Student Teams to Present Proposals to Expand Broadband in Area

Teams of students from across the University of Missouri System are competing to develop plans for supplying access to affordable high-speed internet to residents and businesses in northwestern Missouri.

The teams will present their plans 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, Aug. 20, at the Mozingo Event Center, 1 Fall Drive, Maryville. The event, which will also be livestreamed, is free and open to the public.

“These students are taking on a real-world challenge — an actual community facing the problem of inadequate broadband access — and coming up with potential plans for workable public-private partnership (P3) models,” said Anthony Luppino, a member of the UM System Broadband Initiative steering committee and director of Entrepreneurship Programs at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law.

The three teams comprise students from various disciplines, including engineering, business, law and computer science. Prior to the presentations, a five-person panel will judge the proposals on their quality and feasibility.

Proposals must address strategies for increasing adoption of internet-based technologies and include a plan to finance expansion of the community’s broadband infrastructure. The teams’ plans may be used by the community in their broadband expansion efforts.

“The P3 Competition is a creative way to get the next generation of students to engage with communities to solve real-time challenges and improve economic opportunities, while building skills necessary in today’s globally competitive market,” said Kimberly Mildward, economic development planner with the Northwest Missouri Regional Council of Governments.

Using an approach outlined in the UM System Broadband Initiative’s Digitally Connected Community Guide, the student teams hope to provide useful ideas for bringing affordable high-speed internet to the region and encouraging the use of broadband applications.

Attendance at the Aug. 20 event, in person or via livestream, is free. Register in advance at umurl.us/P3Event. On-site registration starts at 8:30 a.m.

The event and student competition are sponsored by the H&R Block Foundation and the City of Maryville.

Contacts for more information on the competition and broadband planning in northwestern Missouri:

Kim Mildward, 660-582-5121, ext. 2.

Joe Lear, consultant, UM System Digitally Connected Community Guide initiatives, learj@missouri.edu, 573-884-4655.

Anthony Luppino, luppinoa@umkc.edu, 816-235-6165.

Study Shows Broadband Expansion Would Help Local Economies Grow

A recent analysis shows how expansion and adoption of internet services in three northwestern Missouri counties could help grow their economies in the decade ahead.

The report, “Economic Benefits of Expanding Broadband in Missouri: Atchison, Gentry and Worth Counties,” makes the case for public and private investment in rural broadband, said Alan Spell, assistant extension professor in agricultural and applied economics at the University of Missouri.

The report also highlights the value of efforts to encourage adoption of broadband once the infrastructure is in place, Spell said.

“We know that broadband benefits our communities, but we don’t necessarily know how much,” he said. “This analysis gives us an idea in hopes that it will increase community, education and support efforts to expand local broadband access. It also gives us some benchmarks and goals to set.”

The analysis was prepared as part of MU Extension’s collaboration with local economic developers and the Northwest Missouri Regional Council of Governments, which serves the three counties studied in the report as well as Nodaway and Holt counties.

“This work will help transform our communities’ health, education, agriculture, and economic opportunities,” said Kimberly Mildward, economic development planner with the Regional Council. Using the UM System Broadband Initiative’s Digitally Connected Community Guide, the group hopes to bring affordable high-speed internet to the region and encourage the use of broadband applications. The project received support through federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funds.

An executive summary, individual county reports and the full report are available at muext.us/BroadbandResources.

The study estimates the 10-year economic benefits of expanding fixed broadband adoption in Atchison, Gentry and Worth counties, which are among the state’s least-populated counties. Worth County, with just over 2,000 residents, has the lowest population in Missouri.

“To realize broadband’s economic benefits,” the report concludes, “community residents and businesses must increasingly adopt broadband service and gain skills in using broadband-related technologies. Increased broadband adoption and use drives long-term economic gains.”

“The pandemic has shown that those unable to access broadband – either by their location, type of work or financial situation – are at a disadvantage as the economy evolves and more people shift to remote work, learning, shopping and health care,” Spell said.

