Photo courtesy of Cook County Cook County’s Information Technology Director Danna McKenzie has been appointed to Governor Mark Dayton’s Task Force on Broadband. McKenzie said she is happy to be working with such a diverse group of citizens.
In November 2011, Howard Hedstrom, chair of the county’s broadband committee, appeared before the Cook County commissioners to let them know that Danna McKenzie, the county’s information technology director, had been appointed to Governor Mark Dayton’s Task Force on Broadband— one of only 15 people in the state.
Hedstrom said, “As chair of the Broadband Commission, I just wanted to tell you how fortunate you are to have someone of Danna’s caliber working for you.”
Hedstrom said the position was an honor and a great “fit.” He said, “Danna will be able to gather information, find out what’s new and bring that information back to Cook County.”
Commissioners passed a unanimous motion of support for McKenzie’s appointment and then Commissioner Sue Hakes asked her just what she would be doing. McKenzie smiled and said, “Frankly, I’m not sure. This will be a learning process for all of us.”
In a press release issued later, Governor Mark Dayton said the task force “will be charged with developing policies to promote the expansion of broadband access in Minnesota.”
The governor’s stated goal is “border to-border” high-speed Internet and cell phone access throughout Minnesota.
In a phone conversation on December 1, McKenzie said it was indeed a learning process with a steep learning curve. The Task Force held its first meeting on November 29 and received its first challenge— completing a report on where Minnesota is in the goals that have been set for broadband. The governor wants the report by December 30, 2011.
“What we are looking at is ‘what does connectivity look like in the state. What is the Internet literacy in our state? Where are we on the digital divide?'” said McKenzie.
McKenzie said the first task force meeting went really well. The governor’s office describes members of the taskforce as a balance of broadband interests, including consumers, business and residential users, educational and health care institutions, traditional telephone and cable companies, and wireless providers as well as metro and rural local units of government.
McKenzie agreed that there is a great diversity in the group, for example, a representative from Essentia Health Care familiar with digitized medical records and a representative from a school to share what K-12 classrooms need from broadband. McKenzie said what she brings to the task force is two-fold. “I’m able to contribute in the area of local government. I want to learn how others are being served, how other entities are getting their needs met.
“I also want to continue the work I have been doing with the Blandin Foundation regarding rural Minnesota communities like ours. Specifically, I want to talk to the ‘top 10’—the most underserved communities, to find out if they feel underserved. I want to learn what are their initiatives to obtain broadband? What are their obstacles?”
Obviously, laughed McKenzie, there are many more questions than answers at this point. But the appointment is for two years, so McKenzie plans to find those answers. And, she said a real benefit is being at the table when opportunities like a recent Blandin Foundation Minnesota Intelligent Rural Community (MIRC) grant became available. That was used, for one thing, to put the Cook County Historical Society index of information and photos on-line.
“Being there when these opportunities come up is crucial,” said McKenzie.
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