As a cooperative, Paul Bunyan Communications is governed by a seven-person member-elected Board of Directors. In 2024, there was one Board of Directors position up for election representing District 5.

The current director for District 5 is Board President Randy Frisk and he was the only applicant. As a result, his uncontested director re-election to the board for District 5 will be ratified by the members at the annual meeting scheduled for May 22, 2024 at the Sanford Center in Bemidji.

As a cooperative, Paul Bunyan Communications is governed by a seven-person member-elected Board of Directors.  In 2024, there is one Board of Director position up for election representing Districts 5.

Article III, Section 3 of your Cooperative’s Bylaws requires any member interested in serving as a Director to submit a completed candidate packet to the Cooperative headquarters at least 25 business days prior to the Caucus Election date.  This enables the Cooperative to properly verify the eligibility of all candidates to serve as a member of the Board if elected.  Members interested can find the candidate application packet and related information online at https://paulbunyan.net/cooperative/documents/

The deadline for completed Director-candidate packets to be returned to the Cooperative is Monday, February 26.

If there are less than two pre-qualified candidates seeking election to the Board of Directors from the same district (an uncontested district election), no in-person Caucus Meeting and Caucus Election for that district will be held.

If there are two or more pre-qualified candidates seeking election from the same district, the in-person Caucus Meeting will be held and all members residing within the district will be notified by mail of the date, time, and location.  The purpose of the in-person Caucus is to select two pre-qualified candidates to seek election/re-election to be the district’s representative on the Paul Bunyan Communications Board of Directors. Directors serve a five-year term through 2029.

The current director for District 5 is Board President Randy Frisk and he has expressed his intent to seek re-election.

Based on the results of any contested Caucus Election, the names of two candidates are listed on the ballot to be voted on by the general membership of the Cooperative.  Votes are tallied at the Annual Meeting, scheduled for May 22, 2024.  The candidate with the greatest number of votes from the general membership is elected/re-elected as the Director for such district.

The GigaZone Gaming Championship and TechXpo, a Paul Bunyan Communications event, has announced that this year’s special guest will be Danielle Feinberg, Visual Effects Supervisor for Pixar Animation Studios and mentor for girls in STEM.

Danielle Feinberg began her career at Pixar Animation Studios in February 1997, and since then, she has worked on 14 of Pixar’s feature films. She cut her teeth on early films like A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc. and the Academy Award®-winning Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. Fein­berg was the director of photography-lighting for the Academy Award®- winning features WALL•E, Brave, and Coco. Most recently she completed her work as the visual effects supervisor on Turning Red, released on March 11, 2022.

Pixar’s Turning Red saw Feinberg take on the position of Visual Effects Supervisor, the first woman in 20 years to hold that role at Pixar. With her combination of strong visual and technical skills, Feinberg was uniquely positioned to join this film that had goals of finding a new style of its own.

“We are so excited to have Danielle as our special guest this year!  Not only is she heavily involved with cutting edge technology at Pixar, but she is a champion for women in STEM.  She will inspire our guests by sharing her journey into the world of technology,” said Gary Johnson, Paul Bunyan Communications CEO/General Manager.

Feinberg continues to champion women in STEM by participating in science and math mentoring programs for young women and continuing to tell her story. In fact, her TED Talk, The magic ingredient that brings Pixar movies to life, was named one of the top TED Talks of 2016.

“The GigaZone Gaming Championship & TechXpo is a one-of-a-kind event that is something truly special for our region and provides the chance to see up close and personal how local schools and businesses are incorporating the latest in technology into what they do.  Danielle’s story is very inspirational which aligns perfectly with our event.  We want to inspire students and potential employees to consider a career in technology right here in northern Minnesota,” added Brian Bissonette, Paul Bunyan Communications Marketing Supervisor.

The 2024 GigaZone Gaming Championship & TechXpo will be April 20 at the Sanford Center in Bemidji.  The doors will open at 10 a.m.  As special guest, Feinberg will speak on the main stage at 2 p.m. followed by a Q&A session.  She will also be a judge for the Greater Bemidji Northstar Pitch Competition.  She may also visit with local STEM students on Friday, April 19 if her schedule allows.

