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Feature Article-Seeding the Prairie-Minnesota Technology Magazine Online, Summer 2002 Page 5 of 6 not done very well was get the Internet to 13 years. Several years ago, drive business to us," he explains. As a result she started a catalog of the conference, the company is business,and this summer redesigning its Web site to increase its the Main Street Cotton Shop marketing orientation and also is developing a will go live with its e- program to e-mail advertising notices to commerce site. people who say they want to receive them. "The idea is to get interested people to Lepper applauds the city's forward the information on to other interested efforts to bring high-speed parties," says Anderson. "It's a lot better waycoulds to town, but says, "I Y couldn't wait. I ended up to market than just blasting 1,000 names with getting a wireless information." connection."The wireless connection is offered The Dakota County committee also is through Redwood County developing a proposal for a technology Telephone Co.,a private incubator, working with local technical phone company based in Wcolleges to offer classes that meet community dozen communitieso that serves a a business needs, and working with local donaroundRedwood in d government and business to ensure the donut Redwood Falls. It also offers fiber optic county's technology infrastructure can support and wireless high-speed business growth. connections. "There is a growing sophistication in the The commitment to helping development community," says JoAnne businesses stay current on Johnson, a senior regulatory analyst for technology is essential for Burnsville-based Frontier smaller communities."In Telecommunications. "They know that high- rural Minnesota,isolated,"you can speed Internet access has risen right upon become very ity says g Lepper. "The city has a the development checklist for many vision that that's not going to • companies. The old days of just listing electric happen here." and phone companies on the development profile doesn't cut it anymore." -Mary Lahr Schier With backing from the Dakota County Technology Committee, Johnson has presented seminars for community leaders on how to use telecommunications services to improve community development. Many cities in Minnesota have been aggressive about demanding high-speed services, says Johnson, and "community groups have accelerated the timeline for these connections." Most observers agree, however, that connections alone do not make a high- tech economy. Rochester, for example, has adabout 30 new tech companies emerge in the city in the past few years, according to Gary Smith, director of Rochester Area Economic Development Inc. The city does have"just about anything you need for connectivity,"says Smith, but it is its highly educated labor pool that has driven growth. Many of the new businesses have been started by former employees of IBM or Mayo Clinic. "We're fortunate in that the fruit trees we have are those with low-hanging fruit,"says Smith, whose organization offers assistance to startup companies. "When it falls off,we can pick it up and do something with it." Mary Lahr Schier is a Northfield-based freelance writer. Top of p to Mai I rtic Page Page antic e • http://www.minnesotatechnology.org/publications/magazine/2002/Summer/feature_seeding.a;... 8/16/02