WILLMAR—At a panel discussion Monday with Lt. Gov. Tina Smith, stories of local broadband woes crackled with a frustration that has become familiar. Speaker after speaker described the shortcomings with their rural internet service—slow speeds, inadequate bandwidth and sometimes no service at all unless they drive into town to find a free wireless hotspot. The broadband gap increasingly puts rural Minnesota at a competitive disadvantage, said Aaron Backman, executive director of the Kandiyohi