Open for Business Page

elcome to the Open for Business Website! This is the online headquarters for our cable television show that appears on Mediacom Cable Channel 17 and 22 and, of course, on this website. Open for Business is a collaboration between the Dubuque Community School District and Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce. The program is in its second year, and we have over 13 shows under our collective belts.

In this still frame are two of the stars of our show, Kevin Lynch, of Net-Smart, a computer and network systems integrator and web hosting company in Dubuque, and Jan Powers, Powers of Communication, a consulting firm. They report on business news in the community and interview people "who mean business."

Mediacom Schedule

Chan 17

Chan 22

Wednesday

4:00 PM

7:30 PM

Thursday

7:30 PM

Friday

4:00 PM

Channel 22

Monday

10:00 AM

8:00 PM

Tuesday

3:30 PM

Wednesday

11:30 AM

Thursday

10:00 AM

3:30 PM

Friday

11:30 AM

The show was created to inform citizens of happenings among Dubuque area businesses. Also the show is aimed at students to give them a better and more complete picture of the kinds of jobs and careers available to pursue in our Tri-State Area.

A fun feature of the show is called "Video Safari," in which students from Washington Junior High take a tour of an area business, and go behind the scenes in discovery of what makes that business work. The focus is on possible careers or business areas that students might consider in their futures. It all connects education and our business community in several important ways.

The video files on this website are available to RealPlayer equipped browsers. RealPlayer is free and available to download from this page. Click on this button, and follow the instructions on how to make your browser multimedia capable with RealPlayer.

Each show is a half hour long and they are broadcast continually on Mediacom Cable and available on demand on this website. There are new programs every month.

The shows contain three segments. The first segment is news from businesses and the Chamber of Commerce. Hosts Jan Powers and Kevin Lynch bring you up to date on business goings-on in the Tri-State Area.

The middle segment of our show is of course the Video Safari hosted by students of the Dubuque Community School District.

The third segment of each show is entitled, People Who Mean Business, and it features an interview with one of the staff members of the Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce. These people have their fingers on the pulse of area business. They are connected, knowledgeable, and you will surely learn something with every episode of Open for Business.

The entire production is the work of the Dubuque Community School District's Multimedia Lab and Gary Olsen. Gary regularly populates this website and our local cable TV channels with original programming. He's won several awards for his work on behalf of the school district but area businesses as well, among them, John Deere. Gary also teaches media and communication courses at Clarke College in Dubuque. Here he's pictured with Clarke's Professor and chair of Clarke's Communication Department , Dr. Abdul Sinno (middle).

Our show won an award from the Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce for "contributions made to the Dubuque business community" at their Annual Meeting/ Luncheon event in June. From left to right is Kalli Martin, Lindsey Kemp, Kevin Bibelhausen, Kristen Bukowski, Onica Matsika, and Principal of Washington Junior High School, Dale Lass. Click on it to enlarge and print.

Official Program Guide and Online Videos

Dubuque Regional Airport

The crew from Open for Business travels to the Dubuque Regional Airport and they do everything from take a first-ever flight in a small plane to touring the control tower. We also interview key personnel and learn about careers in aviation and the impact a regional airport has on the economy. By the way, this is Spencer Washburn at the helm of an American passenger jet on the runway. He's not flying it (yet) but he is interviewing one of the crewmembers.

So take flight with us to the Dubuque Area Regional Airport, and you can meet the head flight instructor for the University of Dubuque Aviation Program. Plus, we get to go behind the scenes in the airport maintenance department. Now before you come to the wrong conclusion, reconsider the entertainment and education value of Dubuque's largest snowplow or how cool it would be to ride in an airport firetruck that has not one but two remote water canons. And we shot them, too! Click here!

The Dubuque Regional Humane Society

The Open for Business Crew visits the Dubuque Regional Humane Society. Did you know that it's over 100 years old, and in the early days their primary function in the community was not only bring to justice those people who abused animals such as horses, primarily, but the Society also cared for the "the girls at the local dance halls," according to the current director of the Human Society. Over the years, as companion animals became more popular and horses gave way to the automobile and the agricultural tractor, the mission of the Society shifted. The Society is one of the largest volunteer organizations in the city. It operates a gift shop, pet cemetary and crematory, animal health services, and provides a host of other services including pet boarding. Click here for the movies page.

