We are excited to announce that Sarah Reiners of Bemidji has won a Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards 2021 Sweepstakes Prize Pack from ViacomCBS. Sarah is a member of Paul Bunyan Communications, and we are an affiliate of ViacomCBS, that participated in the sweepstakes.

As a sweepstakes prize pack winner, Sarah will receive the following:

• Official Nickelodeon Slime
• Kid’s Choice Awards chocolate Blimp smash cake
• Karaoke party light-up boombox Sing-station
• (2) Adult wireless Bluetooth headphones
• (2) Kids wireless Bluetooth headphones
• (4) Insulated Hydroflask stainless steel water bottles
• (2) Sets of Hydroflask caps
• (2) Sets of Hydroflask handles & bottoms
• (4) Color-changing KCA cups
• (4) Nickelodeon/KCA crazy straws
• Various glow-in-the-dark accessories
• Various Nickelodeon/KCA customization stickers

“This is so cool!  I try to enter all the contests that Paul Bunyan Communications puts on and saw the information on their Facebook page.  I clicked on it, filled out the form, and wouldn’t you know I won!  My kids are super excited,” said Reiners.

“As a television service provider, we have the opportunity to participate in and promote some national sweepstakes through ViacomCBS. Nickelodeon is one of those networks and if you have kids, odds are you have had Nickelodeon on at some point.  We’re excited for Sarah and her family on winning all that cool stuff.” added Brian Bissonette, Paul Bunyan Communications Marketing Supervisor.

Pictured are Sarah and her husband Daniel, sons Dylan, Evan, Kade, and daughters Abigale and Sophie.

Congratulations Sarah!

Due to the continued COVID-19 Pandemic, the business of the members to be conducted at the Annual Meeting will occur exclusively by mail ballot.  All votes, to be counted, must be in the form of the Official Ballot provided by the cooperative.  A properly completed ballot must be received by the cooperative no later than 3 p.m. local Bemidji, Minnesota time on May 26, 2021.

The notification of Annual Meeting, Ballot, Bylaw Changes being voted upon and self-addressed stamped Secretary Envelope are to be mailed out to all members no later than May 12, 2021.

Each membership may only return one Official Ballot.

If you have any questions regarding the Annual Meeting exclusively by mail ballot, please contact us by phone, e-mail, or online chat.

The Federal Communications Commission has launched a program to help families and households struggling to afford Internet service during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Emergency Broadband Benefit provides a discount of up to $50 per month toward broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands.

Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers. Our cooperative does not sell computers or tablets so we are not a participating provider for the equipment benefit option.

Eligible households can enroll through Paul Bunyan Communications or directly with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) using an online or mail in application.  You can learn more about the benefit, including eligibility and enrollment information, by visiting  www.fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit, or by calling 833-511-0311

GigaZone Gaming Championship 5 was held virtually over 3 consecutive Saturdays with a different tournament each day, door prizes, and a CosPlay contest.  Here are the official results:

Saturday, April 10- Overwatch 6v6 Community Tournament

1^st Team YES                                                                $1,800 ($300 per player)

Kelly Whipple, Kylie Elliott, Tien Nguyen, Connor Broderick, and Coby LaCroix from Bemidji and Isaak R Smith from Deer River.

2^nd  The Clean Up Crew                                            $1,200 ($200 per player)

Thomas Berge of Bemidji, Ethan Hunt and Ewan Newbold of Pine River, Tristan Jourdain from Red Lake, Jacob Peterson from Red Lake Falls, and Kohl Belgrade-Gotchie from Akeley.

3^rd  ISSA Team                                                              $600 ($100 per player)

All from Bemidji including Tristan Lawrence, Naziah Matt, Devon Rainey, James Jones, Matoskah Veaux, and Dakota Veaux

