

Survey participants will be entered in drawing for iPad

Dear Community Members,

On March 11, 2021, the Blandin Foundation announced that the Mille Lacs Tribal Economy (MLTE) had been selected to participate in the Community Broadband Resources (CBR): Accelerate Program. The program will provide a 15-week course of study and education about broadband for a community team. The program consists of three parts 1) Leadership Education, 2) Information Gathering, and 3) Analysis and Next Steps. The project includes a community survey to obtain real-time data. We ask that you take this survey from your home as the desire is to collect data for residential users. Survey participants can enter into a drawing for an iPad!

The Survey can be found here: http://z.umn.edu/uptospeed

The MLTE encompasses the three districts of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe territory that include Census tracts 9504, 9505, 7704, 9703, 9701, 9702. The populations served by this program will include areas within the counties of Mille Lacs, Pine, and Aitkin. As well as the cities of Onamia, Wahkon, Isle, McGregor, Hinckley, and Sandstone. According to Minnesota Compass, there are 20,171 people that live in the MLTE who will be supported by this initiative and subsequent development of robust broadband infrastructure.

The ultimate vision is for all residents of the Mille Lacs Tribal Economy to be able to use convenient, affordable world-class broadband networks that enable them to thrive in our communities and across the globe.