Category: News and Events

Sun Prairie residents will have a lot to decide when they head to the polls on April 6. And the Sun Prairie Media Center is offering extensive programming to help residents make those decisions. Thanks largely to candidate forums hosted by Chris Mertes and Don Hooser of the public-affairs program “Talk of the Town,” KSUN viewers will soon have access to programs specifically produced to assist voters in making informed choices during the upcoming spring election. “Talk of the Town” will soon tape two candidate forums at the Sun Prairie Media Center: On March 5, District 2 incumbent Bob Jokisch and challenger Bill Baker will be featured, followed by a March 12 tape date for SPASD School Board candidates Alwyn Foster, Becky McCright, and incumbent Bryn Horton. In that race,…

The Sun Prairie Media Center is proud to announce that “Sun Prairie In Focus,” the Dan Presser-produced weekly video newscast, is expanding from its roughly 10-minute length to a full 30-minute weekly newscast. The expansion took effect with the episode first released on Friday, February 12, 2021. There are several elements being added to “Sun Prairie In Focus” to accommodate the longer length. There will be a weekly Sun Prairie sports segment anchored by Sun Prairie Star sports editor Jeff Seisser. There will also be regular contributions from Rep. Gary Hebl, who will be providing updates from the state capitol, as well as former City of Sun Prairie alderperson Bill Connors, who will be providing updates, previews, and news from city council and Sun Prairie boards and commissions. On the…

The Sun Prairie Media Center is happy to be premiering “Community Conversations,” a newly-produced special with the intent of informing the Sun Prairie community about what has happened during the past year and what lies ahead in 2021. The cornerstone of the special is Mayor Paul Esser’s annual “State of the City,” which will look at the breakdown, impact, and distribution of residents’ tax bills, challenges and successes the city had in 2020, what city leaders forecast in 2021, and more. Following the Mayor’s “SOTC,” Esser and his co-host Taylor Brown of the city’s economic development will speak to Colonial Club executive director Bob Power, Chamber of Commerce executive director Amy Skicki, and Joanna Cervantes, who until very recently was the executive director of Sunshine Place. Power, Cervantes, and Skicki…

Just this past week we received the rotten news that Nancy McMahon passed away. For those unfamiliar with Nancy, she was a tireless advocate for public television and specifically the role youth could play in media. McMahon, along with Marieli Rowe (who passed away late in 2020) and Bob Rodriguez, created KIDS-4 and founded Sun Prairie Cable Access in the mid-1970s. All that we do to this day at the Media Center and with the KIDS-4 program would not be possible without the visionary and pioneering efforts of McMahon. We try every day in some small way to add to the legacy that she created. Nancy McMahon obituary.

The Sun Prairie Media Center is pleased to announce that as the Sun Prairie Cardinals boys’ and girls’ basketball teams head on the road to compete outside of Dane County, 103.5 FM The Sun Community Radio is going with them. This follows the decision of the Sun Prairie Area School District to begin winter sports competitions on January 23 outside of Dane County as in-county competitions are still forbidden under the latest Public Health Madison and Dane County guidelines. These are the games that the Media Center is planning to carry live on 103.5 FM: Saturday, January 23                   1 PM               Girls Basketball at Appleton EastSaturday, January 23                   7 PM               Boys Basketball at FreedomThursday, January 28                   7 PM               Boys Basketball at EdgertonFriday, January 29                        2 PM                Boys Basketball at…

The City of Sun Prairie is celebrating the 73rd annual Sun Prairie Groundhog Day Prognostication with a virtual ceremony on Tuesday, February 2, 2021 produced by the Sun Prairie Media Center.  The ceremony will begin aired at 7:00AM with the Prognostication taking place at sunrise. Join us for a fun morning filled with surprises to hear Jimmy’s prediction!  Jimmy the Groundhog has an extremely high accuracy rate on his annual predictions, making him an outstanding leader in meteorological circles.You can tune into the special broadcast via TDS Channel 1013 (HD), Charter Channel 983 (SD only), Roku app (search for KSUN), Apple TV app (search for KSUN), Mobile app (search for Sun Prairie Media Center in app store or Google Play), https://www.sunprairiemediacenter.com/ksun/, or the Sun Prairie Media Center’s Facebook page.New to…

Staff at the Sun Prairie Media Center are saddened to report that a key figure in the formation of KIDS-4, the local cable channel that has featured programming for kids by kids since the 1970s, has passed away. Mary Dorothy “Marieli” Rowe died on December 13, 2020, at the age of 94 following a battle with cancer. Rowe was born on August 13, 1926 in Bonn, Germany, eventually moving with her family first to Switzerland and then to New York City. After getting married in 1949, Rowe and her husband moved to Boulder, Colorado, and then to Madison, Wisconsin in 1957. It was after the move to Madison that Rowe became interested in the relatively new medium of television, joining the Wisconsin Association for Better Broadcasts, a group dedicated to…

The year 2020 marks the 105th year of the lighting of the tree outside the Sun Prairie Historical Museum and Library. Unfortunately, due to COVID restrictions, the city did not host a tree lighting event as in years past. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t see the tree lit up for the first time, as the Sun Prairie Media Center provided coverage of a virtual tree lighting. Special programming featuring holiday selections from the Soggy Prairie Boys, contributions from 2020-2021 KIDS-4 participants, as well as a special reading of “The Night Before Christmas” featuring – who else – Santa Claus was featured in the virtual tree lighting video. To wrap up the video, the Media Center provides a virtual trip through the Holiday Lights Drive Thru Parade that took place…

In light of the city’s decision this week to close city facilities (except by appointment) and Public Health Madison and Dane County’s issuance of Emergency Order #10, which prohibits indoor mass gatherings of any size, the Sun Prairie Media Center will be suspending in-person KIDS-4 classes beginning Wednesday, November 24. KIDS-4 is the SPMC’s after-school program during which SPASD students produce video and radio programming to air on KIDS-4 and 103.5 FM The Sun Community Radio. KIDS-4 production crews are typically each between six-eight students. “We are saddened by the decision but understand the paramount need to keep residents and city staff safe,” said SPMC director Jeff Robbins. The SPMC unveiled their plans for the remainder of the 2020-2021 KIDS-4 crew season, which typically runs from October to April. The…

The Sun Prairie Police Department is pleased to announce that they will be offering a virtual Citizens Academy for 2020.  Unfortunately with the COVID-19 pandemic, the department is not able to offer in person classes as in years past.  However, knowing the importance of this academy, including the ability to educate the citizens of Sun Prairie on the training and mission of the Sun Prairie Police Department and its staff, along with the goal of transparency to our great community, the department felt strongly to offer this academy virtually.  In partnership with the Sun Prairie Media Center, we will be able to make that happen. The 2020 Virtual Citizens Academy will be 12 different sessions that will be aired on Wednesday nights from 7:00pm to no later than 8:30pm.  These…