The winner of the cooperative’s 2019 Youth Tour Essay Contest is Eva Laituri.  Eva is currently a junior at Bemidji High School, is the daughter of Ron and Annie Laituri. She will attend the 2019 Youth Tour in Washington, D.C. June 1-5, with all expenses paid by Paul Bunyan Communications.

The trip features a comprehensive overview of the telecommunications industry, including careers in telecom, the critical role telecommunications plays in rural America, and how legislative and regulatory decisions affect the industry.  The tour allows youth to meet with members of Congress who represent rural constituents.  They also participate in educational sessions about the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).  Students visit some of the nation’s most historic sites, including Mount Vernon, the Smithsonian Museums, and a beautiful night tour of our Washington D.C.

“The FRS Youth Tour is a unique opportunity for a local student from our area to visit Washington D.C. to gain a better perspective on how regulatory decisions impact our cooperative and rural areas.  Eva will also get the chance to see a lot of historic sites in our nation’s capital!” said Brian Bissonette, Paul Bunyan Communications Marketing Supervisor.

The Foundation for Rural Service is dedicated to informing and to improving the quality of life throughout rural America.  Each year, it organizes the Youth Tour, designed to educate rural youth about the telecommunications industry and the federal political process.  The FRS is a subsidiary of the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA), of which Paul Bunyan Communications is a member.

This is the 23^rd consecutive year that Paul Bunyan Communications has participated in sending a local high school student to the Youth Tour.

Congratulations to the Bemidji Boys Basketball team on making it to the Minnesota High School State Class AAA Basketball Tournament!

The Lumberjacks first game will be against DeLaSalle Wednesday at 10 a.m at Williams Arena.  This game is not scheduled to be televised but can be seen online at http://www.prepspotlight.tv/MSHSL

All the Lumberjack state tournament games can be heard on the Lumberjack Radio Network KBUN 104.5 FM, PBTV channel 977 or PBTV Fusion channel 1077. It is also online at https://www.meridix.com/channel/?liveid=KBUNAM#/

The winner will play in the semifinal game Thursday at Noon at Target Center. The semifinals and finals are scheduled to be broadcast on KSTC PBTV Channel 45 or PBTV HD channel 545 (west side) and Me-TV PBTV Channel 20 (east side).

Good luck Lumberjacks from all of us at Paul Bunyan Communications!

Photo courtesy of Joel Hoover and the Lumberjack Radio Network.

The District Five Caucus will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2 at the Helga Community Center.

The purpose of the caucus meeting is to nominate a director candidate or candidates to represent the district on the Paul Bunyan Communications Board of Directors.  The current director from the district is Randy Frisk, Board Vice President and he will be seeking re-election.

Directors serve a five-year term, with District Five’s next term expiring in the year 2024.  Once a person or persons are nominated at the district meeting, up to two names are put onto a ballot and voted on by the general membership of the Cooperative.  Votes are tallied at the Annual Meeting, and results are announced at that time.  Nominees with the greatest numbers of votes from the general membership will be elected Director for the district. This caucus is only open to current members from within District Five.

Please be aware of the cooperative caucus voting rules of one vote per membership and how that applies to married couples, businesses, etc.  This includes understanding who is authorized on your account and therefore eligible to vote at the caucus. Often times a husband or wife may sign up for service but not put the other spouse on the account and establish “joint membership”. In that instance, per the cooperative’s bylaws, only the husband or wife who is on the account is authorized to vote. If you have any questions about your voting eligibility for this caucus, please call our offices.

The Expectations of a Director for Paul Bunyan Communications can be found on our web site at https://paulbunyan.net/cooperative/board-of-directors/expectations-of-a-director/ or on page 49 of the information section in the 2019 Minnesota Gold Telephone Directory. Article III, Section 2.(b) of the Cooperative Bylaws states the required qualifications of a Director which can be found on our web site at  https://paulbunyan.net/cooperative/documents/articles-of-incorporation-bylaws/ or on pages 42-48 of the information section in the 2019 Minnesota Gold Telephone Directory. Please refer to these qualifications when considering nominations for a Director to represent your district or becoming a candidate yourself.

Join Paul Bunyan Communications at the 52^nd Annual Grand Rapids Jaycees Home & Sport show March 22-24 at the IRA Civic Center in Grand Rapids.

Stop by our booth at the show to pick up a free gift while supplies last and check out services like our GigaZone Broadband Internet, PBTV HD, Whole-home DVR, PBTV Everywhere, and PBTV On Demand.

