Congratulations to the Bemidji High School football team on advancing the State Tournament Semifinals!

The Lumberjacks will play St. Thomas Academy in the Class 5A state semifinal game this Saturday at 7 p.m. at US Bank Stadium. The game can be seen online at http://www.prepspotlight.tv or heard on the Lumberjack Radio Network, 104.5 FM which is also on PBTV channel 977, PBTV Fusion channel 1077 or online at http://www.kbunsportsradio.com/

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

Paul Bunyan Communications is northern Minnesota’s certified Apple Service Center and we now offer same day display replacements on iPhone 6s and newer devices!

We can help with hardware or software problems, spill damage, screen replacement, viruses, upgrades, and accessories.

We’re open Monday through Friday from 8:30-5:30 and are located on the first floor of the cooperative headquarters in Bemidji.

For service on your Apple product, Apple accessories, or PC repair, come to Paul Bunyan Communications, northern Minnesota’s certified Apple Service Center.  It’s Right Here.

Congratulations to the Bemidji Boys Soccer team on advancing to the Minnesota High School State Soccer Tournament Championship Game!

The Lumberjacks will play Blake School on Friday at 12:30 p.m. at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The game can be seen online at www.prepspotlight.tv   It can also be found heard on the Lumberjack Radio Network, 104.5 FM which is also on PBTV channel 977, PBTV Fusion channel 1077 or online at http://www.kbunsportsradio.com/

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

The 3^rd annual GigaZone Gaming Championship was held Saturday, October 20 at the Sanford Center George W. Neilson Convention Center. The event featured free gaming on various console and arcade games, numerous tournaments, virtual reality, door prizes, and more.

This one of a kind regional gaming event showcases Paul Bunyan Communications’ IT and web development team which custom built and integrated much of the online technology and leverages the speed of the GigaZone one of the largest rural all-fiber optic Gigabit networks in the country. The entire event was run off a single residential GigaZone Internet connection.

ISSA Team from Bemidji won the 2018 GigaZone Gaming Championship and $1,500 defeating the Iron Range Legends who won $900 for second place.  The Shinob Squad took third place and $450.  Northern Minnesota’s best Overwatch teams competed on the eSports stadium style stage in the GigaZone Championship Arena.

In addition to the Overwatch 3v3 Community Tournament, there was several other open tournaments include Magic the Gathering Booster Drafts, Fortnite, Rocket League, Mario Kart 8, Madden 19, Super Smash Bros. (4), Super Smash Bros. Melee, Tron, Bust A Move, Galaga, and Asteroids.  Admission was free and there were a lot of door prizes given away throughout the day and the Grand Prize winners were Michael Railsback of Bemidji winning the XBox One X and Jesse Waldo of Detroit Lakes winning the PS4 Pro.

“There is a large gaming community in our area and GigaZone Gaming Championship not only showcases some of the region’s best gamers but it gives everyone a chance to get in on the action!  It was awesome to see so many people from right here and all over come together!” said Gary Johnson, Paul Bunyan Communications CEO/General Manager.

“Our cooperative continues to expand one of the largest rural fiber gigabit networks in the country and that brings many advantages to our members.  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 Digital Services Supervisor.

“There is no other gaming event like it anywhere I’ve seen. It’s unique to our area and we are very proud of our team for making it happen. We’re already looking forward to next year.” added Brian Bissonette, Paul Bunyan Communications Marketing Supervisor.

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

2018 GigaZone Gaming Champtionship Official Results

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

Join us at the 8th Annual Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce Taking Care of Business Wednesday, October 3 from 4-7 p.m. at Timberlake Lodge Hotel in Grand Rapids!

Admission is free.

Be sure to stop by our booth to learn more about our business services powered by the GigaZone, pick up a free gift while supplies last, and enter to win an iPad!

The 27th Annual United Way of Bemidji Area Chili Cookoff is this Wednesday, September 19 from 11-1 at the The Sanford Center in Bemidji.

Sample dozens of different chilis prepared by various community businesses and organizations.

Tickets are just $8 in advance or $10 at the door. Advance tickets available at Lueken’s Village Foods or the United Way of Bemidji Area.

Over $2.2 million has been returned to members of Paul Bunyan Communications through the 2018 Capital Credit Return!

Paul Bunyan Communications is a not for profit company that strives to provide the highest quality service at the most affordable rates.  As a cooperative, membership in Paul Bunyan Communications includes the opportunity to share in the financial success of the company. When profits are earned they are allocated to the members based on their proportional share of the allocable revenues.  These allocations may then be returned to the individual members through capital credit retirements.

