KBXE Publicity Committee Meeting in Bemidji

We have just over a year before the March 2012 deadline to get 90.5 KBXE on the air, can you feel the excitement?

Please join our Publicity Committee meeting and share your ideas for good ways to spread the news about KBXE. If you have the time/interest in helping staff a table at a local event, or just a suggestion of an event we should represent at - the more people we have, the better we can do.

We'll be meeting at the MN Energy Resources building in Bemidji at 301 2nd St NW (use the 2nd St entrance) from 5:30-7p.

You can RSVP on Facebook, or just show up.

We'll be working on final specifics for events in March and April, including the Master Gardeners Spring Wakeup conference in Bagley, SisterSong in Bemidji, a Phenology Walk in the Bemidji area and the Ojibwe art exhibit Art From Within.

Plus, we've got some guerrilla theater to orchestrate and it has to be even cooler than last years Paul Bunyan Flash mob. Got some ideas of how we can do that?

I hope to see you there!

Rock on,
Doug

Spread the Love Raises Over $19K to Build KBXE

There was a great turn out for Spread the Love this weekend. The food was great, the music rocked, the trivia was quizzical and the people were generous.

At Spread the Love, we raised $19,240.86. A huge thanks to everyone who came out to help spread the love for KBXE!

Building a new community radio station is a big project with many parts. Recently Northern Community Radio received a $150,000 grant from the George W. Neilson Foundation to help build KBXE's studios in Bemidji. This grant depends on our raising an additional $50,000 in matching funds.

All together we've raised $33,896.86 towards making that $50,000 match.

We would like to start renovating the space and building the studios in March, which is less than a month away.

You can help my pledging to KBXE's capital campaign.

Pledging to the capital campaign is separate from membership to Northern Community Radio. You can pay your contribution over 3 years, spreading out the payments however you like.

The budget for the entire KBXE project (including the tower and transmitter) is a little over $1,000,000 and includes $250,000 in community donations.

The KBXE Studios are 2,500 square feet, so that breaks down to $100 per square foot to build KBXE. How many square feet can we put out down for?

You can get more information and/or pledge by calling 800-662-5799 or by emailing kbxe@kbxe.org.

Thank you for your consideration.

Video: KBXE and the 2010 Night We Light Parade

"Winner of the Blue Ox Film Festival 2010, Filmmaker Jamie Hall, aka the Video Ninja, has made an awesome film that is both funny and entertaining, following KBXE's journey from building a float in an old, dirty garage to a bright ride in the Night We Light parade in downtown Bemidji."

Jamie Hall, the Video Ninja, volunteers his time and skills to Northern Community Radio, and he submitted this as his final project for a production class at BSU. He got 290/300. Why the -10? "The video was only supposed to be 6 minutes long - but I refused to edit any more of the video out. I guess I went a little 'Peter Jackson' with it."

Big thanks to the KBXE Publicity Committee and Jamie Hall!!!

More info:
http://www.kbxe.org
http://www.kaxe.org

Let's Build This Thing!

Northern Community Radio and 90.5 KBXE have a New Year's resolution, and hopefully it involves you! It's remodeling the new studios at 305 America Avenue NW in downtown Bemidji.

It's a modern day barn-raising; where a community comes together and builds something great. In this case, it's building 90.5 KBXE - a public radio station for the entire community to use and enjoy.

It's the kind of project that requires the skills, experience, labor and networking of many. In short, 90.5 KBXE supplies the materials and you help in the assembly.

If you want to volunteer in the renovation of 90.5 KBXE, contact John Bauer: jbauer@kaxe.org, or call 218-326-1234.

So Bright You Might Need Shades

by Doug MacRostie

Last year was KBXE's first time in the Night We Light parade in downtown Bemidji. We had cute kids in a truck with our mock-tower on the trailer covered in glow sticks next to a mock-radio studio, homemade banners on the side outlined by strings of lights - all run from an inverter. It was a very fun and cool thing. Then we saw the rest of the floats and in terms of the "light" part of the parade, we were the dimmest.