Show Hours are:

Friday, March 22        4-8 p.m.

Saturday, March 23    10 a.m.-7 p.m.

Sunday, March 24       10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Congratulations to the Red Lake Girls Basketball team on making it to the Minnesota High School State Class A Basketball Tournament!

The Warriors first game will be against Minneota High School at 11 a.m. on Thursday at Maturi Pavilion This game is not scheduled to be televised but can be seen online at http://www.prepspotlight.tv/MSHSL

Should the Warriors win their first game, the semifinal game Friday will be at Noon at Williams Arena. 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). The championship game is on Saturday at Noon at Williams Arena.

Congratulations to the Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin Boys Hockey team on advancing to the Minnesota High School State Hockey Tournament Championship Game!

Our cooperative’s expansion in recent years has enabled us to proudly serve rural areas of the Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin school district.

The Raiders play in the championship at Noon Saturday.  The game will be televised on WDIO, PBTV channel 13 or in HD on channel 513 for customers in Itasca, Koochiching, and St. Louis County and on KSTC, PBTV channel 45 or in HD on channel 545 for customers in Beltrami, Hubbard, and Cass County.  It can also be seen online at http://www.prep45.com/

All of the Raider games can be heard on KMFY 96.9 FM, PBTV channel 968 or PBTV Fusion channel 1068. It is also streaming live on kozyradio.com

Good luck Raiders from all of us at Paul Bunyan Communications!

March is National Foodshare Month and Paul Bunyan Communications is proud to continue our tradition of donating to every food shelf within or near our service territory again this year.  Minnesota FoodShare’s March Campaign generates half of all the groceries distributed at Minnesota food shelves each year.  The food and money that are received in the month of March are partially matched by Minnesota Foodshare.  We encourage you to make a donation this month to your local food shelf too and help those less fortunate right here in northern Minnesota!

To find your local food shelf, visit www.mnhungerpartners.org

Local food shelves that Paul Bunyan Communications contributes to include:

 Grand Rapids Area Food Shelf

https://www.secondharvestncfb.com/

Bemidji Community Food Shelf

https://www.bcfsmn.org/

Cass Lake Food Shelf

335-7837

Northome Community Food Shelf

897-5747

Redby Community Food Shelf

679-3530

Walker Food Shelf

547-1713

Deer River Area Food Shelf

246-2500

Trinity Lutheran Food Shelf of Laporte

224-2200

Hubbard County Food Shelf

732-1282

Register now for the 4^th Annual Paul Bunyan Communications Pick-it March Mania Challenge, a free online contest for participants to pick the winners for the big 2019 college basketball tournament for a chance to win a credit on a Paul Bunyan Communications account.

The top 10 finishers will win a credit on their Paul Bunyan Communications account. First place winner will receive a $500 credit, second place is a $250 credit.

Participants can register for the contest at http://paulbunyan.pickitchallenge.com/   Register anytime but remember to come back to make your picks after the tournament teams are determined on Sunday, March 17.

The first official game of the Pick It March Mania Challenge is Thursday, March 21 so be sure to make your picks before the first game!

The 4^th Annual Pick-it March Mania Challenge is a fun and free way to interact with others in northern Minnesota and enjoy a little friendly competition.  Must be 18 years of age or older. Limit one entry per person. Prizes not redeemable for cash. Void where prohibited. Some restrictions may apply. See Pick It March Mania Challenge website for complete contest rules.

Service interruption of some individual channels will occur for approximately 10-15 minutes during the late afternoon hours through March 10 due to solar interference.  During the interference, reception will range from minor sparkles to loss of reception or picture freezing.

Solar interference occurs each calendar year in both the spring and the fall.

What channels are affected and when will vary through March 10.

Congratulations to the Bemidji High School Wrestling team on making it to the Minnesota High School State Wrestling Tournament!

All of the team tournament matches are Thursday, February 28 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The tournament is not scheduled to be televised but matches can be seen online at http://www.prepspotlight.tv/MSHSL

The Lumberjacks defeated Forest Lake in their quarterfinal match and  advance to the semifinal match Shakopee which they lost. As a result, the Lumberjacks will wrestle for 3rd place at 5 p.m.

For more information on the tournament visit https://www.mshsl.org/mshsl/activitypage.asp?actnum=424

The individual State High School Wrestling Tournament is Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2.

Good luck Lumberjacks from all of us at Paul Bunyan Communications!