The 2023 Annual Business Meeting was held at 3:30 pm on Wednesday, May 24 in the Lakeside Rooms of the Sanford Center in Bemidji.

The meeting included a review of 2022 financial and operational results with presentations from Board President Randy Frisk, Chief Financial Officer Dave Schultz, and Chief Executive Officer Gary Johnson.  Also reviewed were the 2023 Director election, in which District 4 Director Brian Nicklason and District 6 Director Glenda Martin both ran unopposed.

An estimated crowd of over 4,000 attended the GigaZone Gaming Championship & TechXpo on Saturday, April 22 at the Sanford Center. The event featured free gaming, numerous gaming tournaments, over 35 technology exhibitors, door prizes, and special guest Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple.

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.

Mathew Wagner of Duluth won the 6th annual GigaZone Gaming Championship and the top prize of $500.  Shawn Haines of Grand Forks secured second place and $400. A total of 76 of northern Minnesota’s best Super Smash Bros. Ultimate players competed on the main stadium stage in the GigaZone Championship Arena.

In addition to the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Tournament, there was several other open tournaments including Fortnite, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Madden 23, and Overwatch 3v3, Rocket League 3vs3 plus high score competitions in Pac-Man, Galaga, and Donkey Kong.  There was also two tournaments for juniors 13 and Magic the Gathering Booster Drafts.

Official Results of the 2023 GigaZone Gaming Championship

“Wow.  When we first envisioned this event we wanted to grow it so we could have a true arena e-sports event.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would grow so fast and that we would have Steve Wozniak the co-founder of Apple join us.  It has been incredible to see the attendance and enthusiasm for the event! By adding the TechXpo, we were able to connect a wide variety of students and potential job seekers with schools and businesses that are utilizing the latest in technology every day right here in northern Minnesota. It was awesome to see so many people from all over come for the fun!” 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 & TechXpo showcases just that,” added Leo Anderson, Paul Bunyan Communications Technology Experience Manager.

“A huge shout out to our entire team for putting on one of the most unique events of this type in the country.  Thank you to all of the exhibitors that were a part of the first ever TechXpo and our local partners, we couldn’t do this without them. 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 several regional and national partners.

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

Paul Bunyan Communications is excited to announce the winners of the 7^th Pick-it March Mania Challenge.  A record 751 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-         James Hess, Bemdiji                        $500 credit

2^nd Place-        Frank Kelsey, Bemidji                      $250 credit

3^rd Place-         Ronald Leraas, Hunter, ND            $100 credit

4^th Place-         Mike Kovacovich, Bemidji               $50 credit

5^th Place-         Ruth Kronlokken, Laporte               $50 credit

6^th Place-         Amber Larson, Bemidji                    $50 credit

7^th Place-         Randa Lundmark                               $50 credit

8^th Place-         Sarah Price                                          $50 credit

9^th Place-         Sandra Dudley, Bemidji                   $50 credit

10^th Place-       Jim Sackett, Bemidji                         $50 credit

Random Prize Drawing:

Eric Allen       (555th place)                                       $100 Credit

Last year we expanded our all-fiber optic network the GigaZone to areas of Britt, Cook, Nashwauk, Warba, and rural Littlefork/International Falls in the Pelland area.

If you or someone you know lives in any of these areas, check to see if your location is served by our cooperative, visit https://paulbunyan.net/gigazone/availability-map/ and make the switch to Paul Bunyan Communications!

Paul Bunyan Communications has selected Michael Van Horn as the winner of the cooperative’s 2023 Youth Tour Essay Contest.  Michael is in 11^th grade at Blackduck High School and is the son of Ashley Nelson and Michael Van Dorn. He will attend the 2023 Youth Tour in Washington, D.C. May 31-June 4, 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.  They 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 26^th year that Paul Bunyan Communications has participated in sending a local high school student to the Youth Tour.

Paul Bunyan Communications and the Red Lake Nation are holding a sign-up day for the Affordable Connectivity Program on Tuesday, April 11 from Noon-2:30 p.m. at the Boys and Girls Club in Ponemah.

This benefit program will help to lower the cost of broadband service for eligible households struggling to afford internet service and provides a discount of up to a $30 per month toward broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for qualifying households on qualifying Tribal lands.

A household is eligible if one member of the household meets at least one of the criteria below:

• Has an income that is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines;
• Participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, Federal Public Housing Assistance, SSI, WIC, or Lifeline;
• Participates inone of several Tribal specific programs, such as Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Tribal Head Start (only households meeting the relevant income qualifying standard) Tribal TANF, or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations;
• Is approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision;
• Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year; or
• Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating broadband provider’s existing low-income program.

Eligible households can enroll at the sign-up event, through a participating broadband provider, or by going to ACPBenefit.org to submit an online application or print a mail-in application and contacting their preferred participating broadband provider and selecting a plan.  Additional information about the Emergency Broadband Benefit is available at www.fcc.gov/ACP, or by calling 877-384-2575 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET any day of the week.

Register now for the Paul Bunyan Communications Pick-it March Mania Challenge, a free online contest for participants to pick the winners for the 2023 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.  There is also a random bonus prize of $100 credit from among all who register.

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 12.

The first official game of the Pick It March Mania Challenge is Thursday, March 16 so be sure to make your picks before the first game!

The 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 on Paul Bunyan Television may occur during the afternoon hours through March 15 due to solar interference.  During the interference, reception may range from minor sparkles to loss of reception or picture freezing for 10-15 minutes.

Solar interference occurs each calendar year in both the spring and the fall. It does not impact internet or telephone service.

What channels are affected and when will vary through March 15.

District 4 and District 6 Board of Director Elections

As a cooperative, Paul Bunyan Communications is governed by a seven-person member-elected Board of Directors.  In 2023, there were two Board of Directors positions up for election representing Districts 4 and 6

Article III, Section 3 of your Cooperative’s Bylaws requires any member interested in serving as a Director to submit a candidate packet to the Cooperative headquarters at least 25 business days prior to the Caucus Election date.

The deadline to submit applications for the 2023 director positions up for election was Tuesday, February 14.

District 4

The current director for District 4 is Brian Nicklason and he was the only applicant.  As a result, his uncontested director re-election to the board for District 4 will be ratified by the members at the annual meeting.

District 6

The current director for District 6 is Glenda Martin and she was the only applicant.  As a result, her uncontested director re-election to the board for District 6 will be ratified by the members at the annual meeting.

Paul Bunyan Communications is excited to announce the winners of the 7th Pick-it Bowl Challenge, a free online contest for participants to pick the winners for the 2022-23 College Bowl games for a chance to win a credit on a Paul Bunyan Communications account.  There were 498 participants.

Winners of the 7^th Paul Bunyan Communications Pick-it Bowl Challenge:

1^st Place- $500 credit  Barb Gray, Bemidji, MN

2^nd Place- $250 credit Trinity Anderson, Grand Rapids, MN

3^rd Place- $100 credit  Ryan Doheny, Brooklyn Park, MN

4^th Place- $50 credit    Terry Schmitt, Bemidji, MN

5^th Place- $50 credit    Teresa Tilden

6^th Place- $50 credit    Rachel Robins

7^th Place- $50 credit    Tim Mountain, Bemidji, MN

8^th Place- $50 credit    Kacie Pitzl, Blackduck, MN

9^th Place- $50 credit    Mary Burt, Jacobson, MN

10^th Place- $50 credit  Dustin Ames

Random $100 Credit Prize Winner:  Norman Mattson, Cohasset, MN (254^th Place)

The next Paul Bunyan Communications Pick-It Challenge is March Mania for the College Division 1 Men’s Basketball Tournament.