Lakeland News Holds Open Houses in Bemidji and Brainerd to Celebrate 25th Anniversary

On Thursday, the day of Lakeland News’ 25th Anniversary, we held open houses at our Bemidji and Brainerd studios to celebrate the occasion.

In Bemidji, viewers from northern Minnesota came to visit on-screen personalities and those who keep us on-air. Over 120 new and old faces came through the doors to congratulate Lakeland News on hitting 25 years of local news coverage. Tours showed the public our production facilities and how we’ve managed to stay on the airwaves for a quarter of a century.

“We’re so lucky in Bemidji to have a local newscast for a city our size,” said Bemidji open house attendee Brad Folkestad. “To have news broadcasts every night is a luxury. We don’t have to look to Minneapolis or St. Paul or Duluth to get our news. We can see what’s happening right here on Lakeland Public Television.”

In honor of the 25th anniversary, an open house celebration was also held at our Brainerd studio. The celebration saw attendees observe the location’s ins and outs, and guests were taken behind-the-scenes as staff demonstrated how reporters put stories together.

The day also featured a look back at previous Lakeland News broadcasts and saw some familiar faces enter the studio.

“It’s been great to get a chance to meet viewers and supporters of Lakeland, you know? We’ve seen several come through here tonight,” said Lakeland PBS Board Chair Joe Breiter.

“It’s really cool, now as a reporter looking back on my year of being here to say that, ‘Wow, I’m part of something bigger than I ever realized,'” said Lakeland News reporter Hanky Hazelton.

Mary Balstad and Justin Othoudt contributed to this story.