“The state of our cooperative is very strong with over 22,000 members throughout our 5,500 square mile service territory.  We have been very busy building one of the largest all-fiber optic rural Gigabit networks in the country, the GigaZone, which is revolutionizing the way members live, work, and play.  It is rewarding to see all those efforts continue to pay off and return these profits to our membership” said Gary Johnson, Paul Bunyan Communications CEO/General Manager.

“For over 60 years we have been providing the latest in technology at cost.  There is no membership fee to join Paul Bunyan Communications and there are no annual membership dues. All you need to do is subscribe to either one line of local phone or Broadband Internet service and you become a member. You get the latest in technology backed up by our talented team of over 130 local employees that all live and work here” added Dave Schultz, Paul Bunyan Communications Chief Financial Officer.

“In a highly competitive industry with national competitors our cooperative has been successful because we put our region and our members first.  Our investments go here, back into our network, our services, and our communities.” added Brian Bissonette, Paul Bunyan Communications Marketing Supervisor.

If you were a member of the cooperative in 2002 and/or 2017 and accrued more than $10 in total capital credit allocations, but do not receive a check by October 22, please contact Paul Bunyan Communications at (218) 444-1234 or (218) 999-1234.

Lakeland Plus is available to all PBTV digital subscribers in SD on channel 174 and now in HD on channel 674. Lakeland Plus features the best of Lakeland PBS’ primetime series, plus additional PBS programming.  This channel provides viewers a “second chance” to see many of their favorite programs, as much of its content is a 24 hour delay of shows seen on Lakeland Prime.

Lakeland PBS Kids is available to all PBTV digital subscribers in SD on channel 204 and now in HD on channel 704. Lakeland PBS Kids is a 24-hour channel devoted entirely to quality PBS children’s programming.  Tune in to your favorite children’s series such as Sesame Street, Super Why, Curious George, Word Girl, and many more! Providing the highest-quality programming and learning environment for children, PBS’ children’s programming invites kids on a journey to explore the world around them with non-violent, age-appropriate content that offers positive role models for children to learn from and grow with.

PBTV HD service includes all the most watched networks in high definition and can be added to your Paul Bunyan Television service for only $9.95 a month.

For more information on either network you can visit https://lptv.org/

Join in the fun of the 22nd Annual Shriner’s Weekend at Bemidji State University September 14-15!

Friday

• 8:30-11:30 Free Screening Clinic at Sanford Health
• 11:30  Beaver Pride Luncheon at Bemidji Town and Country Club
• Golf Tournament and social to follow

Saturday

• Parade at 1
• Tailgate party at Diamond Point Park after Parade
• 4 p.m. Shriner’s Game- BSU Football vs UM Crookston

Thanks to recent upgrades to the Cooperative’s all-fiber optic communications network over 2,100 more locations in/around Cass Lake and the Leech Lake Reservation now have access to GigaZone services including Internet speeds up to a Gigabit per second!

“It’s an exciting day for our cooperative members in the Cass Lake area and on the Leech Lake Reservation.  The GigaZone will not only provide the capacity to handle current communication technologies quickly and efficiently, it will also meet the increasing demands of the next generation of broadband innovations. Our cooperative serves a portion of the Leech Lake Reservation but we do not serve their entire geographic footprint.  Working with the Tribal Council we anticipate expanding our network to even more locations on the reservation in the coming years!” said Gary Johnson, Paul Bunyan Communications CEO/General Manager.

“We have been working on this as a team. We are very excited about the benefits it will bring to the Leech Lake Band members,” said Leech Lake Tribal Chairman Faron Jackson.

The GigaZone is currently available to over 35,500 locations, making it one of the largest rural all-fiber optic networks in the United States! Check out our online map https://www.paulbunyan.net/gigazone/availability-map/ showing the current areas of the GigaZone as well as those that will be constructed/upgraded in the future.

GigaZone service options include unprecedented Broadband Internet speeds of up to 1000 Mbps – a Gigabit in both directions, both upload/download.  Members who subscribe to GigaZone Broadband can also add PBTV Fusion and/or low cost unlimited long distance service.  All current service options also remain available to cooperative members within the GigaZone.

Most current wireless routers cannot support blazing GigaZone Internet speeds.  To help, the cooperative is offering GigaZone Integrated Wi-Fi that uses the latest in advanced Wi-Fi technologies to maximize the in-home wireless experience. This service is free to all new GigaZone customers for the first six months, with a minimal charge thereafter.