GRANITE FALLS, Minn. — Pioneer Public Television is moving forward on several fronts to serve the small towns and farming communities of the Upper Midwest from its new studio in Granite Falls. Here are some updates on various developments at the station:
Pioneer has installed the digital lighting array in the new studio in Granite Falls and will be producing the first live membership drive from Granite Falls starting March 1 through March 17, 2019. Dozens of volunteers will be coming to the studio in the first two weeks of March to answer phones and to encourage viewers to support the station. Volunteers interested in helping are asked to call 1-800-726-3178.
Pioneer has installed the projector and teleconferencing equipment in its large conference room which is now available for use by area nonprofits and for special screening events. Pioneer has recently hosted regional meetings by the Southwest Minnesota Initiative Foundation, the Granite Falls Community Foundation and the Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership.
Pioneer has created a new local program, LANDMARKS, with host Doug Ohman about the churches, barns and schoolhouses of western and southwestern Minnesota. The program will air for the first time on March 9 at 7 p.m. during Pioneer’s membership drive.
Pioneer’s Postcards documentary about Walter “Super” LaBatte Jr. of Granite Falls has been chosen as an official selection for the prestigious American Documentary Film Festival to be held in Palm Springs in April 2019 and will be shown to a nationwide gathering of documentary producers.
Pioneer is also making progress toward the full occupation of the new studio in Granite Falls, but has experienced some delays. These delays include:
Red Tape: Pioneer was delayed a full year waiting for legislative action to approve equipment funds to make the move possible. The station then had to wait several months after legislative action before it received the state grant contract, which delayed the purchasing of equipment.
National Shortages: There are national shortages for some types of broadcast equipment. Pioneer has been told by some vendors it will have to wait up to 16 weeks from ordering to receiving due to heavy demand. In other cases, recently imposed tariffs have slowed down the delivery of necessary equipment.
Labor shortages: In some cases, contractors have been three to six months behind in the work promised to Pioneer for equipment installation.
An order by the Federal Communication Commission to repack our channel and change out an antenna that serves the northern part of Pioneer’s viewing area has caused the station to re-prioritize engineering staff time needed to make the move.
Despite the fact that Pioneer’s staff has been split between two television campuses, the station has continued to deliver a robust line-up of seven local programs for broadcast and online distribution. Pioneer received two Upper Midwest Emmy® awards in 2018 (for a total of nine in the past five years) and programs like Prairie Sportsman and Funtime Polka Party have been picked up and shared via broadcast by many other PBS stations in Minnesota and the Dakotas.
Pioneer’s Coming Into View comprehensive campaign is still actively raising funds to make the most of the new studio and increase its capacity to serve the region as a vital communications platform.
Pioneer Public TV is an award-winning, viewer-supported television station dedicated to sharing local stories of the region with the world. For more information, visit www.pioneer.org or call 1-800-726-3178.
