Minnesota Reformer

As part of a growing effort to stop prison telecommunications monopolies from charging exorbitant fees for calls between prisoners and their families, in 2023 Minnesota became one of the first states to make all phone calls free for prisoners.

With the start of the school year just around the corner, thousands of Minnesota students still don’t have access to reliable high-speed internet — meaning that many will begin another year of at least part-time distance learning with spotty service or no internet connection at all.  Low-income students, rural students and students of color are disproportionately likely to lack reliable internet access, raising concerns that the digital divide will worsen Minnesota’s educational disparities, which are already some of the worst in the nation. Roughly 25,000 Minnesota students didn’t have com