Greetings from SPMC! It's starting to warm up outside and hot off the press is the March edition of the Sun Prairie Media Center newsletter!...
This month we will say goodbye to some familiar faces around the Media Center and look at what is happening with KSUN Now & Life, KIDS4 & WLSP.
Farewell to Gary Hebl
Earlier this year, Gary Hebl stepped down from the Media Center Commission.  Gary served on this board since it began in 1978.
During his time on the Media Center Commission, Gary committed his efforts to helping the access center in the early stages of existence and with relocating to a new facility in 2000. He also provided legislative knowledge to the group as he also served in the Wisconsin State Assembly from 2004 to 2022. To help the Media Center move forward with technology needs Gary was a supporter of adding the radio station in 2015 and the addition of another TV channel (KSUN Life) in 2023. His support for the KIDS4 program was evident and did not waver through his entire ter m on the Media Center Commission.
We want to take this time to recognize and thank Gary for his hard work and dedication to Sun Prairie Media Center. We will forever be grateful for his time and talent over the years that helped make SPMC one of the best Media Centers in the state.
Farewell to Mara Trusty
Production Manager, Mara Trusty announced her resignation in late February. She will take on a new adventure in her career in the City of Verona.
 Mara has been with SPMC since August 2010. During her time, many technological changes occurred, as you can expect would happen at a Media Center. Mara helped modernize media to a more reliable digital format, she updated the sorely out-of-date website and dove in headfirst whenever it came to incorporating new technology into the Media Center’s repertoire of video and audio equipment.
Not only did she incorporate new media, she excelled at sharing her knowledge with M edia Center members, teaching and encouraging them to use the resources available to share their stories with the community. In Sun Prairie, when we say community media members, we mean members of all ages and walks of life.
Also, her artistic ability and graphic design knowledge always helped to give the Media Center a fresh and clean look. Most recently, she developed and designed the four new logos at the station for Now, Life, KIDS4 and WLSP.
From the very beginning it was clear to see that Mara was passionate about her work with t he KIDS4 program. She enjoyed it so much during the school year that she introduced the idea of Summer Workshops for the kids to stay connected with media literacy over summer break. She successfully developed, marketed, implemented, and managed several summer workshops at SPMC that has served hundreds of kids over the past ten years.
Mara is a dedicated employee with all aspects of her job, from meticulously organizing the TV broadcast schedules mixing  live events with community programming to intently listening to volunteers explain their creative show visions. Her calm presence, welcoming smile, and positive attitude has been instrumental in building the community of volunteers that make up Sun Prairie Media Center.
To wrap up her time at SPMC, Mara recently starred on an episode of ‘Reel Reviews’ – and she knows -- we’ll have that show in our archives forever!
Mara’s last day at SPMC will be on March 19, if you get a chance to stop in and say goodbye, please do so. We wish her all the best on her new career adventure and will miss her immensely.
KSUN Now & Life
As we approach election season, SPMC provides candidate interviews to help voters make informed decisions. If you missed the live SPARC (Sun Prairie Action Resource Coalition) Candidate Forum on March 3 on KSUN Now, which featured candidates for Dane County Board, Sun Prairie City Council and Sun Prairie School Board, don't worry. The forum will re-air several times before the election and it is available to view on-demand at: sunprairiemediacenter.com/ksun.
Additionally, the program, "Talk of the Town" will air two candidate forums in March. First, on March 8, tune in for City Council candidates in competitive races. District 2 candidates include Bill Baker and S antiago Rosas and District 4 candidates Cassi Benedict and David Virgell.
Then on March 15, it will feature a forum with the four Sun Prairie School Board candidates: Albert Chen, Alwyn Foster, Bryn Horton and Teran Peterson. Constituents will be able to select two candidates in this category when casting their vote.
As with the SPARC forum, these episodes of "Talk of the Town" will re-air several times until election day on both KSUN Now and KSUN Life, and will also be available on-demand.
KIDS4 Happenings
In February, KIDS4 Crews invited their family members to stop in and experience crew on a firsthand basis. Each crew brainstormed a skit and then recorded it. Parents, family members and KIDS4 Crew members worked together on the creative aspect of developing a skit and the technical aspect of capturing their project. Check out the pictures from that week in the photo gallery online.
After sharing the studio space with family members, KIDS4 kids took over the radio studios to explore audio production at the Media Center. Each of the crews worked on both radio plays and podcasting projects in each of the radio studios. This is a great way for  the crew members to understand what production ‘looks like’ when only being able to use their voice. The radio recordings from crew time will premiere on The SUN, 103.5FM in the upcoming month.
103.5 The Sun Highlights
We dusted off the Comrex remote broadcast unit for the WIAA basketball tournament. On March 1st, the Sun Prairie West boys team beat Badger , and played on Saturday, where they faced Verona. The Wolves proved victorious in that match, and now they head to sectionals in Waunakee, where they'll play Janesville Craig. Stay tuned for broadcast updates as Sun Prairie West continue their winning ways.
Speaking of sports, we're gearing up for softball and baseball seasons. Thanks to all t hose who reached out to volunteer their time to help announce games. Our talented team of broadcasters anxiously await a return to the ball parks with the handy dandy Comrex unit. We're working on finalizing a radio broadcast schedule for all teams, so stay tuned.
– SPMC Staff
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Volunteer Spotlight: Sandy Kintner
Nearly thirty years ago my computer-nerd middle schooler discovered Kids-4, back when it was cramped into a second story store front on Main Street. As a parent, I was so grateful for this life-changing opportunity that lasted throughout High School. My son’s experience showed me what was possible at the Media Center and that led me to stage several hour-long “live” Old Time Radio” shows. What a blast. My most recent involvement at the Media Center came about as the result of the pandemic. For many years I’ve been active in Sun Prairie Civic Theater along with Dan Presser. Well, when the pandemic forced the postponement of any productions at Civic Theater, Dan Presser approached me about creating some video segments for this news show called “Sun Prairie in Focus”. When I asked what he had in mind, he said do what every you want. As it turns out, what I wanted to do was produce short features on activities in Sun Prairie that interested me and so, Out and About was born. At first, most of the segments were produced via zoom, but eventually I was able to actually get Out and About and work in the field. I really enjoy the opportunity to scratch a creative itch I didn’t even know I had. A bonus is that I get to discover all the people and events that make Sun Prairie such a dynamic and interesting place to live. Currently, I’ve produced over 100 features with no end in sight.
In addition, I’ve also had the pleasure to participate in “Mandir of Madison“ for over a year. This show highlights the activities at the Hindu Temple located just south of Sun Prairie. For me, it’s a chance to learn more about the traditions and practices of a culture I know little about. I thoroughly enjoy the monthly freewheeling dialogue that explores the Hindu world view. What I’ve found is that it confirms the common values that unite us as a diverse community.
The Media Center is truly a treasure on so many levels. I feel so lucky to be a small part of something that makes Sun Prairie such a great place to live.
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