Hats Off to Mora MN

This morning, I had the honor of representing the Blandin Foundation at a meeting in Mora, a town of about 3,000 in east central Minnesota. It was an interesting gathering of the city government, municipal utility, chamber of commerce, several providers (wireless and wireline) a local IT consultant and me. The Mora community has been working on a business visitation program and telecommunications is emerging as an issue, both within the city limits and outside. The meeting was cool because everyone was participating and sharing information on existing infrastructure and services. The tech experts were helping novices understand some of the differences between technologies. I explained how some communities are addressing similar issues and trying to position themselves for future economic development.

Within the room was the expertise, both technical and community, to outline both the issues and the opportunities. Each person in the room had a different set of knowledge and resources to bring to the table. Taken together, a pretty complete picture of the Mora technology scene was drawn and everyone knew a bit more than before they came. By the end of the meeting, there was a prospective project involving several participants; a relatively low-cost solution that will make a difference to Mora businesses, visitors and residents. The project will not address all of the community’s issues, but it demonstrates the power of honest communication, collaboration and action. Hats off to the Mora community!