Archive for Dakota County News
Dakota County seeks Google Gb fiber network
Dakota Future, in collaboration with Dakota County CDA and our Dakota County communities, has announced plans to seek the Google Gb fiber network investment for Dakota County. Landing Google would mean a $300 million private sector investment in Dakota County, attract new tech-savvy residents and be a magnet for innovative companies. A project web site is launching at www.dakotafuturefiber.com.
You can show your support by joining the Dakota Future Fiber Facebook and LinkedIn groups.
More information is available here.
Helping you grow your own successful IT business
Dakota Scott IT Entrepreneurs and others are invited to and upcoming event…
Helping you grow your own successful IT business
February 18, 2010
4-6 pm
Old Chicago Restaurant, 14998 Glazier Ave, Apple Valley
Appetizers & Beverages provided
$10 at the door
A panel discussion from 3 successful IT Entrepreneurs
Register by emailing cindyjohns@comcast.net
Dakota County ICF event January 20
Dakota County has already been named a Smart 21 Intelligent Community. Please join us for the announcement of the TOP SEVEN INTELLIGENT COMMUNITIES to see if we continue in the competition for Intelligent Community of the Year!
Wednesday, January 20, 4:30 – 6:00 p.m.
Enjoy! Restaurant
Complimentary Hors d’oeuvres with cash bar.
Please RSVP to info@dakotafuture.com
Laptops for Burnsville High School
Burnsville High School recently received ten laptops for its business classes - all of them at no charge to the school district. This generous gift would not have been possible without the assistance of MN Computers for Schools and getSTEM. MN Computers for Schools learned about Burnsville High School’s need for additional computers from an “ASK” on www.getSTEM-mn.com.
Cindy Drahos is a Business Education instructor for Burnsville High School. She saw firsthand, on a daily basis, the impact the lack of available laptops had on the students in her business classes. Those wanting to participate in technology web competitions and/or achieve Microsoft certifications were being negatively impacted by the lack of available computers. The school district does have a computer lab, but there is no guarantee that the room will be available or that all computers are not being used at any given time.
Students who do not have laptops available to them at home were at a significant disadvantage and their ability to further their technical horizons was stunted with reduced access to laptops. Looking to remedy the situation, Cindy posted an “ASK” on the getSTEM website.
Enter Tamara Gillard, Executive Director of MN Computers for Schools. Tamara is familiar with getSTEM, as she also sits on the K-12 committee for MN High Tech Association. MN Computer for Schools is a non-profit agency, and through foundation support, they sell (or grant) recycled computers. The computers come from various donors across the state and are reworked and built to the IT specifications of a particular school. The rebuilding work is completed through a program at Stillwater Correctional Facilities, where troubleshooting, refurbishing and rebuilding skills are taught. Once computers are totally tested, they are then available at low cost to schools across the state.
When Tamara became aware of Burnsville High School’s “ASK” on getSTEM, she acted swiftly to respond. She and Cindy Drahos discussed the needs of the Business Education Department and its specific IT specifications. Within a week of the initial contact, the production process was complete and the ten laptops were personally delivered to Burnsville High School. Cindy was “absolutely amazed” at how well the process worked and how rapidly their particular need was filled.
The students were equally as excited and were anxious to try them out the very day they arrived. Cindy reports daily requests for use of the laptops, including the ability to take them home over nights and weekends. She is extremely grateful that computers are now available to those students who strive to achieve advanced technical skills, and she thanks MN Computers for Schools for the amazing gift and getSTEM for making it all possible.
Like Cindy, are you a teacher who wants to connect with STEM professionals for classroom assistance or mentoring? Or are you a STEM professional looking to support K-12 students studying in a STEM field similar to Tamara? Join the getSTEM portal today, where Minnesota educators and businesses can connect and collaborate to build relationships to match STEM needs with STEM resources.
View other getSTEM success stories here or sign up today at www.getSTEM-mn.com where we’re making good minds great.
