A number of inquiries have been made regarding persons who have multiple properties.  If you would like Arrowhead to construct to multiple properties but did not receive a mailing for each property please feel free to include a second (or third, fourth, fifth etc…) site sketch and mail back to Arrowhead.  We’ve put a link on our website so you can download the form if easier than finding a copy machine.  If your Internet connection is too slow, you don’t have a copy machine or you simply would prefer Arrowhead mail you an additional site sketch please call the office at 663-7239 or 1-800-864-3744 and we’ll be happy to do so.

If you are an owner in Schroeder, Tofte or Lutsen, please remember that you received your mailing in 2011.  If you would like Arrowhead to have a site sketch of your property please feel free to download the site sketch form and mail it in to the office.

Remember – site sketches are due back to Arrowhead by May 11th.  Thank you!!

Inside the envelope you’ll find a form to fill out which grants Arrowhead permission to install our fiber optic cable between your electric meter and your home or business.  The form needs to be filled out completely AND SIGNED.  Arrowhead will not accept modifications to the language on the form.  The back side of the page contains a large space for you to provide a sketch of your property.  As we are unable to meet with property owners on site prior to construction, this site sketch is your opportunity to communicate any and all information you deem important for Arrowhead to know about.  What kind of information will be helpful?

We want to know: how the driveway enters the property (and if it’s paved), the rough locations of private power, phone, propane and septic lines, garages or other buildings which you might want service to and an estimated distance between each building.  If you know where your power line enters your home we want to know this too and if it’s an overhead line or an underground line.  It would also be beneficial for you to mark where your electrical panel is within your home.  You are welcome to include any other information you want us to know about.

The mailing has all the information listed on it so don’t feel as though you need to memorize what Arrowhead will find helpful right now.  Arrowhead will provide a copy of this sketch to our contractor to aid them in construction.  Remember, if the power line is overhead, fiber will be strung overhead.  If power is underground, we’ll bury the fiber underground. If you have a paved driveway that we MUST cross we will be boring underneath in lieu of cutting the asphalt. We will construct along the power routes with some exceptions.  For example, if the existing underground power line run to your home is through the woods and it is a shorter and/or easier (i.e. avoiding ledge rock) for Arrowhead to install the fiber optic cable down the side of your driveway.  That decision will be made by our contractor on site.   In all cases Arrowhead needs to install the box on the side of the home typically within 6’ of where power enters the home.  Further, it must be installed 42-60” above ground to allow for home installation and future maintenance.

Also enclosed in the envelope will be a number of frequently asked questions and answers.  Additional information is being put on our website at www.aecimn.com/broadband-project. If you have an e-mail address and you haven’t previously signed-up for our e-newsletter you can do so at the above website too.  You can expect more information to be available at the Arrowhead Electric Cooperative annual meeting which takes place on Saturday, June 9^th at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts in Grand Marais.  Breakfast is served at 8am with the meeting to follow at 10am.

Please note if you live in Schroeder, Tofte or Lutsen you will not be receiving a mailing as they were sent to that area in 2011.  Also, if you rent your home, please contact the property owner to be sure the owner signs off on construction.

To be eligible, groups must be non-profit organizations and service communities within the Arrowhead Electric service territory.  Disaster relief for individuals may be eligible.

First responders, crisis centers, youth and senior citizen activities, education, food shelves and emergency assistance are just a few of the categories to be considered for funding.

Funds are not given to political or religious groups, fraternal or labor organizations, fund-raising dinners or raffles, advertising and for on-going operational expenses.

The deadline to apply for Operation Roundup funds is May 11^th by 12:00 noon.  The Arrowhead Electric Trust Board will meet in May to review the applications.  Funds will be distributed at the annual Meeting on June 9^th, 2012.

For further information contact Jenny Kartes, Arrowhead’s Office Manager at 218-663-7239 or 800-864-3744.  Arrowhead grant applications can be obtained online at http://www.aecimn.com/operation-round-up/.

This scheduled power outage will affect members on the entire Gunflint Trail, Devils Track Lake area, County Rd 60, County Rd 6, County Rd 48, Maple Hill and County Rd 7 out to the Pike Lake Rd, including Birch Drive and Coyote Ridge.

Arrowhead Electric apologies for any inconvenience this may cause and would like to thank you for your continued support while our crews safely complete repairs required to ensure reliable electric service in the area. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the AECI office at 663-7239.

Also of importance is a big congratulations to Cook County’s own Danna Mackenzie on her recent appointment by Governor Mark Dayton  to the Statewide Broadband Task Force.  While Danna isn’t directly connected to the Arrowhead Electric Cooperative fiber to the home project she has undoubtedly been a local champion who has worked diligently to get real broadband into Cook County.  The State of Minnesota has set some of the most ambitious goals in the Country and the Arrowhead Electric Cooperative fiber to the home project will help meet those goals.