Saturday, April 17 – Madden 21 Tournament

1^st  Dain Walters, Grand Rapids                               $500

2^nd Adam Scott, Brainerd                                          $400

3^rd  Nick Miller, Brainerd                                          $300

4^th  Drew Holden, Bemidji                                         $200

Saturday, April 24- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

1^st Hunter Branson-2019 Defending Champ         $500

2^nd Ronnie Nguyen- Bemidji                                    $400

3^rd  Kenneth Crocker- Grand Rapids                        $300

4^th  Noland Anderson- Bemidji                                $200

CosPlay Contest-

1^st Roselynn Jones, Cass Lake                                   $300

2^nd David Harper, Ponsford                                       $200

3^rd  Khoriana Vaerconum, Hibbing                          $100

CosPlay Popular Vote Winners-                               $200 each

Hannah Elizabeth Cheney – Cook

Roselynn Jones, inquisitor – Cass Lake

Grand Prize Drawing Winners- Will be Updated Once Confirmed with Winners

Playstation 5          Mary Sullivan, Bemidji

Xbox Series X        Michael Strauch, Bemidji

Occulus Qwest 2   Ningozis White, Bemidji

“What an incredible job our team did in pivoting to a virtual event his year!  I’m very proud of all the hard work and dedication put in to provide these three weekends of online gaming fun for the region,” said Gary Johnson, Paul Bunyan Communications CEO/General Manager

This one-of-a-kind regional gaming event is free to play or watch and is being held virtually due to the pandemic.  It showcases Paul Bunyan Communications’ IT and web development team which custom built and integrated much of the online technology to make the virtual event possible.  The event leverages the speed of the GigaZone one of the largest rural all-fiber optic Gigabit networks in the country and the entire event is run off a single residential GigaZone Internet connection.

“The GigaZone provides extreme speed and low latency which are critical for the best online gaming experience and the GigaZone Gaming Championship showcases just that,” added Leo Anderson, Paul Bunyan Communications Technology Experience Manager.

This Paul Bunyan Communications event includes the talents of many local partners including NLFX, Accidently Cool Games, Northern Amusement, as well support from several regional and national partners.

For more information on the GigaZone Gaming Championship visit www.gigazonegaming.com

The second of three consecutive weekends of GigaZone Gaming Championship 5 was held Saturday, April 17 with the Madden 21 Tournament.

Dain Walters of Grand Rapids won 1st Place and $500.

Adam Scott of Brainerd got 2nd Place and $400. Adam had finished in 3rd place in 2017 Madden Tournament.

Nick Miller of Brainerd finished in 3rd place for $300.  Nick won the 2019 Madden Tournament.

Drew Holden of Bemidji finished in 4th place for $200.

In addition to the Madden 21 Tournament, there were door prize drawings throughout the day and the CosPlay Contest accepting entries.  Super Smash Bros is the featured tournament on the final day of GigaZone Gaming Championship 5 this Saturday, April 24. The tournament is free to play and open to anyone who lives within the 218 area code but registration is required at www.gigazonegaming.com  Anyone interested should register now before they are full.

Paul Bunyan Communications is excited to announce the winners of the 5^th Annual Pick-it March Mania Challenge.  476 participants entered the free online contest to pick the winners of the college basketball tournament games for a chance to win a credit on a Paul Bunyan Communications account.

 The top 10 finishers all won a credit on their Paul Bunyan Communications account.

1^st Place-         Craig Peterson, Bemidji                    $500 credit

2^nd Place-        Cindy Leach, Park Rapids                $250 credit

3^rd Place-         William Molash, Laporte                 $100 credit

4^th Place-         Keith Bartholomaus, Laporte          $50 credit

5^th Place-         Alan Afton                                            $50 credit

6^th Place-         Dennis Weimann, Bemidji               $50 credit

7^th Place-         Tyler Steinke, Grand Rapids            $50 credit

8^th Place-         Chad Bessler, Laporte                       $50 credit

9^th Place-         Chad Bowman                                     $50 credit

10^th Place-       Dan Rickert, Bemidji                         $50 credit

Random Prize Drawing:

Susan Steingraber                                                       $100 Credit

Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to all who participated!

Congratulations to the Deer River and Nevis Boys Basketball Teams on making it to the state tournament!

Deer River Boys Basketball

The Warriors first game will be against Badger/GB-MR at 6 p.m. this Wednesday, March 31 in Pequot Lakes. This game is not scheduled to be televised but can be seen online at http://www.prepspotlight.tv/MSHSL for a fee.

Should the Warriors win their first game, the semifinal game will be on Wednesday, April 7 at Noon at Target Center. The semifinals and finals are scheduled to be broadcast on KSTC Channel 45 or in 545 in HD (west side) and Me-TV Channel 20 (east side) and streamed at www.prep45.com  The championship game is on Saturday, April 10 at 1 p.m. at Target Center. All the Warriors state tournament games can be heard on KMFY 96.9 FM & online at http://www.kozyradio.com/

Nevis Boys Basketball

The Tigers first game will be against Hancock at 5 p.m. this Wednesday in Perham. This game is not scheduled to be televised but can be seen online at http://www.prepspotlight.tv/MSHSL for a fee.