To access federal and state programs designed to close that gap, communities will need to gauge broadband’s economic benefits. Spell said the study provides a framework for estimating those benefits and can serve as a foundation for further research.

“This study showed us that even relatively small gains in internet adoption can make a huge amount of difference and be a big boon to our local economy,” Mildward said.

The researchers looked at two scenarios: The minimum scenario supposes that adoption of fixed broadband increases 10 percentage points over 10 years; the maximum scenario makes projections based on a 20-percentage-point increase over 10 years.

Under the minimum scenario, average annual GDP in the three counties increases by 1.3% to 1.6% over 2019 levels. In the maximum scenario, average annual GDP growth was 2.1% to 2.3% higher than 2019 levels.

Those gains may seem modest, but they represent faster increases than in recent years and add up to significant growth over time, Spell said. For example, a 1.4% average annual increase in Atchison County’s GDP over 10 years – as projected under the minimum scenario – would make the county’s economy 12% larger than it was in 2019.

The study also estimated significant annual employment increases. With minimum broadband adoption, Gentry and Atchison counties would see annual job increases averaging 1.3% and 1.4%, respectively, over 2019 levels. Worth County’s annual job increases averaged 1.6% above 2019 levels. With broadband adoption gains of 20 percentage points, annual employment increases for the three counties averaged 2.9% to 3.0% above 2019 levels.

At a public forum in Atchison County, farmers shared that broadband access would enable them to use equipment to help with precision application of herbicides and fertilizer, benefiting both the environment and the farmers’ bottom lines. Other applications electronically monitor moisture levels in grain bins, aiding decisions on when to sell.

Internet access means high school students can access Advanced Placement classes and companies can train their workforces locally. Telemedicine appointments can save patients time away from work, cut travel expenses and make it easier to address health issues that might otherwise be put off.

“All of this has a powerful impact on our lives, opportunities and economies over time,” Mildward said.

McCaskill: Ensure Resources for Rural Broadband Get to Rural Communities

With the Senate opening debate on the Farm Bill this week, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill is aiming to amend the legislation to ensure resources set aside to expand broadband access in rural communities do not get diverted to projects in large metropolitan areas that already enjoy access to such services.

“Expanding broadband access in rural Missouri is necessary for growing local jobs and business, delivering health care services, and strengthening educational opportunities for our kids,” said McCaskill, who was born in Rolla, Mo. “But resources that are supposed to be used in our rural communities winding up in some of the nation’s largest metro areas makes no sense. Shining a little sunlight on how these investments are awarded will help ensure small towns in Missouri gets the job-supporting resources they’re supposed to.”

The Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Inspector General have identified continual problems with the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) broadband program awarding funds to projects close to big cities and in areas that already have broadband access.

Current law requires the USDA to focus broadband resources on areas where broadband is not currently offered, and to avoid supporting projects in areas with extensive broadband offerings.  McCaskill’s amendment would require the USDA to post information publicly online on each broadband application to allow broadband providers the opportunity to submit information about their service areas that may overlap with proposed projects. The amendment would also require the USDA to consult the Commerce Department’s National Broadband Map to gather information on current broadband services.   

The Farm Bill being debated in the Senate would reduce the national deficit by $23 billion by streamlining and consolidating programs and ending unnecessary farm subsidies, while strengthening the crop insurance program—critical to the livelihoods of Missouri’s farmers and ranchers.

A copy of McCaskill’s amendment is available on her website, HERE.

State Surveys Missouri Residents to Assess High-Speed Internet Usage, Needs

As part of Gov. Jay Nixon's efforts to expand high-speed Internet access throughout the state, the Governor’s MoBroadbandNow initiative is seeking input from 44,000 Missourians to determine their high-speed Internet accessibility.

