71st Annual Meeting

Wednesday, July 14th, 2021

6:30 p.m. Entertainment TBD

6:30 p.m. Registration

7:00 p.m. Meeting

West Central Area School– Barrett, MN

1) Welcome

2) Report on the number of members present to establish a quorum

3) Report of the Notice of the Meeting and Proof of Due Publication or mailing

4) Approval of the 2019 Annual Meeting Minutes

5) Election of one director (from 2020) to serve a 5 year term

6) Election of one director (for 2021) to serve a 5 year term

7) Presentation and consideration of reports of officers and manager

8) Unfinished business

9) New business

Door Prize Drawings

Grand Prizes….10-$50.00 credit on your account

Pie & ice cream served by WCA FCCLA following meeting.

Brady Bauck- IT/Networking

Intern

Brady Combs- Network

Technician

Clay Drews- Internet Manager

Ken Elvehjem- Internet Technician

Support

Shawn Engler- Network

Technician

Brad Frank- Network Technician

Russ Froemming- Network

Operations Manager

Cyndi Gulbranson- Service

Coordinator

Kent Hedstrom- General

Manager/CEO

Angie Huseth- Customer Service/

Accountant

Curt Hyatt- Network Technician

Michelle Jenson- Customer

Service

Andrea Koehntop- Customer

Service/Marketing Coordinator

Braeden Long- Network

Technician

Matthew Lloyd- Network

Technician

Braeden Long- Network

Technician

Michelle Martinson- Customer Service

Jeanne Meidl- Office Manager/CFO

Riley Moore- Summer Worker

Gary Ness- Network Technician

Dan Perry- Network Technician

Pam Randt- Customer Service

Dave Redepenning- Network

Technician

Nathan Richards- Network

Technician

Ryan Schonhardt- Network

Technician

Tristan Staples- Network

Technician

Chris Veldhouse- Outside Plant

Manager

Jacob Veldhouse- Network Technician

Runestone Telecom Employees

The employees and directors at Runestone Telecom extend appreciation and gratitude for our cooperative

members. We acknowledge that the stress and uncertainty caused by the pandemic has impacted everyone and

made for a complicated and difficult year. Your ongoing support during the past year has meant a great deal to

us.

On March 18th of 2020, we made the decision to close our office to the public in the interest of public and em-

ployee safety. Runestone employees who could, worked remotely. Those who needed to report to work imple-

mented best practices to ensure the safety of customers. Runestone employees demonstrated resiliency and

innovation in service delivery as we navigated the obstacles presented by the pandemic.

The pandemic shed a powerful light on how essential broadband Internet is in our daily lives. During the first

three months of the pandemic, more than 300 new Internet accounts were opened. Many new accounts served

people who began working remotely and students who transitioned to distance learning during school closures.

The large increase in Internet accounts was a significant undertaking for our staff, who worked under less than

ideal conditions. I am proud of the Runestone Telecom employees and I can’t thank them enough for their

dedication and hard work. Their efforts to provide Internet connectivity allowed people to work, engage in

commerce, receive an education, attend meetings, and connect with families and friends.

All Runestone employees have returned to working in the office and, we are grateful that on May 3rd, we were

able to open our office to the public. We are looking forward to a busy and productive year.

In January of 2020 Runestone was awarded a State of Minnesota Border to Border Broadband Grant to provide

Internet access to over 900 locations south of Alexandria who had limited or not Internet access before.

Construction started on this project in July 2020. Fiber to the Home (FTTH) construction is now complete in

the City of Elbow Lake and our rural areas. We only have the cities of Barrett, Cyrus, Donnelly, Hoffman and

Kensington remaining to be 100% fiber.

Your cooperative had a financially strong year with net margins of $4,054,823. There was a 12% increase in

Internet accounts with 418 new accounts added and 168 voice lines added.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and Employees, I want to thank you for your business. With the postpone-

ment of last year’s meeting, this meeting will serve as our 70th and 71st Annual Meeting of the members of

Runestone Telecom Association concurrently. The annual meeting will be held at West Central Area Second-

ary School in Barrett on July 14th at 7:00 PM. We hope to see you there.

Welcome from the Manager & President

Kent Hedstrom General Manager/CEO

Robert Leegaard President

RUNESTONE TELECOM ASSOCIATION

BALANCE SHEET

DECEMBER 31, 2020 AND 2019

2020 2019

CURRENT ASSETS:

CASH AND TEMPORARY CASH INVESTMENTS $7,658,895 $6,387,581

DUE FROM CUSTOMERS 7,177 26,185

OTHER ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE 1,278,417 673,768

MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES 1,247,944 582,937

PREPAID EXPENSE 188,482 151,642

TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS $10,380,915 $7,822,113

INVESTMENTS AND OTHER ASSETS:

NOTE RECEIVABLE 241,700 285,595

GOODWILL & INTANGIBLES 198,137 247,670

TEMPORARY CASH INVESTMENTS 1,092,773 1,755,037

INVESTMENTS IN PARTNERSHIPS & LLCs 905,690 926,690

OTHER ASSETS 0 5,000

TOTAL INVESTMENTS AND OTHER ASSETS $2,438,300 $3,219,992

TELECOMMUNICATIONS PLANT:

