In today's Minnesota Daily, Derrick Biney looks at Minneapolis' plan for citywide Wi-Fi. Key to the plan is the fact that the anticipated $25 million cost "won't come out of taxpayers' pockets," according to the article. Instead, the city will secure a private vendor to build and manage the network -- that vendor will then foot the bill, making its money back as it gains customers.

The article states that two vendors have been selected from an initial pool of 90 to conduct pilot projects in one square mile areas of the city next month. City Mayor R.T. Rybak says the eventual Wi-Fi deployment will particularly benefit students -- especially low-income students who might not otherwise have Internet access.

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance's Becca Vargo Daggett says the city shouldn't be working with a private vendor -- she suggests the network would be more profitable if it were city-run. But Rybak says the plan is an excellent example of a shared public-private model. "We are using our buying power as a city to deliver a service for every citizen in Minneapolis," he says.