WELL NOT THIS YEAR!!! Come out and see the spectacle, starting at 6pm on Friday, the 26th in downtown Bemidji.

Last Sunday, members of the community and the KBXE Publicity gathered to put together this years float. We have upped the ante with a giant, reflective cornucopia that will have a pile of radios pouring out. Plus, a generator. Why a generator? Well...

We'll be hooking up some speakers and blasting tunes. And we've got 4 professional, sturdy, die cast aluminum, multi-color stage lights combining for a total of 144 high powered LEDs to wash our float with colorful light. Factor in the multiple 4' x 5' LED light spreads for the cornucopia, the flashing light on top of the tower and the brake lights and you might just want to bring your sunglasses.

No, we will not be the dimmest float this year! Oh, and we'll have cute kids again too :)

Like last year, we'll be doing a video of our adventure, and this time the Video Ninja will be capturing the footage so be sure to get nice and loud when you see the float. I'm talking big excitement. Screaming, waving your hands, perhaps feigning a faint, you get the idea.

We'll be meeting at 3pm on Friday the 26th to finish up the float at the KBXE Studios (3rd and America) - stop out if you would like to help, OR if you have any radios/stereos we can use on the float drop them off between 3 and 4:30. It would be a good idea to put a piece of tape on the bottom of the radio with your name and phone # so we can make sure it gets back to you.

If you would like to walk with us in the parade, be to the staging ground (behind the County buildings in Bemidji) between 5:30 and 6 - we'll have candy, KBXE info, buttons and stickers for you to hand out.

90.5 KBXE is a new public radio station being built by Northern Community Radio, who's mission to build community in Northern MN through radio broadcasts, cultural events and interactive media. Northern Community Radio has been operating 91.7 KAXE for almost 35 years (available at 105.3fm in Bemijdi) - 90.5 KBXE is intended to expand and enhance our service to that region, and has to be on the air by March of 2012. More info at http://www.kbxe.org.

Ever See a Giant Cornucopia Pouring Out Radios?

90.5 KBXE will have a float again this year in the Night We Light parade in Bemidji on Friday, Nov. 26th (the day after Thanksgiving). Last year we had a glowing tower and radio station and a truck full of "cute enthusiast." This year we plan to make things bigger and better with a giant cornucopia with radios pouring out (and more).

If you would like to help spread the news and excitement about 90.5 KBXE you can help us assemble the float on Sunday, Nov. 21st at Noon at the future KBXE Studios on 3rd and America in downtown Bemidji (RSVP on Facebook). Bring a snack to share, hands to help, and any old radios or stereos we can use in the float. We'll be using chicken-fencing and fabric to make the cornucopia, which we'll pull behind a truck in a trailer (full of cute enthusiast, obviously). We'll also have a generator to power music and lights, including some professional stage lights :D

You can also walk with us in the parade, which starts at 6pm on Friday the 26th - arrive a little early! (RSVP on Facebook). We'll have stickers and 90.5 KBXE info to hand out, as well as candy! The more, the merrier. Give us a call if you have any questions, 800-662-5799 or email comments@kbxe.org.

90.5 KBXE is a new independent public radio station being built by Northern Community Radio which has been operating 91.7 KAXE for almost 35 years (at 105.3fm in Bemidji). 90.5 KBXE will enhance and expand the local, community coverage of Northern Community Radio. Give KAXE a listen if you haven't, we're streaming live at http://www.kaxe.org.

Here's a video of our experience last year:

Zombies Flood Bemidji to Build Community

When word spread around Northern Community Radio that Lara Gerhardson and Mike Bredon were planning to close a street in downtown Bemidji to shoot a mass zombie scene for their film Lazarus at the same time KBXE was planning to host a Zombie Crawl in downtown Bemidji, we knew it was going to be a very cool thing. We joined forces and yeah, it was. Check out pix in our photo album.