Yesterday, 4,000 surveys each were mailed to randomly selected Missourians residing in various counties within the state’s 11 Regional Planning Commissions (RPCs). The Broadband Residential Survey is designed to determine residents’ usage, needs and interests, and seeks to raise the number of Missourians who have access to high-speed Internet. Completed surveys must be postmarked May 31, 2011.

The 11 regions, and the counties served by them, are listed below:

· Bootheel: Duklin, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Scott and Stoddard counties

· Green Hills: Caldwell, Carroll, Chariton, Daviess Grundy, Harrison, Linn, Livingston, Mercer and Sullivan counties

· Harry S Truman: Barton, Jasper, McDonald and Newton counties

· Kaysinger Basin: Bates, Benton, Cedar, Henry, Hickory and St. Clair counties

· Lake of the Ozark: Camden, Laclede, Miller and Morgan counties

· Mo-Kan: Andrew, Buchanan, Clinton and Dekalb counties

· Northwest: Atchison, Gentry, Holt, Nodaway and Worth counties

· Pioneer Trails: Johnson, Lafayette, Pettis and Saline counties

· South Central Ozark: Douglas, Howell, Oregon, Ozark, Shannon, Texas and Wright counties

· Southeast: Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Iron, Madison, Perry, St. Francois and Ste. Genevieve counties

· Southwest: Barry, Christian, Dade, Dallas, Greene, Lawrence, Polk, Stone, Taney and Webster counties

“Seeking community input is an important part of the planning process,” said MoBroadbandNow Director Damon Porter. “It’s critical to have an understanding of the local community’s needs in order to provide the tools that can allow them access to high-speed Internet. Broadband can benefit citizens in many ways such as applying for a job or earning a college degree online and from the comfort of one’s own home.”

The 44,000 residents currently being surveyed represent a portion of 88,000 total Missourians from which input will be sought. The overall number of residents surveyed will provide a scientific statistical sampling of broadband information for Missourians as a whole.

Not everyone will receive a survey, but those who do should fill it out as accurately as possible and return it by the deadline. Over the next several months, each of the 11 planning teams is expected to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of its regional broadband systems and develop a list of recommendations to improve high-speed Internet coverage. Within the next few weeks, an additional six RPCs will survey residents who live in their RPC area.

Broadband typically is defined as a service that enables high-speed Internet access and high-capacity data communications, as opposed to low-speed services such as dial-up connections. The results of the survey will be used to help the planning teams and the state gain a better of understanding of broadband availability and adoption and how these factors lend themselves to better service and faster communication.

Bluebird to Deliver Broadband to Rural Missouri

Bluebird Media and Missouri Network Alliance (MNA), have merged to create Bluebird Network, headquartered in Columbia, Missouri, with offices in Kansas City and St. Louis. Bluebird Network will utilize 3,000 miles of existing fiber combined with over 1,000 miles of new fiber to create a robust high-speed telecommunications network serving Missouri, and the rural Midwest. This merger creates a company with strength to support and enhance the rapid build-out of new fiber routes by fall of 2012, while building upon existing broadband services. This merger provides the opportunity for Bluebird Network to bring high-speed telecommunications to areas of Missouri and the Midwest that desperately need these services to develop and retain a competitive work force. Bluebird Network will connect communities so they can be competitive and thrive for decades to come. Bluebird Media is a recipient of $45.1 million grant from the U.S. Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA); this grant is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Bluebird Media's grant is to construct a middle-mile network that will make broadband affordable and accessible to 59 predominantly rural and underserved counties in Northern and Central Missouri. Bluebird Media created a public-private partnership totaling $65 million that includes the Federal government, the State of Missouri, and private investors. Bluebird Media is a vital part of the Governor's broadband initiative, MOBroadbandNow, whose goal is to increase broadband access to 95% of Missouri's households and businesses by 2015. Missouri Network Alliance (MNA) is a leading provider of broadband telecommunications services in rural Missouri. The MNA network currently includes a backbone network with more than 3,000 miles of fiber optic cable routes, and is wholly owned by fifteen Missouri based independent telephone companies. "Bluebird Network has a team in place to plan, engineer, and oversee the construction of a new network on a massive scale. The biggest winners will be the Missouri communities that will see high-speed broadband services delivered in an accelerated time frame. The rural market presents a terrific opportunity for expansion," said Eric Fogle, CEO, Bluebird Network. Bluebird Network will provide next generation bandwidth speeds (up to 100 Gbps) of secure, dependable and redundant bandwidth. The 4,000 miles of new and existing fiber optic routes will be the network backbone linking Broadband and Internet traffic from all over the globe to rural Missouri homes and offices. For more information contact Mike Brigman, Vice-President, Business Development, at (816) 237-2126 or mike.brigman@bluebirdnetwork.com.

