Marlins Intro

It turns out that our professional "trouble fixer" leads a double life as an amateur video producer between trouble calls at our office. No word yet on which version is his Spiderman and which is merely Peter Parker, but our very own, Chris, put this intro together for our Marlins coverage on Channel 90. It'll make it's debut this weekend with four Marlin games on the schedule and set to air Saturday and Sunday. See what you think...

 

We need your opinion

Could you help us out? We're looking for some insight into how people in the area feel about home monitoring and automation as a service for lack of a better name we're calling 'SMART HOME.' 

We have tested potential product and service offerings that, for instance, could keep an eye on your sump pump and alert you when it's not working properly. Perhaps, it's a sensor that tells you when you left your garage door open too long, or maybe it is a camera that keeps an eye on your front door and snaps photos of people coming and going. So, THAT broad range of services is what we're defining as smart home.

Now, this is where you come in - we've developed a short survey to see what areas potential customers would prioritize over the rest. In other words, we're hoping you tell us which way to go next.  You can chime in here - http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e6ndm2t4h9kdrmif/start .

Thanks!

More Channels Now Available

Your access to local content just quadrupled. Mitchell Telecom has partnered with our parent company, Santel Communications, to bring their local content into the Mitchell community. Santel has worked with four school districts in their service area (Parkston, Wolsey, Tripp-Delmont and Woonsocket) to set up local programming that originates from each of the high schools. Similar to our Channel 90, a big chunk of that coverage happens to be high school sporting events and I've included a schedule for the winter months below.

The new channels can be found in our digital package on Channels 101 (Parkston), 102 (Wolsey), 103 (Tripp), and 104 (Woonsocket). The channels along with the game schedule has been added to your digital guide - check there for complete information on dates and times.

CHANNEL 101, PARKSTON LOCAL SCHOOL CHANNEL

 December

4              GBB  vs Freeman

7              GBB vs Tea Area

14           GBB vs Chamberlain

                BBB vs Chamberlain

17           GBB vs Tripp/Delmont/Armour

18           BBB vs Avon

28           Parkston Classic, GBB

29           Parkston Classic, BBB

January

10           GBB vs Wagner

                BBB vs Wagner

14           BBB vs Andes Central

17           BBB vs Bon Homme

24           BBB vs Lennox

29           GBB vs McCook Central/Montrose

February

4              GBB vs Scotland

                BBB vs Scotland

8              BBB vs Tea Area

9              GBB vs Bridgewater/Emery

12           GBB vs Andes Central

15           BBB vs Mt. Vernon

 

CHANNEL 102, WOLSEY LOCAL SCHOOL CHANNEL

December

13           GBB vs Iroquois

17           BBB vs Mitchell Christian

January

3              GBB vs JVC

10           BBB  vs DeSmet

11           GBB 281 Tourney, 3:30

19           GBB vs Corsica/Stickney

22           GBB vs SBA

28           GBB  vs Kimball/White Lake

February

4              GBB vs Lake Preston

5              BBB vs Wessington Springs

9              GBB vs Aberdeen Christian, 1:00

11           BBB vs Hitchcock-Tulare

12           GBB Wolsey-Wessington vs Hitchcock-Tulare, 6:30

15           BBB Wolsey-Wessington vs SBA, 6:30

18           BBB Wolsey-Wessington vs JVC, 6:30

 

CHANNEL 103, TRIPP LOCAL SCHOOL CHANNEL

 December

8          GBB w/ Menno

BBB w/Menno

January

3          GBB vs Mitchell Christian

4          BBB vs Scotland

21        BBB vs Plankinton/Mt. Veron

28        BBB vs Wagner

29        GBB vs Ethan

February

1          GBB  vs Marty

BBB vs Marty

14        GBB vs Scotland

CHANNEL 104, WOONSOCKET LOCAL SCHOOL CHANNEL

December

8          GBB Sanborn Central/Woonsocket vs SBA (DH)

            BBB Sanborn Central/Woonsocket vs SBA (DH)

January

3          BBB Sanborn Central/Woonsocket vs Andes Central, 6:30

8          GBB Sanborn Central/Woonsocket vs Kimball/White Lake (DH, second game)

      BBB Sanborn Central/Woonsocket vs Kimball/White Lake (DH, first game)

11        GBB 281 Tourney, 3:30 (At Wolsey, Channel 102)

25        BBB Woonsocket/Sanborn Central vs Wessington Springs, 6:30

February

4          GBB Sanborn Central/Woonsocket vs Bridgewater/Emery, 6:30

8          GBB Sanborn Central/Woonsocket vs Highmore/Harrold (DH, second game)

      BBB Sanborn Central/Woonsocket vs Highmore/Harrold (DH, first game)

Winter Schedule

The Channel 90 Schedule for our winter coverage has been released. You can find a copy of it HERE. Our coverage will again feature Kernel Hoops and Wrestling along with DWU Hoops and Marlins Hockey. In addition to our local teams, we'll feature the Mike Miller, Hanson and DWU classics (one each month) during December, January and February.

