Editor’s Note: The City of New Ulm presents a weekly column highlighting activities in different departments in the city government. Once a month the city will answer questions from readers. Questions on New Ulm city issues can be sent to comments@ci.new-ulm.mn.us.

In the fall of 2016 New Ulm Community Access Television (NUCAT) began a collaboration with the New Ulm Public Middle School to provide training in Media Technology.

The 8th grade media class taught by Vickie Tambornino is provided with weekly lessons in video production terms and techniques from NUCAT Staff. The class culminates in the creation of the New Ulm Middle School Newscast, a program comprised of interviews of select school teachers, staff, sports teams, and clubs. This show is produced, shot, and edited by the students themselves and broadcast to the entire school as well as on the NUCAT channel on NU-Telecom Ch.3 and Comcast Ch. 14.

Throughout the trimester the students complete exercises demonstrating newfound skills in shot composition, interviewing skills, and editing techniques. The goal of the class is to get students to effectively use video to express themselves in a professional and creative way.

NUCAT Staff also provide one-on-one video equipment training to the public. Courses in portable camera packages, editing software, producing techniques, and TV studio production are provided free of charge to members of the New Ulm community. Community Access is a great way to share a message to an audience of your very own neighbors in the community of New Ulm. If you have an idea for a new program or would like to learn how to use the equipment to record and share a community event (such as historical presentations, music concerts, public forums, sporting events, talk shows, etc.) stop by the NUCAT office located in the lower level of the New Ulm Public Library at 17 N. Broadway. You can also contact the office at (507)359-8290 or send an e-mail to the coordinator at steven.sherman@ci.new-ulm.mn.us.

NUCAT is a great way to stay informed about local current events. City Council and the Public Utilities Commission are aired live and all other city commissions and board meeting are recorded in the City Hall Council Chambers by NUCAT staff and shared on the NUCAT cable channel. Tune in to learn more about what is going on in local government. If you need to review a meeting you can also find the recordings on the city of New Ulm Youtube channel.

If you have a short public service announcement video or bulletin message those can also be submitted to NUCAT to be aired between regular programming. Bulletin messages are best when they are provided in landscape mode and are kept to minimal key information to be more easily read on television screens.

The NUCAT department and staff are excited to continue working with the community and volunteers to provide a quality and positive experience for viewers to find content that is educational, informative, and entertaining!