FLOTUS Tours ILSR Staff Member’s Backyard Garden

After visiting D.C.-area schools, Mrs. Obama visited the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s Waste to Wealth initiative Project Manager Linda Bilsens at her home to laud the community garden they have cultivated in their yard.… Read More

January 2016 – Defending the Public Good Newsletter

This month we featured David’s recent piece on the Two Mistakes That Obama Made That Lost the Country, as well as a recently archived interview David did on KFAI Community Radio in Minnesota discussing the history of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Open up the January 2016 – Public Good Newsletter here or by clicking below.    

Chris responds to President Obama’s endorsement of community networks on MPR’s “Daily Circuit”

Date: 21 Feb 2015 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Minnesota Public Radio’s Daily Circuit (MPR) interviewed Chris about President Obama’s recent endorsment to end restrictions on states that limit local broadband authority. Chris and Danna Mackenzie, executive director of the Minnesota Office of Broadband Development, answered questions about what Obama’s announcement means for faster, cheaper, more reliable Internet for consumers.  Chris explained that it’s great … Read More

Republican Rep. McMorris Rodgers on Broadband as Essential Infrastructure

Date: 20 Feb 2015 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

President Obama is not the only Washington politician who is coming out to describe broadband networks as critical infrastructure. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican Representative for the 5th congressional district in the state of Washington recently said the same at the Internet Policy Conference, hosted by the Internet Education Foundation in Washington DC. C-SPAN televised the … Read More

38 Next Century Cities Leaders Sign Letter to FCC Supporting Local Authority

Date: 13 Feb 2015 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

President Obama suggested restoring local telecommunications authority while visiting Cedar Falls in January and a number of local elected officials were ready to back him up. Leaders from 38 members of Next Century Cities recently submitted a public letter to the FCC urging commissioners to consider local autonomy as they consider the Chattanooga and Wilson, North … Read More

38 Next Century Cities Leaders Sign Letter to FCC Supporting Local Authority

Date: 13 Feb 2015 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

President Obama suggested restoring local telecommunications authority while visiting Cedar Falls in January and a number of local elected officials were ready to back him up. Leaders from 38 members of Next Century Cities recently submitted a public letter to the FCC urging commissioners to consider local autonomy as they consider the Chattanooga and Wilson, North … Read More

Community Broadband Media Roundup – January 23

Date: 26 Jan 2015 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

We continue to see reverberations from President Obama’s speaking out in favor of municipal networks. The presidential nod sparked state lawmakers to propose bills, news organizations to write editorials, and to give communities a better sense of how they can take action locally. As Claire Cain Miller with the New York Times wrote in her article … Read More

Los Angeles Times Supports Local Authority

Date: 23 Jan 2015 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

President Obama’s recent appearance in Cedar Falls infused adrenaline into the debate about local authority for telecommunications decisions. As a result, some of the media outlets from large cities are now coming out in support of local authority. The Editorial Board of the LA Times published an opinion on January 21st supporting the notion of restoring local authority in states where laws prevent community decision making.

The Times recognizes that rural areas will benefit most from reversing these restrictions, that the restrictions need to be removed for us to compete globally, and that there are numerous municipal networks that are up to the challenge of improving connectivity. The LA Times also recognizes the value of public-private partnerships in New York and in other places where local government has forged productive relationships with the private sector.

Editors at the LA Times boil it down to one tenet:

Regardless, the decision about whether a local agency should get into the broadband business should be left to the people who bear the risk — local officials and the people who elect them.

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ILSR’s Research Serves as Backbone For White House Community Broadband Action

Date: 20 Jan 2015 | posted in: MuniNetworks, Press Release | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Minnesota Organization’s Research Serves as Backbone For White House Community Broadband Action ILSR.org was instrumental in providing information, context and support to the administration ahead of their community broadband announcement this week.   Minneapolis, MN – The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), a Minnesota-based non-profit organization, has a lot to be proud of today … Read More

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