Western Minnesota’s Pioneer PBS is going through a period of change with staff changes, a new channel, and progress towards completing its move into a new facility.
The service added FNX, First Nations Experience, on its DT6 channels on Oct. 1. FNX is also carried regionally on Lakeland PBS in north-central Minnesota.
Meanwhile, Pioneer reports that it recently completed installation of new towers in Granite Falls and Watson that will establish a microwave link between its new Granite Falls facility and the KWCM tower site near Appleton, eventually allowing a new master control to go online. Equipment at the new Granite Falls facility was partly funded by a $1.95 million appropriation in the 2017 Minnesota bonding bill.
The progress comes as director of engineering Jon Panzer, who was also acting as the interim general manager, departs Pioneer for a job at PBS station WDSE (Duluth). Paul Fisher has been hired from PBS station KSMQ (Austin) to take over as director of engineering. Nancy Straw has taken over the role of interim general manager while Pioneer’s board searches for a permanent leader.
Pioneer is seen on KWCM/10.1 (Appleton), KSMN/20.1 (Worthington), and translators in Fergus Falls, Alexandria, Willmar, and Olivia. It offers several local productions for a region that’s far from other TV operations, and some of its shows are also carried statewide on the Minnesota Channel.
Besides coverage via over-the-air signals, cable, and free online streaming in southwestern and west-central Minnesota and eastern South Dakota, Pioneer’s main channel is also seen on satellite across the Minneapolis and Sioux Falls markets.