University of Iowa grad students continue their study of the Metronet and Broadband opportunities in Winneshiek County

University of Iowa graduate students in the Urban and Regional Planning department returned to Decorah on Thursday as part of their project to assess internet service availability in Decorah and Winneshiek county. 

The group has been doing a countywide survey to collect information on the topic.  Two of the grad students--Juliana Lucchesi and Jeffrey Gepper--tell decorahnoews.com they have gotten a lot of surveys filled out by Decorah area residents--around 250--but have gotten only 12 surveys filled out by rural Winneshiek County residents.  They will be sending out postcards to rural residents in an effort to get more responses.

The two students--part of a larger group of U of I grad students--say their surveying has shown that 94 percent of people in the Decorah area have Internet access.

Lucchesi and Gepper say their group is now studying a variety of financial and legal issues involving the topic.

A complete summary of their findings will be presented in Decorah the first week in May.