Kev Jackson

Program Director, producer of “Fishin’ Paul Bunyan Country” and former play-by-play announcer of Bemidji High School sports.

Kev was born in San Bernadino, CA. A future as a surfer dude was dashed when his Dad decided to move back to Minnesota, where the family settled in to the tiny hamlet of Red Lake Falls.

After high school, it became apparent that he had no future in the two things he loved: athletic competition and musical performance. He thought about becoming a monk, but remembered he wasn’t Catholic.

Then as he listened to the hits on WLS (at night of course), KKKL in Grand Forks, and KQWB in Fargo, he realized he could play music and talk sports for a living. So a passion for radio was born. Of course, once into broadcasting, he realized that the making a living part was dicey at best. But, we digress.

Kev attended Bemidji State University for four years, graduating in 1985 with a degree in Mass Communications. He then did some part time radio work before getting his first full time job in Roseau at KRWB, where he did sports, news, on-air “deejaying” and even sales.

While in Roseau, he met the love of his life, Nicole, and brainwashed her into marrying him. Shortly after that, Kev got the opportunity to move back to Bemidji and become the play-by-play voice of the Lumberjacks. He’s been back for 24 years.

After a dozen years of following many Lumberjack teams to exotic locales all over our great state, Kev became (and still is) the Program Director and Morning Show co-host with the legendary Tom Lucas on 95.5 KZY when it signed on in 1999. He also roams the hallways and does sports updates on all of the Paul Bunyan Broadcasting stations. He continues to serve as Program Director of The Bun (as well as 104.5 The True Oldies Channel) but turned the play-by-play chores over to Moose Richards in the fall of 1999.

Kev and Nicole have three children (Jake 23; Kaila, 21; and Mollie 20). All three are out of the house (for the moment) but the two dachshunds (Jack and Max) have taken over their duties of being loud and making messes.

FAVORITE MOVIE(S) OF ALL TIME: Casablanca, Groundhog Day, The Truman Show, National Treasure (if they are on…I watch ‘em).

FAVORITE SPORTS MOVIE: So many great ones .…. Miracle, Field of Dreams, The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh….but I gotta go with Hoosiers (Hey, I’m from Red Lake Falls – it resonates).

FAVORITE TV SHOW(S) OF ALL TIME: Andy Griffith Show, Twilight Zone (still watch the reruns)

WHAT YOU’RE WATCHING ON TV NOW: Right now? Probably a SpongeBob rerun. Actually, anything on DIY, Psych, Burn Notice, The Office.

FAVORITE SPORTS MEMORY/MOMENT: Again so many! Miracle on Ice, BSU’s 1984 31-0 year, BSU’s Frozen Four run...however, as a Twins fan since age seven, I've got to go with Games 6 and 7, 1991 World Series (the two greatest back-to-back games in World Series history!!)

Moose Richards

Play-by-play announcer of Bemidji High School sports, co-host of “College Hockey Tonight” and “The Football Show”.

I blame it on my Grandmother. She listened to the Cubs on the radio while doing housework her whole life. Those things ended up sticking with me to this day. Yep, I’m a die-hard Cubs fan, and love sports radio. Housework? Not so much. I’ve been around radio since 1989 and have been working at Paul Bunyan Broadcasting since 1999.

Some of the more mundane details of my life include growing up in suburban Chicago, which explains the Cubs thing, and later moving to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to attend Northern Michigan University. There I fell in love with two things – my future wife, Betty, and hockey. The two of us moved to “The State of Hockey” where I finished my education at Brown Institute in Minneapolis and started my career in radio. I was first in International Falls, MN, then Grand Forks, ND before settling in Bemidji. Betty and I have added a daughter, Anna, to our family.

FAVORITE MOVIE OF ALL TIME: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

FAVORITE SPORTS MOVIE OF ALL TIME: The Natural

FAVORITE TV SHOW OF ALL TIME: St. Elsewhere, Sports Night

WHAT YOU’RE WATCHING ON TV NOW: 30 Rock, The Amazing Race

FAVORITE SPORTS MEMORY/MOMENT: Childhood – 1984 Cubs NL East Championship; Adult – 2005 NCAA Northeast Hockey Regional, Amherst, MA

Scott Williams

Co-Host “College Hockey Tonight”, commentator on “The Football Show”, as needed News Director, and occasionally play-by-play announcer of Bemidji High School sports.

I started my broadcasting career at Bemidji State University. At first it was a few play-by-play baseball games after my playing career had ended. During my junior year I became the Sports Director at the campus radio station KBSB FM90. My first show was the “Monday Sports Montage.” It was basically my friends and I talking Beaver and pro sports for an hour every week. It was at this time I started working at Paul Bunyan Broadcasting.

I started out as a Sports Engineer, working the board for the Twins, Vikings, Monday night football, etc. I think I pestered Kev Jackson long enough that he finally allowed me to work play-by-play for Bemidji High School sports teams. After college, I was hired as the DJ for Afternoon Drive on the new 95.5 KZY in June of 1999. Then we learned Paul Bunyan Broadcasting was acquiring KLLZ so in January of 2001, I moved to middays on Z99.

