As I write this in mid-September, MTN has had a visitor off and on for the past couple weeks. Standing on a tree hung up in the waters of the Mississippi outside St. Anthony Main, an icon of patience and elegance, oblivious to urban traffic, to our cameras and new students, a Great Blue Heron has been seen regularly waiting, preening, watching the river flow... Meanwhile, a steady stream of new interested producers and potential producers pass through our doors for the all-important Informational Workshops (offered at no cost) every other Wednesday evening at 7 p.m.  We have recently made this session a prerequisite for production classes - and programming submission.  The point of that is to put up front our mission and in a sense, screen those who are not able to comply with our "demands."  Those demands are that the productions you work on with our equipment and facilities gets to our channels, and that they are non-commercial in nature. At the Informational Workshops we go over some of the most frequently asked questions we get, including, "How does MTN decide what goes on our channels?"  "Is there a screening committee of MTN staff who watch all submitted programs?" and "Do I have to be a member of MTN to turn in a tape I've made?" Briefly, the answers are as follows. No, we don't screen tapes before cablecast. Our obligation is to run all programs turned in, as long as they pass our initial minimal requirements. You, the producer are responsible for the tapes submitted, and must sign a release form when you submit your program. Also, surprisingly enough, you don't have to be a member of MTN to turn in programming for our channels! If you live within the city limits of Minneapolis you may submit a show without being a member. Lately, we are meeting more people who have their own camera and editing software, so this is opening up another category of producer.  If you do choose to access either one of our two studios or to checkout field equipment you must become certified on that equipment, and become a member of MTN. Other news around MTN includes a new coat of paint over our chroma-key blue wall AND floor to make for cleaner mattes in Studio A.  Thanks goes out to Jim Derks, our engineer, for the fine work on the floor just prior to the City Council's yearly visit, the televised "Member's Meeting," which gave us an opportunity to showcase MTN's wide community support. It included testimonials from a wide array of regular producer-members and brought up some of our ongoing needs and future issues confronting us.  The tape of this meeting has run on MTN channels in the recent past and is scheduled to re-run this fall in October and November. Jim Derks also continues to maintain our aging cameras and edit decks and managed our recent Used Equipment Auction.  The auction went well, bringing in a small amount of money to MTN's coffers, and cleared some space on the shelves. There are still a few bidders who have not picked up their equipment. If not claimed, the equipment will either be offered to the next highest bidder or held until our next auction, which may be held as soon as this winter.  We hope to wisely invest in new replacement equipment as the older decks and cameras go the way of the dinosaurs, and maintain our accessible climate for representational community media! This winter may bring some new additions and small changes in our access center.  Stay tuned! -- Doug Cain