As the pandemic drags on, local governments across the country are looking for ways to connect their residents. To help local officials and advocates figure out if their community is able to take action, we worked with the Local Solutions Support Center (LSSC) to develop a step-by-step guide.… Read More
Stacy Mitchell, Co-Director of ILSR and Director of the Community-Scaled Economy Initiative, took a few moments to look back over the work of David Carr. Carr’s work included investigating monopolies in the telecommunications space. Stacy’s story, re-posted here, originally ran on ILSR.org. What will we do without David Carr, the brilliant media columnist at the New York … Read More
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler released a statement yesterday supporting the concept of local authority for community broadband infrastructure. Chattanooga and Wilson filed petitions to scale back state restrictions last summer. In his statement, Wheeler officially recommended the Commission approve the petitions. If approved, the petitions have the potential to liberate local communities from state restrictions. Along with a … Read More
Boulder’s City Council is considering November ballot question to restore local authority for municipal telecommunications services. The measure, if passed, will create an exemption to the 2005 Colorado law allowing Boulder to better use its existing fiber optic infrastructure. Apparently, the Boulder community has a self-reliant streak. This is not the first time the Institute for … Read More
The Blandin Foundation will be offering a webinar featuring Chris Mitchell from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance on Thursday, June 12 from 3 – 4 p.m. central time. The discussion, titled “Approaches for Local Governments to Expand Internet Access,” will include lessons learned from communities such as Lac qui Parle County, Windom, and several other Greater … Read More
Tim Danahey recently brought Chris Mitchell on his show to talk about municipal networks and their role in preserving network neutrality. Tim is a fan of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and our work. Tim is a great interviewer because he is up on the issue and politically savvy. From the show website: If President Obama … Read More
The American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) brings the 2014 Go Local, Grow Local Conference to downtown Minneapolis May 8 – 11. Christopher Mitchell will speak at the conference on Friday, May 9, at 3:45 central. Chris will speak on creating local environments that help entrepreneurs thrive, including community networks. AMIBA began in 1997 in Boulder, Colorado. … Read More
Our listening audience hears Chris Mitchell interview people every week for the Broadband Bits Podcast. Now it is time for the interviewer to become the interviewee. Chris took a few minutes to participate in the June 2013 episode of the Whatcha Workin’ On Podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. He told us a little about how … Read More
If you’re wondering why there’ less content on Energy Self-Reliant States lately, it’s because our Minneapolis office is moving for the first time in 20 years. Here’s a few photos from our moving preparations. The Minneapolis office “technology history room” with over a decade of old Apple laptops (since recycled): Piles of boxes waiting to depart. … Read More
