Rural Broadband

The Daily Yonder
http://www.dailyyonder.com/2-towns-make-worldwide-innovators-list/2013/11/14/6915

Mitchell made the list of Smart21 Communities last year, as well. Robert Bell, a co-founder of the Intelligent Community Forum, said the city’s place on the Smart21 list was secured in part by its emphasis on “precision farming.” The farming method uses GPS, Internet connectivity and other digital tools to control the cost of farming while increasing yields.

The approach demonstrates how a community can take advantage of skills in older economic and cultural traditions by supplementing them with new tools, Bell said in information provided to the Daily Yonder by the Intelligent Community Forum. 

Photo by Eric Fredericks

The community of Mitchell, South Dakota, is an example of using technology to supplement already established industries, in this instance farming.

Mitchell has built a fiber-to-the-premises network that can serve every home and business in town, according to Prairie Business Magazine. Each seventh through 12th grader in Mitchell’s public schools receives a smart pad or laptop. The region has a two-year vocational school that teaches business, communications and precision farming. It also has a four-year college, Dakota Wesleyan University. The Prairie Business Magazine reports that a third of Dakota Wesleyan’s graduates stay in the area....