BEMIDJI — A high school student from Turtle River won the Paul Bunyan Communications 2025 Youth Tour Essay Contest.
Joseph Loehlein attends Falcon View Online High School. His essay earns him a trip to Washington, D.C., in June for the 2025 Foundation for Rural Service Youth Tour, with expenses paid by the cooperative.
The trip features an overview of the telecommunications industry, meetings with members of Congress who represent rural constituents and educational sessions about the Federal Communications Commission, plus some D.C. sightseeing, including the Smithsonian Museums and a night tour of the city.
Foundation for Rural Service designs the tour to educate rural youths about the telecommunications industry and the federal political process, according to a news release from Paul Bunyan Communications.
The foundation is a part of NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association, of which the cooperative is a member. Paul Bunyan Communications has sent a local high school student on the Youth Tour since 1996.
"The FRS Youth Tour is a unique opportunity for a local student from out area to visit Washington D.C. to gain a better perspective on how regulatory decisions impact our cooperative and rural areas," stated Brian Bissonette, Paul Bunyan Communications marketing supervisor, in the release.
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