I still cover Lumberjack baseball on KBUN, and help out with Lumberjack sports when Moose Richards and TJ Melcher are unavoidably detained. Since 2001, Moose Richards and I have produced and co-hosted “The Hockey Show” (now "College Hockey Tonight"), a weekly seasonal hockey talk show every Friday at 5:00PM on KBUN. Since 2005, I’ve helped T.J. Melcher with “The Football Show,” another weekly seasonal sports talk show in the fall. Additionally, I assist Kelly Stone with the news when her bicycle has a flat tire and she can’t make it to work.

Another passion of mine is Bemidji State Athletics. I’ve been the play-by-play voice of Beaver Sports TV coverage since 2001, including BSU Hockey on Lakeland Public TV and BSU Football on KBSU-TV.  I also broadcast BSU Mens and Womens Basketball on KBSU.

I married a local girl in 2003 and Tracy and I love the Bemidji area. Sports have always been a big part of my life, instilled from childhood. My father had season tickets at Maple Leaf Gardens. That’s as spoiled as any child from Canada can be! I once played baseball for BSU, and junior hockey in Canada…..and now play softball and watch hockey with the comfort of not being hit by a 90mph slap shot.

FAVORITE MOVIE: Raiders of the Lost Ark. Pure fun and definitely the one I’ve watched the most often.

FAVORITE SPORTS MOVIE: Field of Dreams…father taught me baseball.

FAVORITE TV SHOW OF ALL TIME: Northern Exposure (thought it was based on Northern Minnesota!)

WHAT I’M WATCHING ON TV NOW: Top Chef, Amazing Race, Man vs. Food, and live sporting events.

FAVORITE SPORTS MEMORY: Bemidji State Beaver Hockey advancing to the Frozen Four in 2009. I still randomly and uncontrollably smile when I think about what that team accomplished! Pure bliss!

T. J. Melcher

Co-host of “The Football Show” and covers the Vikings games from the Twin Cities for Paul Bunyan Broadcasting. Occasionally does play-by-play of Bemidji High School sports.

I am originally from Elk River, MN. I came to Bemidji in the fall of 1997 as a criminal justice major at BSU. Those classes were waaaay too tough, so I switched to Mass Comm.

I started working at KBUN in 1999 as a board operator for the great Kevin Jackson’s high school sports broadcasts. Learning from an industry icon was instrumental in my development as a play-by-play voice.

I am currently on a leave of absence from The Bemidji Pioneer newspaper (Circulation Department) and I help with their sports coverage as well. I’m also a Lieutenant in the National Guard with HHC 2-147 in St. Paul and am preparing for offcier’s training…thus the reason for my leave of absence from the newspaper.

I married my freshman sweetheart, Carrie, and we have four kids: Serenati, Halii, Teriana and Tierney. That’s three girls and then a boy if you can’t tell from the names.

I truly enjoy sports. I play softball and golf as much as I can in the summer and the rest of the year is spent chasing my kids around their schedules: gymnastics, soccer, t-ball, swimming and hockey.

Football season is my favorite for work. I co-host “The Football Show” and cover the Vikings for our stations as well as write a weekly column.

FAVORITE MOVIE: Top Gun

FAVORITE SPORTS MOVIE: Major League

FAVORITE TV SHOW: The Simpsons

WHAT I’M WATCHING ON TV RIGHT NOW: Gordon Ramsey’s “Kitchen Nightmares”

FAVORITE SPORTS MOMENT: The only time I ever caught a ball at a game: 1986 at the Met Center for a Minnesota Strikers game.

Kelly Stone

Kelly Stone is the newest member of the Paul Bunyan Broadcasting team, but she has roots in the Bemidji area.

“As a teacher in Iowa, my dad took continuing education credits at the then Bemidji State College when I was in grade school. I spent many summer days on the old beachfront at Diamond Point Park. When it was time to choose a college, Bemidji State was my top choice.” Kelly graduated in 1983 with a degree in mass communications.

She's worked at radio stations in Sioux Falls SD, Lincoln NE, San Jose CA and Oshkosh WI and was morning news anchor at WDAY and WDAZ TV from 1998 to 2005. Most recently, Kelly worked at Mojo 104 and KFGO in Fargo.

Kelly says, “I believe when citizens have accurate, useful information about their communities, it empowers them to make things better. I'm honored to help make that happen here in northern Minnesota.”

&nsbp;

FAVORITE FREE TIME ACTIVITIES: reading, board and card games, hiking, bicycling, kayaking, taking photos, rooting for BSU hockey!

FAVORITE MOVIES: Broadcast News, The Paper, and Dr. Zhivago (which I first saw at the drive-in theatre here in Bemidji).

FAVORITE MOVIE LINE: “This could be a big break for you, prepare carefully” “Prepare what? Do you happen to have Saturday's news handy??” (from Broadcast News)

FAVORITE BOOKS: Les Miserables, The Chosen, anything by James Herriot

MOST MEMORABLE NEWS STORIES: Fargo's 1997 and 2009 floods