When my wife, Mary, and I started telling people that we were leaving Silicon Valley to move to Minnesota, we were met with a variety of reactions. The most obvious was, “Oh, wow — it’s cold there, right?” Others asked, “What will you do for work?” Perhaps the oddest response was, “That seems really random!”

But living in the cradle of innovation was starting to feel oddly confined. Minnesota is different… it has a growing tech community and benefits from a diverse state economy within which technology plays a key role in building its future.

It’s hard to get stuck inside of a tech bubble when you’re focused on solving real problems in a variety of industries — and providing new opportunities for people in a fast-changing economy. The future of how we work and live will be defined by how we leverage technology to improve everyone’s prosperity, and Minnesota’s tech economy is well-positioned to play a leadership role in that transition.

Steve Grove is the founding director of Google’s News Lab, a global division of the company that partners with media companies and startups to drive innovation in the news industry. He previously led