New this year will be Final Round coverage of two Kernel Wrestling Tournaments. We'll bring you championship mat coverage during the finals of both the Jerry Opbroek Invite (1/12) and the ESD Conference Meet (2/9). In both cases, the tournaments overlap with coverage from a basketball classic - that means we'll have to feature them on our overflow channel (91).

We're looking forward to another great season from our local teams - Good Luck Kernels, Tigers & Marlins and have a great Thanksgiving, y'all!

A Master's Class in Growing a Business

I was lucky enough to attend the My Biggest Break Luncheon hosted by The Network yesterday at Logan Luxury Theater. It was the 2nd Annual Luncheon that features local business owners that shared their story and what led them to their success. This year's Biggest Break featured Roger Musick and Dick Muth - two guys that have quarterbacked wildly successful businesses in the community for a combined 70+ years and could pen a pretty good how-to manual for growing businesses. I thoroughly enjoyed the 90 minutes and came a way with a number of great themes that I'll plagiarize for years to come - here are three of my favorites...

1. Good People - Find great people, train them right and empower them to do the job. Great advice for any potential entrepreneur.

2. Controlled Growth / Pick Your Spots - In each case, these businesses started off with few or no employees and have exploded to hundreds of employees. But that growth came strategically and in my personal opinion has probably allowed them to control standards over time.

3. Do Something You Enjoy - I got the feeling from both Dick and Roger that if the job became too much of a grind they'd ride off into the sunset. Both guys have family in the business, which adds a layer to this topic - meaning they do something they enjoy with people they enjoy and care about.

Thanks Dick and Roger for the master's class in growing a business and thanks to The Network for hosting this great event.

Kudos Mitchell -- Smart21 Communities of 2013

You saw this right?



Mitchell named as one of the Smart21 Communities of 2013 by the Intelligent Community Forum, a think tank that studies the economic and social development of the 21st Century community. The ICF put our little town along side communities like Philadelphia, PA and Columbus, OH in the US as well as other communities across the globe. Pretty cool, huh?

We at Mitchell Telecom like to think our commitment to the community that brought a Fiber-To-The-Home Network and our broadband, phone and cable services to Mitchell had a little something to do with the community being considered for this award. In actuality, you can look a number of institutions, businesses and our local government that made this possible - we're just happy others take notice of how well we have it in Mitchell.

We have opportunities and access in our homes and businesses that other places in the state, nation and globe would drool over. So....that leads me to a question - what inventive uses of broadband do you see from the people and businesses in Mitchell?

Please post a comment below or if you'd rather email me at speper@mitchelltelecom.com.

 

Quick Hitters (Channel 90 Version)

- DWU Hoops coverage is back on Channel 90 tonight with a Doubleheader versus York College. The Women's game is set to tip off at 5pm with the Men's game to follow.

- We'll have Region Volleyball coverage on Friday evening as the Kernels take on Sturgis with a trip to the State AA Volleyball Tournament on the line. Coverage starts at 5pm and we'll have it live on Channel 90 with Steve Morgan from KORN on the call.

- Speaking of State Volleyball Tournaments, we'll have expanded coverage from all three tournament sites next week thanks to South Dakota Public Broadcasting. You will be able to find complete coverage of the AA Tournament on Channel 90, the B Tournament on Channel 91 and the A Tournament on Channel 402.

- It seems odd to already have our final football game of the year, but that will happen Saturday afternoon as DWU takes on Midland Lutheran at 1pm from Joe Quintal Field. We'll have that for you on Channel 90 as well.

- My last note is one of apology. We finalized our winter broadcast schedule this week and are now in the process of updating the website. Our pocket schedules will be sent to the printer as soon as the website is complete. After this week / weekend, we only have two more local games scheduled for Channel 90 before the end of the month. Those would be DWU hoops contests featuring the DWU Women (vs Presentation College) on November 20th and a DWU Doubleheader (vs Dordt) on November 28th - check your guide for more information.