On Sat. Oct 23rd 2010, hundreds of zombies gathered for the Lazarus film shoot on Beltrami Avenue NW and for 2 hours we dragged ourselves through the streets, mobbed a truck and had a lot of fun. Everyone involved was very happy to be there and from the film crew & producers to the security and zombies, it was all smiles between takes. The zombies ranged from young kids to grandparents.

Director Mike Bredon said that the shooting went excellent before climbing into the truck for one last mass-mob shot. "You guys have been amazing and thank you so much for being here." Local producer Gary Burger said that he was impressed by the seriousness of the the zombie participants, "I didn't see anyone goofing off at a camera, or smiling and laughing out of character. No horsing around or interrupting, just serious zombies. And that makes it so much easier for us."

Immediately following the filming was the KBXE Zombie Crawl which lead many of the undead all around Bemidji for coffee and drink specials and a little guerrilla theater (video coming soon :D). Chants of "What do we want? BRAINS! When do you want them? BRAINS!" could be heard throughout the night, and Rob Zombie's "Living Dead Girl" was played on multiple jukeboxes. The mob got bigger as the they crawled on and Brigid's Cross was packed with Zombies for live music to rock out the night.

"It's great seeing so many young people at a community radio event" said KBXE producer Doug MacRostie, "I think the zombie's helped a lot." The Zombie Crawl was to support Northern Community Radio's new station, KBXE. When it is built, KBXE will provide a new and powerful signal to people who live near Bemidji and Bagley.

Please contact us if you would like to help build KBXE!

Zombies Spotted in Bemidji!!!!!!!!!

One Night, Two Events, Lots of Zombies! On Sat. the 23rd of October we'll be flooding Bemidji with Zombies - you can be part of a Zombie Film, and/or our Zombie Crawl:

Be in Lazarus - a Zombie Movie set in Bemidji
Have you ever wanted to BE in a Zombie Movie - now is your chance! Lara Gerhardson and Mike Bredon have been working on a full-length feature film called Lazarus. It's set in Bemidji and is the story of two brothers coming to terms at the end of the world. They have a big Zombie mob scene and we need YOU to be there. They are closing Beltrami Avenue in front of Brigid's on Sat. the 23rd from 5p-7p to do a multi-angle shoot of lot...s of zombies flooding the street. Bring all your friends! Meet at the parking lot behind Brigid's Cross. Wear old raggedy clothes and be ready to act like an old-school, slow moving zombie. If you can be ready to go with costume and make-up, be there by 4:30 to be part of the scene. If you need help with make-up, then be there by 4. Filming will start around 5, after some preliminaries and training. This is going to be a lot of fun and I hope you can be a part of it. If you would be interested in helping as a make-up artist, please let us know! This film shoot will be followed by the KBXE Zombie Crawl around downtown Bemidji. RSVP on Facebook.

KBXE Zombie Crawl
Join 90.5 KBXE for an evening of cavorting and fun for our Bemidji Zombie Crawl!!! On Saturday, Oct 23rd we'll be gathering at the parking lot behind Brigid's Cross Irish pub to start the crawl at 7pm, arrive early to be part of the group! Show up in your best zombie clothes and make-up! There will be make-up artists at the parking lot behind Brigid's if you need help with that - be sure to arrive early then - maybe around 6:30.... The route will take us to 209 at 7pm, Blue Ox at 7:30, Backyard BBQ at 8, Keg N' Cork at 8:30 then finish the night off with a party and live music at Brigid's Cross Irish Pub at 9. There will be a drink special happening from 7-9p at the Cabin Coffee House too! There will be drink specials at each bar for anyone dressed as a zombie AND wearing a KBXE sticker or button (which we will have available). And we'll probably plan a few "mobbing" moments as we travel from bar to bar (more details will be given the day of ;) RSVP on Facebook.

