By Per Peterson
Amidst sporadic moments of levity and tongue-in-cheek jokes, a serious tone prevailed at Monday’s broadband roundtable at Finley Engineering in Slayton.
A number of local people representing different areas of business made their case for the need for better broadband service to Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
“I’ve been a huge advocate for rural broadband because I drive around and visit all the counties every year,” Klobuchar said. “I have a good sense for the problems with broadband. What I’ve learned is it’s not like the old days where you need it to send an email to your kid at college or something — you really need it to survive in business and keep our schools going.”
Klobuchar, who was in the middle of a rural water and rural infrastructure tour of southwest Minnesota, said broadband is not a glamorous topic, but one that exemplifies a “bread-and-butter” issue that demands attention at both the state and federal levels.
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