The GigaZone TechXpo will expose a growing regional audience to technology innovation and help them turn their technical skills and enthusiasm into successful careers right here northern Minnesota. Start-ups and companies creatively leveraging technology will be able to demonstrate their innovation to a large group of tech-savvy potential employees. Educators and educational institutions can have their tech-oriented students show off projects and promote the technology training programs they have to offer. There is no cost to be an exhibitor but space is limited and the exhibit must creatively display the use of technology. Applications must be submitted by March 1, 2024 at www.gigazonetechxpo.com

The GigaZone Gaming Championship will feature free gaming on various console and arcade games, numerous tournaments, door prizes, and more. There is no cost to enter the tournaments or for any of the gaming.  Tournament details will be posted on the GigaZone Gaming Discord, Twitch channel, and Facebook page as well as www.gigazonegaming.com

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

Paul Bunyan Communications is excited to announce the winners of the annual Pick-it Bowl Challenge, a free online contest for participants to pick the winners for the 2023-24 College Bowl games for a chance to win a credit on a Paul Bunyan Communications account.  There were a record 724 participants.

Winners of the 2023-24 Paul Bunyan Communications Pick-it Bowl Challenge:

1^st Place- $500 credit  Ivy Cannella, Grand Rapids

2^nd Place- $250 credit Pam Johnson, Bemidji

3^rd Place- $100 credit Doug Leif, Bemidji

4^th Place- $50 credit   Alyson Berg, Bemidji

5^th Place- $50 credit   Michelle Lussier, Red Lake

6^th Place- $50 credit   Marcel Noyes, Laporte

7^th Place- $50 credit   Collin Leif, Phoenix, AZ

8^th Place- $50 credit   Mike Reierson , Bemidji

9^th Place- $50 credit   Rich Jahner, Bemidji

10^th Place- $50 credit Jim Nissen

Random $100 Credit Prize Winner:  Ron Olehesier, Grand, Rapids, MN (301^st Place)

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

Paul Bunyan Communications, a leading fiber internet provider, has joined the Fiber Gaming Network (FGN), a nationwide gaming platform that connects fiber internet users across the country for weekly community game nights and tournaments.  Access to FGN is free for all Paul Bunyan Communications members.

FGN Hosts a series of online gaming events every week featuring popular games such as Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Minecraft, Fortnite, Rocket League, and more.  Participating players must register in advance to compete in events or watch the livestreams, where they can score exciting giveaways.

“We’re thrilled to partner with FGN to offer our members another unique gaming experience that takes full advantage of the GigaZone our all-fiber optic network’s speed and reliability, said Brian Bissonette, Paul Bunyan Communications Marketing Supervisor, “ we hold one of the largest rural in-person gaming events in the United States, the GigaZone Gaming Championship & TechXpo, and by partnering with FGN our customers can now enjoy a seamless online gaming experience throughout the year and compete against gamers all over the country!”

According to a 2021 study, fiber internet is 10 times faster than cable and offers better latency, resulting in a smoother and more responsive online gaming experience.  The partnership between Paul Bunyan Communications and FGN highlights the importance of fiber internet for online gaming and further solidifies Paul Bunyan Communications position as a forerunner in providing top quality internet service and unique gaming experiences.

“FGN is excited to partner with Paul Bunyan Communications to offer gamers exciting online gaming experiences, said Robert Gilbert, co-founder of Fiber Gaming Network. “With their fiber internet offering, Paul Bunyan Communications is uniquely positioned to be an esports leader in the community and we’re excited to bring a lot of extra value to gamers in northern Minnesota.”

For more information on FGN and to register for upcoming gaming events, visit www.fibergamingnetwork.com

AXS TV and Paul Bunyan Communications announced today that Red Lake Elementary School was selected to receive a $2,000 grant as part of “AXS TV’s Band Together For Music Education”—an initiative connecting AXS TV with affiliates, local communities, and schools to support vital music education programs and the benefits they provide students. The award was presented by Paul Bunyan Communications Board of Director Glenda Martin on November 15.

Red Lake Elementary serves over 600 children from Early Childhood through 5^th grade.  Students in Pre-K through 2^nd grade receive music instruction/class every other day. Currently 3-5^th grade students do not have musical instruction and this grant will go towards providing digital music activities for those students.

