Service interruption of some individual channels will occur for approximately 10-15 minutes during the late afternoon hours through October 15 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 October 15.

For more information on solar interference visit http://www.radio-electronics.com/info/satellite/solar-effects/sun-solar-outages-basics-tutorial.php

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.

The 27^th Annual United Way Chili Cookoff  is Wednesday, September 19 from 11-1 at 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 or the United Way office.

We support Evergreen Youth & Family Services and the 12th Annual Run, Walk, Skate for suicide prevention on Saturday, September 8 at the The Sanford Center in Bemidji.

• For more information or to sign up visit www.bemidjirunwalkskate.org

The 2018 Itasca Area Girlfriends Gathering Women’s Wellness and Lifestyle Expo presented by Paul Bunyan Communications is Saturday, September 8 from 11-3:30 at the Reif Center in Grand Rapids.  Admission is free and the fun includes a marketplace to browse and shop, break out sessions on cooking, health care, art, and this year’s keynote speaker is Tasha Schuh, “enjoy your ride”. It’s the 2018 Itasca Area Girlfriends Gathering Women’s Wellness and Lifestyle Expo presented by Paul Bunyan Communications Saturday, September 8 in Grand Rapids sponsored in part by Grand Itasca Clinic & Hospital and the Reif Center.

The 2018 GigaZone Gaming Championship is this Saturday, October 20 at the Sanford Center!  Doors open at 10 a.m.  All the fun is FREE with open console and arcade gaming, along with tournaments you can enter throughout the day.

This year we’re hosting tournaments for:

• Mario Kart 8
• Super Smash Bros. (and Melee)
• Rocket League
• Madden NFL 19
• Cosplay
• Retro
• Magic: The Gathering
• Fortnite
• Overwatch

You can follow the hash tag #GZGC18 on Facebook or Twitter to keep up with updates. Lots of activity will be happening between today and the tourney!

We hope to see you Saturday at the Sanford Center, Bemidji for GZGC18!

For a complete rundown of the rules and to register your team, visit www.gigazonegaming.com