Should the Tigers win their first game, the semifinal game will be on Wednesday, April 7 at 10 a.m. at Target Center. The semifinals and finals are scheduled to be broadcast on KSTC Channel 45 or in 545 in HD (west side) and Me-TV Channel 20 (east side) and streamed at www.prep45.com  The championship game is on Saturday, April 10 at 1 p.m. at Target Center.

Good luck from all of us at Paul Bunyan Communications!

Congratulations to the Bemidji State Men’s hockey team!  They will play for the NCAA East Regional Championship at 4 p.m. Saturday and the game will be on ESPN-U which is a part of PBTV Extra.  ESPN-U is PBTV Extra channel 54 or PBTV Extra HD channel 554.  The winner will advance to the Frozen Four in Pittsburgh on Thursday, April 8.

PBTV Extra is $12 per month and includes over 40 additional cable networks including ESPN-U. Customers who wish to get the game will need to subscribe to PBTV Extra before 2 p.m. Saturday.   You can add it by calling 444-1234 or 999-1234. One month minimum subscription is required.

You can also listen to the game on the Beaver Radio Network, WMIS 92. FM, PBTV channel 964 or PBTV Fusion channel 1064, or online at www.beaverradionetwork.com Go Beavers!

Congratulations to the Bemidji State University Men’s Hockey team on making it to the 2021 NCAA Division 1 Tournament!  The Beavers play Wisconsin this Friday at Noon.

You can catch all the action on ESPN2, Paul Bunyan Television channel 51 or PBTV HD channel 551.  You can also listen to the game on the Beaver Radio Network, WMIS-The River 92.1 FM, PBTV channel 964 or PBTV Fusion channel 1064, or online at www.beaverradionetwork.com

Go Beavers!

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted 988 as a new three-digit number to be used nationwide to reach the National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Lifeline.

In order for 988 to work in the 218 area code, 10-digit local dialing must first be implemented. As a result, you will need to change the way you dial local calls on/before October 24, 2021.

WHAT WILL BE THE NEW DIALING PROCEDURE?
To complete all local calls, you will now need to dial area code + telephone number. This applies to all calls within the 218 area code that are currently dialed with seven digits.

WHO WILL BE AFFECTED?
Anyone with a telephone number from the 218 area code will need to make this change from 7-digit local dialing to 10-digit local dialing.

WHEN WILL THE CHANGE BEGIN?
Beginning April 24, 2021, you should begin dialing 10 digits (area code + telephone number) for all local calls. If you forget and dial just 7 digits, your call will still be completed.

Beginning October 24, 2021, you must dial 10-digits (area code + telephone number) for all local calls. On and after this date, local calls dialed with only 7-digits may not be completed, and a recording will inform you that your call cannot be completed as dialed. You must hang up and dial again using the area code and the 7-digit number.

Beginning July 16, 2022, dialing “988” will route your call to National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Lifeline.

WHAT WILL YOU NEED TO DO?
In addition to changing the way you dial local calls, all services, automatic dialing equipment, or other types of equipment that are programmed to complete calls to 7-digit local numbers will need to be reprogrammed to complete calls to 10-digit numbers.

Some examples are life safety systems or medical monitoring devices, PBXs, fax machines, Internet dial-up numbers, fire or burglar alarm and security systems or gates, speed dialers, mobile or other wireless phone contact lists, call forwarding settings,
voicemail services and other similar functions.

Be sure to check your website, personal and business stationery, advertising materials, personal and business checks, contact information, and other such items to ensure the 218 area code is included.

WHAT WILL REMAIN THE SAME?
• Your telephone number, including the current 218 area code, will not change.
• The price of a call, coverage area, or other rates and services will not change due to the dialing change.
• What is a local call now will remain a local call regardless of the number of digits dialed.
• You will continue to dial 1+ area code + telephone number for all long distance calls.
• You can still dial just three digits to reach 711 (relay services) and 911 (emergency services).
• Any 211, 311, 411, 511, 611, or 811 services available in your community can still be reached by dialing their three-digit codes.
• The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can still be reached by dialing 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

WHO MAY YOU CONTACT WITH QUESTIONS?
If you have any questions regarding information provided in this notice, please call us at 888-586-3100. You can also visit the FCC website at https://www.fcc.gov/suicide-prevention-hotline