Opinion: Hulshof Opposed Economic Support for Worth County

Opinions are the views of the writers and do not necessarily reflect those of the Sheridan Express.
Hulshof Opposed Economic Support for
Worth County
by the Missouri Democratic Party
Asked what the top three priorities of a potential Hulshof administration would be in an interview following the first Gubernatorial debate, Congressman Kenny Hulshof responded, "jobs, jobs and jobs." But when he had the chance, Congressman Hulshof opposed economic packages that would have addressed the wholesale export of American jobs and instead gave priority with taxpayer money for wasteful pork projects like the Bridge to Nowhere, the Woodstock Museum and roughly 11,000 other earmarks.
In Congress, Hulshof voted against legislation supported by Congressional members Sam Graves and Jo Ann Emerson that would have provided support for expanding broadband Internet access, economic development strategies, infrastructure, and job skills training for 55 Missouri counties, including Worth County.
Watch the video contrasting Congressman Hulshof’s words and his deeds at www.CongressmanKenny.com.
"Congressman Hulshof says all of his top three priorities would be jobs. But in Washington, when he had the chance to do something to slow American jobs going to other countries, to help areas that had lost jobs to other countries or to help build the economy in the neediest areas of Missouri, he instead gave priority to wasteful pork projects like a Bridge to Nowhere and a Woodstock Museum," Zac Wright, Missouri Democratic Party spokesman, said. "Congressman Hulshof is right about one thing. It is about priorities. But looking at his record, you have to wonder if his priorities are the same as Missourians’."
In Congress, Hulshof opposed important jobs measures, to:
· slow the outsourcing to other countries of American manufacturing jobs,
· redevelop communities whose manufacturing sectors have suffered from the influences of international trade, and;
· develop economic initiatives for distressed Missouri counties, drawing criticism from fellow Missouri Republican Sam Graves.
Instead, Hulshof gave a higher priority to spending Missourians’ taxpayer money on 11,000 pork project earmarks, including:
· The $220 Million "Bridge to Nowhere" [Anchorage Daily News, 07/30/05; St. Petersburg Times, 04/01/07]
· The Woodstock Museum [House of Representatives Vote 561, 2007]
· The Maine Lobster Institute [House of Representatives Vote 735, 2007]
· Funding For "International Asparagus Competitiveness." [House of Representatives Vote 360, 2000]
· $500,000 To Renovate A Swimming Pool In Southern California. [House of Representatives Vote 277, 2006]
· $150,000 In Funding To Upgrade "An Italian Grocery Market" In New York City. [House of Representatives Vote 334, 2006]
· An Earmark To Fund The Recruitment Of Dairy Farmers To Northeast Iowa [House of Representatives Vote 190, 2006]
· A $129,000 Project That "Would Have Doubled Retail Space Available For A Gift Shop Selling Products…Such As Christmas Tree Ornaments, Handmade Soaps And Pottery." [House of Representatives Vote 593, 2007]
· Funds To Study The Andean Knotted-String Records
· Funds To Study The Prehistoric Bison Hunting In The Great Plains
· Funds To Study The "Sexual Politics Of Waste In Dakar, Senegal,"
· Funds To Study The Social Relationships And Sexual Habits Of Phayre’s Leaf Monkeys
· Funds To Study The Why Some People Are Superstitious [House of Representatives Vote 289, 2007]
BACKGROUND: THE HULSHOF RECORD
Kenny Hulshof, in 2004, voted against increasing funding for a program that attempts "to slow the flow of American jobs going oversees by investing…in programs, including worker training, for small- and medium-sized manufacturers."
On July 9, 2004, "the House passed a bill…that would attempt to slow the flow of American jobs going oversees by investing $110 million in programs, including worker training, for small- and medium-sized manufacturers.