Quick Hitters

Would you like Wi-Fi with that?
I read in Telecompetitor today that shipments of Wi-Fi enabled devices will nearly double in 2012. Over 1.5 Billion (with a 'B') devices shipped worldwide shows how far access to wireless Internet has grown into our everyday lives. TVs, Tablets, Mobile Devices, Blu-Ray Players, and hundreds of other devices all now connect to and use your in-home wireless network and they would no no where as useful without that connectivity.

The difficulty that growth can cause users comes from managing your in-home network and making sure each device 'plays' nicely. Mitchell Telecom can help with that headache with our Router Support & Care Plan. For less than $4/month we'll assist in router and security set up and help you connect devices to the network.

Sound interesting / want to learn more? Email our sales team - sales@mitchelltelecom.com and we'll take care of you.

Fo'get about it...
From the Not a Shocker file, I read this week that 'Made In Jersey' was the first casualty amongst the TV Series to premiere in 2012. To make matters worse, they only aired two episodes  - OUCH!

Not to toot our horn too loudly, but you'll recall we pegged Jersey as a Loser in our 2012 New Series Preview last month.

Winter Broadcast Schedule
We have received a more than a few requests for our winter schedule for broadcasts on Channel 90. I have our MHS and DWU coverage positioned and ready to go. We've also confirmed carriage for our basketball classics we've covered the past couple years. The final piece of the puzzle is an official schedule for Mitchell Marlins (Boys & Girls) Hockey. I'm told that will happen in the next week and with it we'll be able to round out the schedule.

Handicapping Series Premieres 2012

Every fall brings a new batch of shows looking to gain mass appeal and through that first year a number of those series get cancelled. I suppose that is how the sausage gets made in some respects - throw a bunch of stuff at the wall and see what sticks. As a fan though, how depressing is it see a new show that you invest time in, get cancelled?

I've also developed a bit of a success meter for sniffing out the likely winners and losers of each year's crop - don't kid yourself, it's very much a talent. So, with the season upon us this month, here's how I'll handicap the changes of series premieres in 2012.

Feel free to agree or disagree and please drop in a comment below if you do!

Revolution (Mondays NBC)

-          The Show:  The US goes dark and every single piece of technology is rendered useless. A family struggles to reunite amid chaos against a militia that kidnaps their brother.

-          Gut Reaction: Cool looking show that for some reason reminds me of Heroes right down to the same channel and night. I’m guessing this one starts fast and has some success early while trying to avoid a quick flame out. It seems like you should have a chance if you have JJ Abrams and Jon Favreau on the team, but I’m not wow’d by the cast (too pretty for the apocalypse). -

-           The Guess: Count them in for a second season w/ some big changes for the cast in year two.

Go On (Tuesdays NBC)

-          The Show: Matthew Perry is a sports talk radio host and recently became widower. He wants to get back to work after the loss of his wife, but his boss forces him to join a support group to deal with the loss.

-          Gut Reaction: I’ve always liked Matthew Perry, so there is that. AND, I’ve actually watch the pilot and it made me laugh a couple of times – the group dynamic was fun. BUT, my assessment is that there is not enough here to get laughs every week for 20+ episodes a year.

-          The Guess: Find something else to do at 8pm Tuesday. I’d be surprised if it didn’t make it through year one, but shocked if it went beyond that.

Vegas (Tuesdays CBS)

-          The Show:  Inspired by the true story of former Las Vegas Sheriff Ralph Lamb, a fourth-generation rancher tasked with bringing order to Las Vegas in the 1960s. Lamb wants to be left in peace to run his ranch, but Las Vegas is now swelling with outsiders and corruption which are intruding on his simple life.

-          Gut Reaction: This seems like the perfect match of idea and network. I don’t think Vegas is a show that I’ll watch each week, but it seems to speak to the same core group that tune in for other CBS staples (CSI Franchise, NCIS, Blue Bloods, Hawaii 50, etc).

-          The Guess: Chalk it up, this one is the biggest ‘hit’ of the new season.

Animal Practice (Wednesdays NBC)

-          The Show: "Animal Practice" is a new comedy centering on Dr. George Coleman, a top veterinarian with an impressive list of famous animal patients at the Crane Animal Hospital - a bustling New York City veterinary practice where it often seems as if the patients are running the place. Despite his unorthodox style, George has an undeniable gift with animals of all kinds - except the human kind.

-          Gut Reaction: I really like the main character (Justin Kirk) on “Weeds,” so I was holding out hope, but I don’t see how this could be a winner. If the show is going to focus on the animals (as the title would have us to believe) then how long before those story lines get old?

-          The Guess: I’m going to put another one in the loss column for NBC who seems to have too many there already.

