Paul Bunyan Communications has selected Will Kessler of Deer River as the winner of the cooperative’s 2018 Youth Tour Essay Contest. Will is currently a sophomore from Deer River who is home schooled and is the son of Stephanie and Leland Kessler. He will attend the 2018 Youth Tour in Washington, D.C. June 2-6, 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 such a unique opportunity to visit Washington D.C. and you gain a better perspective on how decisions there impact our cooperative and rural areas like ours. We’re excited for Will to get the chance to be a part of such an amazing trip!” 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 22nd consecutive year that Paul Bunyan Communications has participated in sending a local high school student to the Youth Tour.

Paul Bunyan Communications is excited to announce the winners of the 3rd Annual Pick-it March Mania Challenge. 567 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.

Winners of the 3rd Annual Paul Bunyan Communications Pick It March Mania Challenge.

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

1st Place – $500 credit Marty Flinck, Grand Rapids (tied for 1st, won tiebreaker)

2nd Place – $250 credit Candi Gendreau, Park Rapids (tied for 1st, lost tiebreaker)

3rd Place – $100 credit Leonard Nistler, Kelliher

4th Place – $50 credit Edward Ahrens, Grand Rapids

5th Place – $25 credit Mary Cloud, Cass Lake

6th Place – $25 credit Eric Handyside

7th Place – $25 credit Terry Condon, Bemidji

8th place – $25 credit 6 Way Tie

The purpose of the caucus meetings is to nominate a director candidate or candidates to represent the district on the Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Cooperative Board of Directors.

The caucus for District 6 was held on Monday, April 2 at the Red Lake Nation College. The current director is Glenda Martin. She was nominated and seconded. No other nominations were made. Based on the caucus results, Glenda Martin will serve another term as District 6 Board of Director.

The caucus for District 4 was held on Tuesday, April 3 at the Timberlake Lodge in Grand Rapids. The current director seat from District 4 is vacant. Mark Matteson was nominated and seconded. A second candidate was also nominated and seconded but was later deemed to be ineligible to run. No other nominations were made. As a result of the District 4 Caucus, Mark Matteson will serve the term as District 4 Board of Director.

In addition to being an opportunity to nominate persons to represent the district, the caucus meetings were an opportunity for members to ask questions concerning the Cooperative. The meeting was attended by several managers/supervisors, including CEO/General Manager Gary Johnson.

Paul Bunyan Communications has added Quest, new television network distributed by Tegna, owners of KARE-11 Mpls. Quest is only available to PBTV subscribers in Beltrami, Hubbard, and Cass Counties.

Quest is available to all west side PBTV digital customers on channel 22. This is a new exploration network capturing the wonder, imagination and excitement of the natural and man-made world and features shows about natural history, engineering and science, as well as military history and man’s greatest achievements. Quest features daring factual entertainment and reality shows such as Modern Marvels, Storm Chasers, Swamp Loggers, Ice Road Truckers: Deadliest Roads, Auction Kings and more.

Paul Bunyan Communications will hold the annual Cooperative Celebration on Wednesday, May 23 from 4:30-7:30 p.m. at the Cooperative’s headquarters in Bemidji. It is free and open to all.

The entire event is free of charge and is open to the public.

The 62nd Annual Business will precede the celebration beginning at 3:30 p.m. The Annual Meeting is only open to current members of the cooperative.