More details at KBXE.org

What is KBXE? Find out: http://www.kaxe.org/kbxe/faqs.html

Clearwater County Fair Photos

90.5 KBXE was at the Clearwater County Fair in Bagley from Thursday August 5th through Sunday August 8th. Check out more pix here. Many local musicians performed at the KBXE booth including Lance Benson with Steve Ross and Mark Bauer, The Brothers Burn Mountain, Drew Warne-Jacobson & Friends, Aaron Tank, Eric Carlson, Miriam Tell and Katie Corning. Plus we had drawings for CD packages, KBXE stickers and more info on this soon-to-be-built radio station from Northern Community Radio.

Get more info at www.kbxe.org

KBXE's Clearwater County Fair Kickoff

by Doug MacRostie

When we arrived to set up and the Clearwater County Fair yesterday, some other radio station was in our spot (and we had rented the BEST spot). This was quickly resolved and didn't seem to be too big of a deal to anyone. But still, for our first event IN Bagley, we bumped out a different radio station..., "Hi, here comes KBXE" ;). A sign of things to come? lol.

Right away we had issues tying knots to hang weights for the booth, a new thing we hadn't tried before. After one knot untied unexpectedly, we inquired at the booth of Cub Scout Pack 53 of Bagley to see if anyone could help us. Josh and Sam came over and saved the day! As they were working on the knots and we were chatting about this new station we're building, we found out that Josh actually already listens to KAXE, streaming on his smart phone! (KAXE isn't available on-air in Bagley...hence, KBXE is on the way). We didn't even have everything set up yet, and right away we had someone signing up for more info and volunteering help for the station. The perfect start for the fair - not to mention the Cub Scout booth was covered in KBXE stickers all day after that :)

When we were set up and ready to go, we could hear the Country Oldtime Tuners performing on the Pine Stage behind us. A duo with a guest, they had two guitars, vocals and accordion playing traditional country and gospel music. The Pine stage is a nice shady area, with an artificial pond and benches. One thing is for sure, the Clearwater County Fair has a great atmosphere! We forgot to bring our extension cords so we didn't have any music playing, and the red light on the tower wasn't flashing. That is all fixed starting today - so if you stopped by yesterday, you have to come out again to see the full effect (not to mention the live music).

Today's live music at the KBXE Booth will be performed by Eric Carlson at 4pm and Aaron Tank at 6pm. Tomorrow (Saturday) is our "big day" of music, with multi-piece bands including drum kits. A lot of people said they would be back tonight (Friday) to see Lance Benson at 6pm - check out the full schedule at KBXE.org and stop out and say HI!

What is KBXE?

KBXE Brings Local Bands to Clearwater County Fair

90.5 KBXE will be at the Clearwater County Fair in Bagley from Thursday August 5th through Sunday August 8th. Many local musicians will be stopping by to perform at the KBXE booth including Lance Benson with Steve Ross and Mark Bauer, The Brothers Burn Mountain, Drew Warne-Jacobson & Friends, Aaron Tank and Eric Carlson. Plus we’ll have drawings for CD packages, KBXE stickers and more info on this soon-to-be-built radio station from Northern Community Radio.

Performer Schedule
Friday August 6th:
4pm: Eric Carlson
6pm: Aaron Tank

Saturday August 7th:
2pm: Drew Warne-Jacobson and Friends
4pm: The Brothers Burn Mountain
6pm: Lance Benson with Steve Ross and Mark Bauer

Sunday August 8th:
2pm: Miriam Tell
4pm: Katie Corning

What is KBXE?

We Came, We Flash Mobbed, We Left

So wow, the KBXE Paul Bunyan Flash Mob was a HUGE success. With over 50 people coming together dressed as Paul Bunyan, a lot of smiles and double-takes at Art in the Park, and a video that has over 1,300 views in the first week it was an eye-catching event, and a lot of fun. Not sure what I'm talking about? The Video is at the bottom of this blog.