“We’re excited that AXS TV selected Red Lake Elementary School for this ‘Band Together for Music Education’ grant. Our cooperative has a long history of supporting music and the arts in the communities we serve and have proudly offered AXS TV to all of our PBTV HD customers for many years, “said Brian Bissonette, Paul Bunyan Communications Marketing Supervisor

“Music education is such an important part of childhood development, with benefits that have been proven to stay with young people throughout their lives,” said Anthony Cicione, President of Entertainment, Anthem Sports & Entertainment, the company that owns AXS TV. “AXS TV is proud to join forces with Paul Bunyan Communications to award this grant to Red Lake Elementary through our ‘Band Together ‘initiative, and we are glad to know that it will be useful to them in helping to open up the music program for all of their students to enjoy.”

Paul Bunyan Communications has expanded our all-fiber optic network the GigaZone® to over 2,500 more locations in areas of south Grand Rapids, Warba, Swan River, Goodland, Marble, Calumet, Ash Lake, and West Central Aitkin County including areas of the following townships: Aitkin, Spencer, Waukenabo, and Logan plus 2 unincorporated townships! .

To check to see if a specific location is within an expansion area, visit https://paulbunyan.net/gigazone/availability-map/  Construction was completed this summer with services expected to be made available over the winter.

“This will be a huge service improvement for everyone in the project areas. It is very challenging for those who don’t have true high speed internet available at their home or business.  As more and more students and employees work from home, many people are learning how critical upload speed is for their job or school work.  Unlike many other providers, our speeds are symmetric, the same speeds are available for upload and download.  This will be a game changer for these areas.” added Steve Howard, Paul Bunyan Communications Information Technology and Development Manager.

The cooperative’s services will become available once the network is operational including GigaZone^™ Internet with its unprecedented broadband speeds of up to 10 Gig and low cost unlimited local and long distance GigaZone^™ voice telephone service.  There is no membership fee to join Paul Bunyan Communications, membership is included by subscribing to either local phone service or GigaZone^™ Internet service.

For the first time since 2021, there was a winner of the Paul Bunyan Communications Hockey Hot Shots Promotion during a Bemidji State University men’s home hockey game.

Corbin Myhrer of Guthrie made his shot at center ice during the 2nd period intermission at the Beavers game Saturday, October 28 against St. Thomas to win a 70” HD Smart TV.  Corbin is 12 years old, attends Bemidji Middle School, and is a Bemidji Youth Hockey player.

“I’ve seen the contest at other Beaver games I’ve gone to and was excited to get chosen to give it a try.  It’s harder than it looks but I just let it rip and it went right in!” said Myhrer.

“You would think if you play hockey the odds would be higher you can make the shot but that’s not the case.  We’ve had plenty of experienced hockey players through the years who missed, it’s a narrow target to hit from center ice.  Corbin’s shot looked good the whole way.  He sure has bragging rights among his youth hockey buddies for a while, not to mention a huge TV to enjoy!” said Brian Bissonette, Paul Bunyan Communications Marketing Supervisor.

You can see video of Corbin making the shot on the Paul Bunyan Communications YouTube page at https://youtu.be/M17J3WbSVX0

The Paul Bunyan Communications Hockey Hot Shots contest is held during an intermission at select Bemidji State University Men’s Hockey home games. Three contestants are selected at random to participate each night. All contestants receive a coupon for a free PBTV On Demand movie rental, any contestant hitting the board receives a Paul Bunyan Communications Bluetooth speaker, and a contestant who puts the puck in the net through the middle of the Hockey Hot Shots board wins up to a 70” HD Smart TV.

Paul Bunyan Communications, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Itasca County, and the Itasca Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) are holding a sign-up day for the Affordable Connectivity Program on Tuesday, November 28 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. at S. Lake Community Center on County Road 4.

This event will provide the opportunity to explore many community resources including free/reduced Internet service through the Affordable Connectivity Program, job opportunities, education, social services, and Leech Lake Tribal IDs.  For more information on the Day of Connections call 218-328-8352.

The Affordable Connectivity 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

Eligible households can enroll at the sign-up event, through a participating broadband provider, or by going to http://www.getinternet.gov 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 http://www.getinternet.gov or by calling 877-384-2575 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET any day of the week.