Update on Smart21 Pursuit
We are pleased to announce that Dakota County, MN has been named a Smart 21 Community by the Intelligent Community Forum. We are anxiously awaiting to see if we make the Top Seven Intelligent Communities in the world in 2010. (See our application for the Top Seven.) This recognition is based on five critical factors – broadband availability and use; digital inclusion initiatives; creation, support and attraction of knowledge workers; strategies to encourage and implement innovative practices in government and business; and marketing/advocacy to attract people and investment into our community.
Dakota Future is leading this initiative in Dakota County. As a non-profit organization that links business, education and government, we strive to ensure that Dakota County has a globally competitive economic environment. We have adopted the Intelligent Community approach to organize and drive our efforts. For more information, check out our Intelligent Community Showcase by clicking on the link to the right. Please join us in this exciting initiative by clicking here and providing your contact information.
Dakota take on State broadband report
Dakota County connections to the recent Minnesota Ultra High-Speed Broadband Task Force are highlighted in a recent article in the MN Sun Newspapers. It starts with recognizing Eagan-based Thomson Reuters Chief Operating Officer Rick King and Eagan Communications Director Tom Garrison who were appointed by the state to serve on the Minnesota High Speed Broadband Task Force in April 2008.
The report promotes download at speeds that reach 10-20 megabits per second (mpbs) and upload speeds that reach 5-10 mbps by 2015. The article points out the even in Eagan, a city that is considered well wired, the average resident has access to those download speeds, but not those upload speeds. The hope is that such an increase in broadband would put Minnesota goal in the top five nationally in both average upload and download speed and in the top 15 compared to other states and countries.
The statewide efforts come in tandem with Dakota County efforts, which include the following:
The Dakota County Community Development Agencies has partnered with 11 cities, including Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Lakeville and Rosemount to produce a video that highlights the benefits of high-speed broadband. The video will be shown on local cable access channels and is available on city websites.
Eagan has been exploring its own options for a few years now and a final report that has been worked on by consultant Andrew Cohill and the Eagan Technology Working Group made up of city employees and local business experts. Through the process, the city has been working with local providers to come up with a solution.
Dakota County Needs Next-Generation Broadband
The following video was produced by the Dakota County Broadband Committee:
Dakota County makes Smart21 list!
We are delighted to announce the good news – Dakota County has been named one of the Smart21 communities. We recap for any new readers, Earlier this year, Dakota Future set a goal to be named as a Top Seven Intelligent Community in the annual global competition sponsored by the Intelligent Community Forum. To begin the process, we completed a benchmarking exercise that would enable comparison with the top seven finalists of the past four years. By completing the benchmarking, Dakota Future also entered the competition for the 2010 Intelligent Community.
We received the benchmarking results a week ago and were encouraged that our goal would be in reach if we put our mind to it. We established teams to work on each of the five intelligent community elements and set a work schedule to get our house in order in time for a September 2010 application deadline for the 2011 competition.
We are excited to have achieved Top 21 recognition. The Top Seven will be announced in January; the Intelligent Community of the Year will be announced in May. The Top 21 designation is quite a pleasant surprise to our team and will serve as motivation to our newly formed initiative.
Dakota Future launch in Dakota County Tribune
The Dakota County Tribune featured Dakota Future’s project launch last week. As many readers know, we launched our efforts to apply for Intelligent Community standing. We were lucky enough to have ICF’s own Robert Bell to talk to us about the project and our progress thus far. (Read full story.)
Dakota Future featured in Rosemount Pages
Dakota Future, our efforts to apply as an Intelligent Community and the project launch planned for October 9 were all featured in a recent article in the Rosemount Pages.
The article says,
Becoming an Intelligent Community will benefit the county and organizations and cities within it in several ways. Coleman said getting involved will ensure Dakota County has world-class broadband that companies are globally competitive and citizens are connected and will attract investments.
The event next Friday will be an opportunity for Dakota County businesses and residents to learn more about the Intelligent Community Forum, starting out with how Dakota County currently stacks up on an international scope and what is necessary to get to a world class standing.