Elementary (Thursdays CBS)

-          The Show:  A modern-day spin on Sherlock Holmes who teams up with Dr. Watson to form a crime-solving duo that cracks the NYPD's most impossible cases. Following his fall from grace in London and a stint in rehab, eccentric Sherlock escapes to Manhattan where his wealthy father forces him to live with his worst nightmare - a sober companion, Dr. Watson. A successful surgeon until she lost a patient and her license three years ago, Watson views her current job as another opportunity to help people, as well as paying a penance.

-          Gut Reaction: To be honest, I have little to no read on this show. Part of me thinks they are trying to cash in on the Holmes resurgence and the other part thinks it’s a way to capitalize on the goofy crime fighter phenomenon (a la The Mentalist, Psych, etc).

-          The Guess: I’ll watch the pilot, but I’m not hopeful. If forced to wager, I’d guess this is a loser.

Nashville (Wednesdays ABC)

-          The Show: A legendary queen of country music struggles to maintain her place in the spotlight while dealing with an ambitious rising pop-country vixen who wants to knock her off the throne.

-          Gut Reaction: As much as I love Tami Taylor from Friday Night Lights, I can’t get on board with Nashville. I’m guessing too much bad music and drama filled story lines that I won’t care about. That said, I truly believe there is an audience for this show between Hayden Panettiere bringing teeny-boppers or Desperate Housewife’s fans looking for a new show.

-          The Guess: This has guilty pleasure all over it – the show will find an audience and stick in the schedule.

666 Park Avenue (Sundays ABC)

-          The Show:  Welcome to The Drake, Park Avenue's most devilish address, where evil, obsession, and supernatural occurrences are all included in the rent.

-          Gut Reaction: The guy from Lost + Vanessa Williams + Creepy Things + Weird Hotel = Big Time Loser. The previews seem to be a mess for me and I don’t get how this show could become successful.

-          The Guess: The show finds no audience and gets cancelled before the end of the season.

Quick Hitters –

Guys with Kids – probably would have been good in 1999 (Loser)

The New Normal – any show with NeNe Leakes can‘t be good, which sucks because I like Justin Bartha in National Treasure and The Hangover (Loser)

The Mindy Project – Liked the pilot, but hate the bad accent – Fingers Crossed (Winner)

The Mob Doctor – seems like they should do it as a comedy (Loser)

Last Resort – This could be interesting for a month, then nothing (Loser)

Made in Jersey – Sorry, full up on lawyer shows; try again next year (Loser)

Partners – Good lead in gives it a chance, plus I like the guy from Numbers/10 Things I Hate About You (Winner)

New Channels Coming Tuesday!

Our next batch of HD channels are currently being tested and will be available to customers on Tuesday, September 4th. I know some customers have already seen the channel numbers pop up in the guide, but here is the full list -

HD Channel (#)
WGN (615)
Hallmark (619)
CNN (622)
FOX News (624)
MSNBC (625)
Headline News (626)
Tru TV (643)
Biography (626)
TBS (659)
Turner Classic Movies (662)
RFD TV (683)
Oxygen (687)
Toon (688)
TV Land (689)

The 14 new channels brings our HD lineup to over 65 channels.

Four Things I'm Looking Forward to in September

1. NFL Football - Even with the Vikes promising to be at or near their outhouse-level performance from a year ago it's hard for me not to get jazzed up for the start of the football season. My rookie of the year from last season (NFL RedZone) will be back in all it's glory starting week 1. For those of you that don't subscribe, you should - email info@mitchelltelecom.com to make that happen. The season pass is $50.

2. TV is BACK! - The NFL Season isn't the only thing to kick off in September, I feel bad for our poor DVRs consuming so much new content. Here's a handful of the biggies for me...

 - The final season of The Office starts Sept. 20th and I'll probably shed a tear.
 - The same night (9/20), Park & Recreation offers you a Tom Haverford fix.
 - Sons of Anarchy picks back up Sept. 11th.
 - The Mentalist moves to Sundays starting Sept. 30th.
 - Criminal Minds is back on the case Sept. 26th
 - I'll stop there...

3. Handicapping New Shows - One skill I've honed over the years is determining which shows have a chance of sticking around over those doomed to die quick deaths. Look for another post on this topic in the very near future.

4. OktoBEERfest - Part beer tasting, part brat tasting, part musical show - ALL fun. The event is scheduled for Saturday, September 29th at the Highland Conference Center and this year's OktoBEERfest features samples of over 50 craft brews along with a brat bar and the musical styling of Chris Miller. Join Time at the Table and The Network between 4pm and 7pm that day for what promises to be a great time.

