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Exit Interview with Gary Johnson
It must have been the winter of 2000 when I met Gary Johnson. He was a relatively young engineer with a remarkable grasp of technology and the needs of Paul Bunyan Telephone’s members. He was part of a group of Minnesota telephone companies exploring video-on-demand.1 Fast-forward to today and Gary is retiring from the company…
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The Community Concierge for the Relocated Worker & More
For attendees of trade shows like NTCA’s RTIME, Shelly Geerdes is known as the CEO of Pinnacle Marketing Group. For people moving to the Bemidji region, they might think of her first and foremost as a Community Connector. In the above interview, Geerdes explains that her volunteer role as a Community Connector is exactly what…
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Bigger, Better Broadband in Bemidji & Beyond
A number 8 ranking by PCMag as one of the best places for remote work in 2021 should be no surprise to those familiar with the Bemidji, MN region. Its member-owned, broadband provider, Paul Bunyan Communications,, was one of the first U.S. operators to deploy fiber to the home (FTTH). By 2014 all of its…
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Stepping Into the GigaZone – A Commitment to Local Economic Development
Helping with economic development for the communities they serve is part of Paul Bunyan Communications’ mission statement. Economic development is one of the motivations for PBC’s restructuring of its offering to one that is centered around an all-fiber, broadband vision. Paul Bunyan’s GigaZone, announced last Thursday, made a big splash in the news (featured on the…
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Open Video Rules Make BB a Reality for the Unserved
The market demand in a densely populated, urban environment will support multiple broadband infrastructures. In extremely rural areas, however, it is sometimes impossible to support even one broadband wired infrastructure, particularly with the costs of local regulations and franchising fees. In the above video, Gary Johnson, CEO/General Manager of Paul Bunyan Communications, explains some of the nuances…
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The Beginnings of Dear Young Me
What started as an experiment and a way to keep one’s software skills tuned, has become a popular website, at least measured by the 2,000+ Facebook likes. Its success has truly been a viral nature. Dear Young Me.com is an aggregation of advice people would give to a younger version of themselves. Ranging from funny…
