For organizations in the Mower County community which are at a loss for how to reach out to people, there is an online solution.

Saturday, April 01, 2000

For organizations in the Mower County community which are at a loss for how to reach out to people, there is an online solution.

Called Community Net, it can be reached by pointing a Web browser to www.c-net.org. It serves six counties in Southern Minnesota – Olmstead, Mower, Dodge, Freeborn, Steele and Rice.

Betty Bleem is a program manager for the Community Net effort, which is expanding in this area.

"We are in the process of gathering more information in each county," Bleem said. "We’re just under five years old, and we’re trying to do more."

Bleem is proud of the services the site offers. Anyone with access to a computer – and there are free computers with Internet access at the public library in most towns – can take advantage of what the site has to offer.

"There’s a lot of information. Human services providers, counseling services, support groups – it’s there," Bleem said.

Bleem noted that right now, Community Net is working with SELCO libraries in the Mower County area to translate services into Spanish.

The site offers a volunteer database as well.

In order to get a service listed, Bleem said folks should just call her office in Rochester at (507) 287-7877.