The bill (HR 3598), passed by voice vote, would reauthorize the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program, a nationwide network of more than 400 not-for-profit centers that provide manufacturers assistance such as worker training, advice on business practices and instruction on the use of information technology."
Congressman Hulshof voted against an amendment to more than double the authorization for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program, which has helped Missouri businesses, including Precision Aero Services, Inc. in Nevada, Mo.
Precision Aero Services, Inc. in Nevada, Mo., created 185 jobs with the help of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership. [House of Representatives Vote 355, 2004, and Manufacturing Extension Partnership, http://blue.nist.gov/ss/F643247A9866C3D185256F8E0066AD80]
Kenny Hulshof, in 2007, voted against a bill to help 55 economically distressed counties in Missouri "with high poverty and unemployment rates." Congressman "Sam Graves, R-Mo., said it would help give rural parts of the country access to broadband Internet. This technology ‘should be available to everyone, no matter where they live, at a reasonable rate,’ he said." It also would help these counties with economic development strategies, infrastructure, and job skills training.
"The legislation would have authorized $1.25 billion for five regional economic development agencies. Modeled after the Appalachian Regional Commission and aimed at areas with high poverty and unemployment rates, the commissions would be charged with establishing economic development plans for their respective regions."
One of the five regional commissions would be the Delta Regional Commission, which would include "the counties Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Crawford, Dent, Douglas, Dunklin, Howell, Iron, Madison, Mississippi, New Madrid, Oregon, Ozark, Pemiscott, Perry, Phelps, Reynolds, Ripley, Ste. Genevieve, St. Francois, Scott, Shannon, Stoddard, Texas, Washington, Wayne, and Wright in the State of Missouri."
Another of the five regional commissions would be the Northern Great Plains Regional Commission, which would include "the counties of Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Caldwell, Carroll, Chariton, Clay, Clinton, Cooper, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Holt, Howard, Jackson, Linn, Livingston, Mercer, Nodaway, Platte, Putnam, Schuyler, Sullivan, and Worth in the State of Missouri." [Text of H.R. 3246, Printed in the Congressional Record on 09/17/07]
Kenny Hulshof, on October 4, 2007, voted against H.R. 3246. He was one of 154 House members who voted with President George W. Bush against this bill to "set up five regional commissions across the country, all with paid staff to assess the economic needs and coordinate economic development strategies. It also would approve grants to states, local governments, nonprofit agencies and tribes for infrastructure, job skills training, tourism promotion and local assistance in areas such as health care." [House of Representatives Vote 946, 2007, and The News & Observer, 10/08/07]
"At least 40 percent of the funds would be used to develop transportation, telecommunications and basic public infrastructure.
The remaining money would be used for economic development activities that include job training, public services, conservation, tourism and renewable and alternative energy projects." [San Antonio Express-News, 10/05/07]
Congressman "Sam Graves, R-Mo., said it would help give rural parts of the country access to broadband Internet. This technology ‘should be available to everyone, no matter where they live, at a reasonable rate,’ he said." [Congressional Quarterly Weekly, 10/06/07]
Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson voted with Graves to pass this bill. [House of Representatives Vote 946, 2007]