The video and story of the KBXE Paul Bunyan Flash Mob was picked up around the internet including The World News Network (see screen shot), Minnesota Brown, MinnPost, ICTV, the FlickrRiver, it was the most popular story on Northern Community Internet, the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, Strong Towns Blog, Roy C. Booth's Myspace page, and many other content repeaters :) Not to mention the people who watched on the Bemidji Chamber of Commerce Paul & Babe webcam :) There was also a clear impact on the KBXE Facebook page; compared to the previous week, our monthly active users was up 141.3%, total fans up +13.9%, interactions up 722.2%, and overall page views up 123.5%.

If you can think of anyone or anyone else who should cover this story, feel free to encourage them to do so ;) Will we do another Flash Mob? Join the Publicity Committee to find out :D

This was the latest event from the KBXE Publicity Committee, a group of volunteers working to raise public awareness and build support for 90.5 KBXE - a new independent community radio station that will serve Bagley, Bemidji and beyond. Please contact us if you would like to get involved the the Publicity Committee (email Sarah MacRostie, sdemac@paulbunyan.net), or any of the other ways you can help - call Northern Community Radio at 800-662-5799.

The KBXE Paul Bunyan Flash Mob

It was a beautiful day in downtown Bemidji. The sun was shining and people were enjoying Art in Park when a Paul Bunyan walked by. What? A Paul Bunyan? There's another! And three more! They're everywhere, what's going on here?

It was Northern Minnesota's first ever flash mob, courtesy of 90.5 KBXE. On Sunday, July 18th 2010, a group of over 50 people gathered at Diamond Point Park in Bemidji for pizza and planning. Then the group set off for the Lake Bemidji Waterfront, dressed in red and black flannel shirts, blue jeans (rolled up of course), a painted mustache and a dark knit cap. The group slowly trickled through Art in the Park, turning a lot of heads and getting even more smiles. The Mobbers then drifted to the Paul and Babe statue, where they froze one at a time. What started as a couple of frozen Paul Bunyan's grew into dozens and people stopped to watch and take pictures while passing cars honked their horns.
Members of the Flash Mob ranged in age from 88 to 1, or "older than the Paul Bunyan statue to younger than it's latest paint job." There was even a Paul Bunyan on a bicycle, and families of Paul Bunyans.

After remaining frozen as a group - they suddenly turned away from the statue and pulled open their flannel shirts to reveal KBXE Bumper Stickers to a cheer from the gathered crowd.
The KBXE Paul Bunyan Flash Mob was conducted by the Publicity Committee of KBXE - a soon-to-be-built independent community radio station that will serve Bagley, Bemidji, Fosston, Gonvick, Clearbrook, Debs, Erskine, Zerkel and beyond. Lead organizer Sarah MacRostie said, "KBXE’s publicity committee has been working hard to raise awareness in area communities in creative ways - from a phenology walk in Clearbrook to being in the Debs 4th of July parade. Getting members from the community to perform guerrilla theater in the form of a Paul Bunyan Flash Mob seemed like a perfect fit for the First City of the Arts, and a great way to get peoples' attention."

90.5 KBXE has to be broadcasting by March of 2012, and you can help make it happen! Contact us if you'd like more information or would like to join one of the committees working on this project. KBXE is being built by Northern Community Radio, whose mission is to "Build Community in Northern Minnesota through radio broadcasts, cultural events and interactive media." Northern Community Radio operates 91.7 KAXE, which is celebrating over 34 years of independent community radio with studios in Grand Rapids, and translators at 89.9 in Brainerd and 105.3 in Bemidji. KBXE is being pursued as a way to preserve community radio for that region.
More info: kbxe.org

Thanks:
The KBXE Publicity Committee

Video:
Jamie Hall

Photos:
Jeremy Anway

Food:
Papa Murphy's Pizza, Bemidji

And of course, all you Mobbers :D