Have you ever stood on Minnesota’s tallest bridge? Firmly planted in Virginia, it’s a breathtaking view as the four-lane, 1,125 foot long bridge slimly stands a whopping 204 feet above the surface of what looks like a meandering river.

Officially named the Thomas Rukavina Memorial Bridge in 2021, it actually spans the Rochleau Mine Pit Lake. This 450 foot deep lake once had rumbling trucks, nearly the size of a miner’s house, extracting 300 million gross tons of iron ore over the course of its 84-year life.

Like the mine pit, CTC has experienced a vast amount of growth and change over the past several decades, especially in 2021.

Through Minnesota’s Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program our team was awarded over $350,000 to expand our fiber network in an unserved area of Ross Lake Township in Crow Wing County. This and other funding success can be attributed to the power of partnerships as we work alongside county governments, municipalities, and township boards to secure this critical funding. Speaking of teamwork, our partnerships with Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative and Arrowhead Electric Cooperative, Inc. continue to thrive and we are so grateful for their commitment to our cooperative.

Late last year I was thrilled to secure a one-year term on the Federal Communication Commission’s Interagency Working Board. Formed to provide guidance on workforce development and training the next generation of telecommunication employees, I look forward to sharing ideas and gaining knowledge from this great group of leaders.

In late November we finalized a partnership with the Northeast Service Cooperative (NESC). Headquartered in Mountain Iron, Minnesota, their network represents 3,160 route miles of fiber, a 20% increase in our service area. Not only will this allow us to provide high-speed, reliable internet services to businesses and residents throughout the area but more importantly, it will boost the economic capacity of the entire region.

NESC’s 610 mile footprint in northeast Minnesota may have few major highways, metropolitan areas, and minimal infrastructure but it’s need for a robust fiber internet network is no different than any other location throughout the state or nation. We often say that internet is just as imperative now as electricity was in the 1950s. That couldn’t be more true than along the paths, trails, streets, and dirt roads of the state’s rural areas… some of which you’ll see on the following pages.

The imagery throughout this annual report serves two purposes: to show the literal roads and paths that our fiber network often parallels but also to act as a symbol of the figurative paths that CTC has chosen to take… often of a ‘road less traveled’.

Robert Frost’s famous poem The Road Not Taken served as the inspiration for the theme of this annual report and our mantra for the change and growth we’ve recently experienced. I encourage you to read the poem in its entirety but will leave you with the final phrase, “I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” As we venture down the multitude of roads and paths within our service area and strategic plan, we look forward to continuing to serve you, our members, for years to come.

In 2021, we carried out a promise we made to our coworker and friend.

When Mike suddenly passed away in July 2020, we felt compelled to do something that would honor him. When the opportunity arose to sponsor the building of a house in Mike’s honor, we didn’t hesitate. By partnering with Lakes Area Habitat for Humanity we helped build a home in Brainerd for a single mom and her two young boys.

Twenty-five CTC staff and their families contributed over 190 hours to the Mike Whistler Memorial Build. This included everything from hauling trusses and raising walls to a full day of assembling furniture and getting the home ‘move-in’ ready. Alyssa and her sons spent their first night in their new, safe home on January 24, 2022.

Mike… we miss you dearly and will continue to honor your legacy through this project and for years to come. You would have gotten a kick out of the smiles on the boys’ faces when they were doing acrobatics in their brand new beds, in their brand new home