Sundown Mountain and Thurnderbirds Hockey Combine in this Winter Sports and Recreation Special

Jan Powers and Kevin Lynch interview one of the champion Thunderbirds Hockey players to get an up close and personal view on what it's like living in Dubuque, away from home, and playing for an winning hockey franchise. Five Flags Center is the home ice for the T-Birds, who are presently among the winningest teams in their league. We interview the coach and marketing officer for the club to find out just how much Thunderbirds Hockey has impacted the city's economy and recreational options. No doubt about it... Dubuque has become a "hockey town."

Our Open for Business Crew descended upon Sundown Mountain Ski Resort. Perhaps we should say, "descended down the Mountain at Sundown Ski Resort," because that's precisely what our youth reporters did on this program. They all took ski lessons! Cody Schneider (below) learned how to make snow, too. Above, Mary Noesen interviews the manager of Sundown, Mark Dietz.

Snowmaking is a combination of art and science... mostly science, and Cody interviewed the chief snowmaker. In addition, ski lessons were conducted by one of the most senior members of the Dubuque Sundown Mountain Ski School, Ernie Mareske. At 80+ years old, Ernie (below being interviewed by George Washington Middle School's Kala Seigworth) has been skiing most of his life and served with the 10th Mountain Division fighting the Nazis in World War II.

The students took to the slopes with little difficulty, and within minutes were descending the mountain and making excellent turns. This show has all kinds of other information like how this resort operates, how it markets, and the impact Sundown has on the area economy.

*Video File Options*

RealPlayer	RealPlayer	RealPlayer	WindowsMedia
The turtle is for a small movie that does not stream but downloads as a complete file to your computer where you can save and play it with RealPlayer. Ideal for phone modems. The rabbit is for a larger movie that streams into your browser quickly. This is ideal for high-speed networks, DSL, and cable modems. The third button is a larger streaming video (320 pixels wide) for fast network connections. The fourth button is a Windows Media File, also requiring a high speed connection. It's very good quality, and it will play in Windows ME and WindowsXP versions of Internet Explorer with built-in Windows Media Player. Bonus: Download the large RealPlayer file (non-streaming version) for your personal archive (high-speed access recommended)

Dec 2004 Behind the Scenes at Hy-Vee

Did you know that Hy-Vee is employee owned and is the fifth largest privately held company in the nation? It all started in Iowa, and now the company is one of the most modern, technically efficient, and innovative food retailers in the industry. Our new Open four Business Crew from Washington Middle School joins our regular hosts, Kevin Lynch and Jan Powers, on this in-depth program examining one of the most successful businesses in the area. Not only are they continually expanding, but Hy-Vee is now in the gas and convenience store business with the opening of their Hy-Vee Gas operation at Asbury Plaza on Dubuque's West End.

Our new hosts from Washington, by the way, include Kayla Siegworth, Cody Schneider, and Mary Nessan. All three have had experience with the Washington News broadcast activities under the direction of Mr. Tom Degree, but this is their first experience with a big-time local cable show (you have to be smiling at those last five words). This show is 52 minutes long, so go buy a Starbucks Cafe Grande from Hy-Vee's Asbury store, kick back and click on the appropriate button below to watch the best darn show about a supermarket chain you're ever likely to see.

Assisting us on this production was second unit camera operator, Tim Brechlin, a Communication major from Clarke College, and our on-location audio engineer is Jim Barefoot, manager of Mediacom Community Access Television.

*Video File Options*

RealPlayer	RealPlayer	RealPlayer	WindowsMedia
The turtle is for a small movie that does not stream but downloads as a complete file to your computer where you can save and play it with RealPlayer. Ideal for phone modems. The rabbit is for a larger movie that streams into your browser quickly. This is ideal for high-speed networks, DSL, and cable modems. The third button is a larger streaming video (320 pixels wide) for fast network connections. The fourth button is a Windows Media File, also requiring a high speed connection. It's very good quality, and it will play in Windows ME and WindowsXP versions of Internet Explorer with built-in Windows Media Player. Bonus: Download the large RealPlayer file (non-streaming version) for your personal archive (high-speed access recommended)

Nov 2004 How Banking Builds Community

Banking is the engine that runs economic development in a community. The Open for Business crew, including our youth reporters, visited one of Dubuque's largest banking institutions, Dubuque Bank & Trust, to see how a bank builds community through the services it provides its customers. Our intrepid reporters, Jan Powers, Kevin Lynch, Kevin Bibelhausen, Kristen Bukowski and Onica Matsika are pictured above. Kevin Bibelhausen, with the help of Kristen and Onica, actually open a new bank account and then follow his money through the community. They visit a farm and a manufacturing company that sources its financing with the bank, and we see first hand how money circulates throughout the economy from deposits, to mortgages, from savings, to loans for agricultural purposes. We

visit Morrison Brothers, a manufacturing company in Dubuque that uses DB&T financing to expand its business and purchase technology. We visit the Manternach Farm in Cascade, IA, that uses DB&T to finance farm equipment, expansion, seed and livestock. In the above photo we introduce three new reporters from Washington Middle School who will be joining our staff in the coming year as the reporting team we've come to know and love this past year moves on to high school.