Tickets are just $25 each and can be purchased at www.oktobeerfest.net, County Fair or The Chamber of Commerce in Mitchell. Special props to Porter Distributing for sponsoring the event.

How did I miss this?

I was searching the guide for the weekend DVR round up (True Blood, 60 Minutes, Newsroom, Longmire, etc) and stumbled across a new episode for Bar Rescue. I'm guessing your level of shock and amazement mirrored mine at the time. What!? It's Back!? Jon Taffer the most arrogance and awesomeness you can stuff in a suit coat (no tie - of course) is BACK! Sunday can't get here fast enough!

Not enough exclamation points for you, yet? What if I told you we already missed the double-episode season premiere! Yep, we're two episodes in already!

Don't sweat it too much, we can get through this together. Luckily, Spike doesn't have a ton of original programming so you can catch last week's episodes about a half dozen times over the weekend. OR, check 'em out online at www.spike.com.

- Watch the Tiki Curse episode here: http://www.spike.com/full-episodes/jyqaiq/bar-rescue-tiki-curse-season-2-ep-202

 - Watch the Yo-Ho-Ho and a Bottle of Dumb (no joke a Pirate Bar) here: http://www.spike.com/full-episodes/81jluh/bar-rescue-yo-ho-ho-and-a-bottle-of-dumb-season-2-ep-201


If you've read this far and still don't know what Bar Rescue is, well I owe you some 'splainin. The show features struggling bars around the country and tasks bar expert, Jon Taffer, with finding a solution. If you've seen Restaurant Impossible or Kitchen Nightmares (both fantastic by the way) think about doing that, just in a bar. AND, since it's on Spike you can expect it to be a little more racy.

Sound fun? Check it out on Spike TV at 8pm Sunday.

Jon Taffer doesn't embrace excuses, he embraces solutions...

Three Things I'm Looking Forward to in August...

1. Channel 90 Broadcasts: We’ll enter our third year of live sports and community coverage this month and have over 50 games on the broadcast schedule between now and early November.  Coverage kicks off on August 17^th as James Valley Christian travels to Mitchell to take on Mitchell Christian in Boys Varsity Soccer.

Similar to last year’s schedule, we’ll bring complete home schedules of MHS Football and Volleyball as well as DWU Football. Select home games of MHS Soccer (Both Boys & Girls), DWU Soccer (Men & Women), DWU Volleyball and MCHS Soccer will also be featured on Channel 90. New this year, will be a handful of sub-varsity Football at MHS that will feature the Freshmen, Sophomore and JV squads throughout the season.

We will also unveil our local content Kernel shirt this month and provide a number of them to show off your Kernel spirit. Look for updates on the blog and Facebook to see how you can win one!

Corn Palace Week: It looks to be another great week of performers for this year’s Corn Palace Festival - http://cornpalace.com/Shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=24. I’m typically a big fan of the rock show they have this year, but having Hinder as the headliner doesn’t really do if for me. I’ll instead have to swing my support to Thompson Square / Frankie Ballard show as the must-see act for the weekend.

Beyond the entertainment, I’m looking forward to 2.5 – 3 meals of fair food for the week. Last year’s favorite was the ‘2.0’ from Big Daddy’s and I’m guess one or more will be consumed this year.

Photographic that the 2.0 exists...

My babies turn 2: Sorry for dropping a note that really my family is looking forward to during August. Paxton and Presley turned our lives upside down (mostly for the good – other than a crazy amount of diapers) for good on August 12^th, 2010. I never knew how fast time could fly until you blink and your babies are two years old and not babies anymore. It’s been a learning curve that changes daily and an unbelievable journey that has created infinite memories a two great people. Happy Birthday Pax & Pres - we love you very much!

23 Days

The calendar is about to pack away another July and open up the next August. For us, that signals the start of another season of local sports content on Channel 90, which is set to start on August 17^th – 23 days from today. That date will feature a Mitchell Christian / James Valley Christian contest in Boys Varsity Soccer, which is scheduled for 7:30pm from the Pepsi Soccer Complex.

For the Fall Season, we have over 50 games scheduled for LIVE coverage between August 17^th and November 10^th. That schedule will include the complete home schedule for Kernel and Tiger Football as well as Kernel Volleyball.   

Rounding out our coverage will be select games of DWU Soccer (Men & Women), DWU Volleyball, MHS Soccer (Boys & Girls) and MCHS Soccer (Boys). Look for a complete schedule for our fall coverage to be added to the site shortly and we will be distributing our pocket schedules in early August.

Here’s looking forward to another great season…starting in 23 days.