IN SERVICE $38,261,044 $37,227,163

UNDER CONSTRUCTION 1,631,190 748,464

ACCUMULATED DEPRECIATION (23,311,997) (22,879,807)

NET TELECOMMUNICATIONS PLANT $16,580,237 $15,095,820

TOTAL ASSETS $29,399,452 $26,137,925

CURRENT LIABILITIES:

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE 227,921 119,445

OTHER ACCRUED LIABILITIES 424,186 417,285

CUSTOMER DEPOSITS 0 0

TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES $652,107 $536,730

DEFERRED LIABILITIES $823,221 $727,919

MEMBERS EQUITY:

PATRONAGE CAPITAL $16,952,559 $16,354,428

OTHER EQUITIES 10,971,565 8,518,848

TOTAL MEMBERS EQUITY $27,924,124 $24,873,276

TOTAL LIABILITIES & MEMBERS EQUITY $29,399,452 $26,137,925

RUNESTONE TELECOM ASSOCIATION

STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS

YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2020 AND 2019

2020 2019 DIFFERENCE

OPERATING REVENUES:

NETWORK ACCESS $6,423,550 $6,461,771 ($38,221) -0.6%

INTERNET 2,554,682 2,310,161 244,521 10.6%

LOCAL NETWORK 719,828 719,065 763 0.1%

CABLE TELEVISION 871,755 919,452 (47,697) -5.2%

LONG DISTANCE 131,093 114,633 16,460 14.4%

MISCELLANEOUS 121,134 129,257 (8,123) -6.3%

DIRECTORY 38,573 43,124 (4,551) -10.6%

UNCOLLECTIBLES 1,436 1,443 (7) -0.5%

TOTAL OPERATING REVENUES $10,862,051 $10,698,906 $163,145 1.5%

OPERATING EXPENSES:

DEPRECIATION $1,782,143 $1,622,588 $159,555 9.8%

CORPORATE 903,285 873,295 29,990 3.4%

PLANT SPECIFIC 1,170,585 1,003,758 166,827 16.6%

CABLE TELEVISION 804,364 744,368 59,996 8.1%

CUSTOMER 672,601 597,987 74,614 12.5%

INTERNET 877,242 773,306 103,936 13.4%

PLANT SUPPORT 256,710 226,341 30,369 13.4%

MISCELLANEOUS 163,694 98,846 64,848 65.6%

LONG DISTANCE 118,279 121,276 (2,997) -2.5%

OTHER TAXES 58,325 61,705 (3,380) -5.5%

TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES $6,807,228 $6,123,470 $683,758 11.2%

OPERATING MARGINS $4,054,823 $4,575,436 ($520,613) -11.4%

OTHER INCOME AND EXPENSES:

INVESTMENT INCOME 126,228 85,778 40,450 47.2%

EQUITY IN INCOME OF LLCs 91,112 84,617 6,495 7.7%

INCOME TAXES (15,963) (13,952) (2,011) 14.4%

RENTAL INCOME 0 0 0 0.0%

TOTAL OTHER INCOME AND EXPENSES $201,377 $156,443 $44,934 28.7%

NET MARGINS $4,256,200 $4,731,879 ($475,679) -10.1%

ACCESS LINES END OF YEAR 4158 3990 168 4.2%

CATV SUBSCRIBERS END OF YEAR 1004 1086 -82 -7.6%

INTERNET SUBSCRIBERS END OF YEAR 3823 3405 418 12.3%

ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MEMBERS

OF RUNESTONE TELECOM ASSOCIATION

July 17, 2019

The members of Runestone Telecom Association held their 69th Annual Meeting on July 17, 2019, at 7:00 p.m. at the Community Building, Kensington, MN, with President, Robert Leegaard and Secretary/Treasurer John Kapphahn being present. Other directors in attendance were Tory Belgum, Richard Staples and Jolene

Vipond. President, Robert Leegaard, welcomed everyone to the 69th Annual Meeting and thanked Finestra for providing entertainment prior to the meeting. A register signed by the members established the attendance of a sufficient number of members to constitute

a quorum. The Secretary was directed to file the registration for the establishment of a quorum and make the same a part of the minutes of this meeting.

President Leegaard then asked for a motion to approve the Annual Meeting Notice as published in the Grant

County Herald and to approve the 2018 Annual Meeting Minutes as presented in Runestone’s 2018 Annual Report. A motion was made by Audrey Hjelle, seconded, and carried to approve the Annual Meeting Notice

and the 2018 Annual Meeting Minutes. Secretary/Treasurer, John Kapphahn, explained the Board of Directors nomination, election and voting procedures. Current Cyrus/Kensington exchange Director, Richard Staples, ran unopposed. A motion was

made by Betty Anderson, seconded, and carried to elect Richard Staples to a 5 year term to serve as the Cyrus/Kensington director. General Manager/CEO, Kent Hedstrom, presented the 2018 financial statements and showed a presentation

of Runestone’s past year and upcoming projects. A motion was made by Archie Moeller, seconded, and carried to accept the financial statements as presented. There was no old or new business to come before the meeting.

The Runestone directors and employees were introduced and door prizes were given out.

The members were then invited to stay for fresh pie and ice cream served by some of the West Central Area

FCCLA students. A motion was made by Jeff Lang, seconded and carried to adjourn the meeting at 7:50 p.m.