Published July 1, 2007 in the Hibbing Daily Tribune
The outside world
knows the Iron Range as an industrial
place, where people mine, process ore and manufacture products – many
of them
related to mining. This has been our bread and butter for more than a
century
and we’ve reaped great benefits (excellent schools and public works)
and
suffered great hazards (economic slumps and complacency) along the way.
Most
understand that times are changing, that while mining remains a viable
industry
we must embrace two words uttered so often they put newspaper readers
to sleep:
“economic development.”
Wake up! I promise not to discuss TIF districting, JOBZ, or use any acronyms. Still with me? Good.
So what does an industrial region, literally built to accommodate a mining dominated economy, do to attract high-tech, innovative new business to the Range?
We’ve known for decades that “technology” will be an important part of the solution. Again, no one disagrees, but we seem only marginally closer to making the word “technology” a legitimate part of our region’s reputation. One of the big problems is that even though high-speed internet has been available in some parts of the Iron Range since the mid-1990s, it’s still not universally available or universally affordable. You can sign up for DSL or cable access here in Hibbing, but residents of smaller towns and townships just a few miles away may only access the Internet through archaic dial-up phone modems or expensive and inconsistent satellite modems. This isn’t just a Range problem. Overlooking rural communication networks is the great failure of the 1990s tech boom. The difference is that the Range can do something about it.
On June 13, the Keewatin City Council opted out of a project called FiberNet which seeks to enhance high-speed internet access on the Range. The project was limited to a collection of small towns, however, and in some cases sought to duplicate high speed internet services already available in some of the towns. That’s why a lobbyist representing Qwest and ComCast approached the council. At one point, this representative reminded councilors that 40 percent of Range residents don’t even own a computer, much less need high-speed access to the Internet. The big companies would be happy to provide the service if demand existed, he said.
The Keewatin council had reasons to pull out of the FiberNet deal, not least of which was the cost when the city is already on the hook for street and alley improvements. Indeed, small towns should focus on “ground” infrastructure like streets and sewers while things like telecommunication networks are led by a larger regional authority.
But there is a larger issue here. Going town by town, house by house, there’s always a reason not to build a state-of-the-art high-speed Internet network. During the Depression, there was a compelling reason not to bring electricity or pave roads in rural portions of America. People and towns couldn’t afford such things and the wheels of commerce turned in big cities and growing communities in the west. But wise leaders knew that, to quote W.P. Kinsella, “if you build it, they will come.” Struggling farmers may not have been able to build roads, but when the state built roads farm equipment lasted longer and products got to market sooner. This allowed poor farmers to improve their condition. Now, after these programs helped millions overcome the Depression, it seems outlandish that so many wanted to stop rural electrification or deprive our highway infrastructure in the 1930s. It will seem just as foolish in the future that people here on the Range would sit back and think of reasons why we couldn’t unite behind improving our technological infrastructure at a time when we can both afford it and still get ahead of other rural areas.
According to a recent study by the Communication Workers of America, the United States lags far behind other industrialized nations in average Internet download speeds and Minnesota is in the bottom half of states for average download speed. When you consider that U.S. scientists created this technology, this is just embarrassing.
Improving high speed Internet access in Northeastern Minnesota should be this region’s #1 priority. It is more important than any other economic development proposal. It is more likely to yield positive results than any other proposal. It will ultimately yield more jobs per dollar spent than any other proposal.
(NOTE: I’ll explain how high-speed Internet should fit into this region’s economic development strategy in more detail next week. I know I risk losing readers by making this a two-parter. That’s why next week’s column will include a racy romantic scene between two attractive economic development consultants).Aaron J. Brown is a columnist for the Hibbing Daily Tribune.