As most people using Satellite services know, each month users are able to “consume” X amount of data on the internet.  Once a certain amount has been consumed the service is reduced for a period of time.  Most mobile broadband providers approach this a bit differently.  Instead of reducing your speed after you reach your maximum data usage for the month you incur a fee for each unit consumed.  Phone companies providing subscribers DSL internet services don’t have the same problems Satellite and wireless providers have.  However, DSL providers are notorious for advertising and using marketing schemes that promise speeds of, “Up to” a certain speed.  Unfortunately, many subscribers never actually get the service they pay for.

In one of Arrowhead’s more recent postings, we announced our minimum internet package will be 10Mb.  What we didn’t think about was that so many of us in Cook County are accustomed to all of the tactics used by incumbent providers to reduce your use of the internet or generate additional profit.  To help understand Arrowheads plan, consider the kitchen faucet.

The faucet represents the size of the internet pipe (10Mb), while the water represents the amount of data flowing through the faucet.  Subscribers of the Arrowhead fiber optic service can consume an unlimited amount of data (or water when thinking about the kitchen faucet) but the rate at which it will transfer depends on the size of the faucet (10Mb –per second).

Only on the Arrowhead fiber optic network will you be able to transfer data (stream HD video, download large files, etc…) at speeds faster than any other provider in Cook County.  Moreover, you can do it and not need to worry about your internet service being slowed down by your provider or your monthly bill being larger than what you expect.

Arrowheads fiber optic network will consistently provide you the speed you need, at the time when you need it most.  For those with a “big kitchen sink and require a faucet to fit” – just let us know.  We’ll deliver you 20Mb or in the case of a business up to 1 GB.

To put Arrowhead’s fiber network into some perspective, if you currently subscribe to DSL, Wireless or Satellite service, the Arrowhead 10Mb internet service will be anywhere from 3 to 10 times faster than what you currently receive (download).  If its upload capacity you need, Arrowhead can upgrade your account so that you receive a symmetrical service (10Mb download & 10Mb upload). Only with Arrowhead’s internet service can you get the upload capacity many residents want and businesses need.  DSL, Satellite and Wireless can’t offer it and they simply can’t compete with it.

It’s not just about internet service though. Over the same fiber optic cable, Arrowhead will be providing phone service. Our phone service will be scalable to your needs and wants. Phone service can be basic and provide the security of a landline phone for 911 in case of an emergency, local calling to keep in touch with your neighbors, long distance service and all the calling features many people use today, such as; Voice Mail, CallerID, 3-Way Calling, Call Forwarding and more.

Don’t forget about TV service too!  Arrowhead is negotiating with and reviewing proposals to determine the TV service we want to offer our members. We’ll release the details as they develop later in 2012.

Shortly Arrowhead will begin the work inside our office building, transforming what was an office space into a high-tech digital room filled with DC power equipment, computers, and other “gear” which will allow Arrowhead to offer internet, phone and TV service. This room will be the “brain” that controls and monitors our fiber optic network. It is a critical step in launching and offering services to our members.

In order to provide these services to you, Arrowhead will be mailing to your homes (cabins & businesses too) more information on the 2012 construction season. Of particular importance, when you receive the mailing there will be a set of information that must be returned to Arrowhead granting us permission to install our fiber optic cable up to and on the side of your home (members in Lutsen, Tofte & Schroeder who received a property permission card in 2011 will not receive a new mailing in 2012).  Look in your mailboxes in mid to late January for this very important mailing from Arrowhead.

As we begin wrapping up 2011, our underground construction has been suspended for the winter and will resume in the spring. One aerial crew will work right up to Christmas. The aerial crew will be primarily constructing the “main line” fiber optic cable leading from Lutsen and heading towards Grand Marais.

Last, but certainly not least, Arrowhead would like to extend a grateful Thank youto those members who so patiently worked with our contractors in 2011. We hope our contractors treated your property with respect and worked with you to ensure your property was left in a condition as good as when they first arrived on site. The feedback we’ve gotten this far has been tremendous and we expect in 2012 to achieve the same results.

Operation Round-Up applications are being accepted for the 2011 Fall distribution.  Applications are due by Noon on Wednesday, September 28th in the Arrowhead Electric Office.  Additional information and an application can be found on our Operation Round-Up page by clicking here.

ANNUAL PHOTO CONTEST FOR THE 2012 CALENDAR

Arrowhead Electric Cooperative, Inc. is accepting entries for its 2012 calendar.  Please read the guidlines carefully. We strongly encourage amateur photographers to submit pictures. We ask professional photographers to refrain from submitting pictures; this will allow other members a chance to have their photos published.  Click here to download the submital form and contest guidelines.