Minnesota

Tarek Tomes, who was appointed by Minn. Gov. Tim Walz in 2019, will stay on to lead Minnesota IT Services in a cabinet-level position. Tomes is one of Government Technology’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers.

The program, called the Broadband Line Extension Connection Program, will work differently from other grants in that the process in applying for the grant will not be generated from an ISP, but rather by the end users.

In the recently released 2022 Invest in What Works State Standard of Excellence analysis, eight leading states were recognized for their work with data and evidence to guide policymaking decisions.

Rather than laying a lot of new fiber lines to homes and far flung farm sites under the ground, a new project uses a system of towers and antennas to get high bandwidth signals to customers in rural areas.

Maki will join the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development's (DEED) senior leadership team, overseeing the state's broadband expansion and development efforts.

The rural northern community of Grand Rapids is now being served by Minnesota’s Autonomous Rural Transit Initiative, an 18-month pilot program to explore the use of self-driving on-demand microtransit.

The autonomous transportation projects being lead by the Minnesota Department of Transportation are testing not the technology, but the use cases these new forms of mobility can serve.