Koochiching Technology Initiative

05/05/2026

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments

Hermantown officials are expected to vote Monday night on a proposal to extend tax incentives to Google in exchange for city and school funding and infrastructure costs — and the largest private investment in the city’s history.

04/14/2026

What do you think?

The new MIT-backed platform reveals what’s driving rising power bills and why costs could keep climbing for households across the country.

04/06/2026

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has released their newest Long-Term Reliability Assessment, and there’s one clear takeaway: The Midwest electric grid needs additional power sources. Check out what the experts are saying on the Real Power Now website.

And if you’d like to read the entire assessment yourself, copy this link into your browser:https://www.nerc.com/globalassets/our-work/assessments/nerc_ltra_2025.pdf

As the nation's electric grid faces escalating reliability risks, energy leaders are making their voices heard.

03/24/2026

Evolving discussions around data centers…what do you think??

Bills banning non-disclosure agreements and requiring local governments to release more information about proposed data center projects are earning bipartisan support at the Minnesota Legislature.

03/16/2026

Internet service providers, like Frontier and MIDCO have been working on projects in our area and offering fiber internet connections. Has anyone switched providers? Are you happy with internet service in Koochiching County? What areas do you feel are still underserved? Let us know!!

02/27/2026

Let’s talk cell phone service! Where at in our county do you feel cell service is lacking? What provider do you use? Sound off in the comments!

02/14/2026

Happy Valentine’s Day! Don’t fall victim to romance scams during this season of love. Take a look at this article by the FBI to see how you can protect yourself and your loved ones.

Protect your heart—and your wallet—by learning to spot and prevent romance scams.

02/13/2026

Any Costco members out there?

It's easy to participate.

02/02/2026

https://extension.umn.edu/community-news-and-insights/beyond-county-lines-how-mobile-data-redrawing-map-community-life

DeeDee LeMier believes using county lines to define how people actually live is outdated. Drawn in an era of horse-and-buggy travel, these borders made sense when long-distance trips were slow and daily life was local.

01/27/2026

🧐 What do you think? Should there be more oversight of data centers?

The state aims to halt data center development until March 2027.

01/22/2026

Data centers are popping up in more rural areas of the country. There are many concerns and many hopes that come along with these data centers. Here is an in depth look at the impact of having a data center in DeKalb County, Illinois. The results have been overall positive in the surrounding communities in Northern Illinois, but take a look for yourself and ask if something similar could be possible for Koochiching County

What Data Centers Actually Mean for Northern Illinois Communities A fact-checked look at taxes, water, power, and local control by Mike Hammett — Telecom & Infrastructure Professional in Northern Illinois TL;DR: Data-center projects along I-88 have added hundreds of millions in new taxable value.....