A baby pig from the Manternach Farm in Cascade, Iowa, is featured on the segment about agriculture in our community.

The turtle is for a small movie that does not stream but downloads as a complete file to your computer where you can save and play it with RealPlayer. Ideal for phone modems.

The rabbit is for a larger movie that streams into your browser quickly. This is ideal for high-speed networks, DSL, and cable modems. The third button is a larger streaming video (320 pixels wide) for fast network connections. High-speed access recommended. Bonus: Download the large file (non-streaming version) for your personal archive (high-speed access recommended)

Fall 2004 Open for Business is in Galena

The Open for Business crew is in Galena, Illinois to find out what over a million visitors a year love about this old town 15 miles east of Dubuque, Iowa, nestled in the rolling and wooded northwest Illinois countryside. We visit a wonderful Galena business, Simply Elegant, to find out what it takes to succeed in Galena's downtown retail community. We visit a bed and breakfast establishment, Farmer's Guest House, to learn what it takes to be a great host in the B&B trade.

The Video Safari crew of Kevin, Kali and Kristen (above and left) visit Fried Green Tomatoes, a splendid downtown restaurant where the kids learn how to cook their signature dish, Fried Green Tomatoes, of course. Also we feature an interview with Bob Berglin, Workforce Development Manager for the Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce.

At left is Kevin Lynch and Jan Powers with the owner of Simply Elegant, Robin Vaughn, as they prepare for shopping in downtown Galena.

The turtle is for a small movie that does not stream but downloads as a complete file to your computer where you can save and play it with RealPlayer. Ideal for phone modems.

July 14, National Mississippi River Museum

The Open for Business bunch is at the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium at the Port of Dubuque. This special show tours the museum, gets some behind-the-scenes interviews with staff, and assesses the tremendous success this facility has become in its first year of business.

At left are our hosts of the program, Jan and Kevin, and above left is our super crew from Washington Junior High School including Kevin, Kali, Lindsay, Onica and Kristen. The Washington students are all graduated and on to High School. Some new students will be introduced in our program in the coming months.

The turtle is for a small movie that does not stream but downloads as a complete file to your computer where you can save and play it with RealPlayer. Ideal for phone modems.

June 1, 04 Mercy Medical Center

Our Open for Business crew tours Mercy Medical Center, and this video provides a view of health care in our city you may not have seen. We go behind the scenes, for example, to food preparation, the laundry, the pharmacy (where we get inside a robot that dispenses prescriptions), and we find out the real business behind health care. Our Video Safari students (above) from Washington Junior High, are on hand for an up close and personal view of emergency medicine from a kid's perspective. The hospital doesn't have to be a scary place

You must consider that health care is one of the largest employers in our city, and the profession and jobs are growing in this field as the population increases and the majority of that population ages. Above is Mercy's CEO, Russell Knight, speaking to Kevin Lynch and Jan Powers. This show has a 50 minute running time.

Bonus: Download the large file (non-streaming version) for your personal archive (high-speed access recommended)

The turtle is for a small movie that does not stream but downloads as a complete file to your computer where you can save and play it with RealPlayer. Ideal for phone modems. The rabbit is for a larger movie that streams into your browser quickly. This is ideal for high-speed networks, DSL, and cable modems. The third button is a larger streaming video (320 pixels wide) for fast network connections. High-speed access recommended.

March 26, 04 Betty Jane Candies!

The Home of the Gremlins is Open for Business in this magnificent Video Safari that is part of this March and April special edition of our show. Onica Matsika (Washington Junior High) Leah Rohrs (Hempstead), and Dylan Rohrs (Hoover Elementary) are our hosts learning how Betty Jane Candies makes its celebrated candy filled chocolate Easter Eggs. This is a show not to be missed if you're a fan of Betty Jane Candies.

Owner and grandaughter of the founder of Betty Jane's, Lennae Heinz, poses with our performers above. The company has been family owned since the 1930s, and they've maintained their wonderful traditions as well as their recipes for great candies. But Betty Jane Candies has also kept up with the times. Their website www.bettyjanecandies.com sells their beloved confections around the world online. See more photos by clicking here!