Sioux City Journal from Sioux City, Iowa • 37

BIC on ALL patterned sportcoats, too! SUNDAY, DEC. 21, 2008 I Dl IDjftH Big video game fans prove crucial to the industry I D6 KARLTONS 515 4th- Downtown (712) 2554040 atbeis look to emmeirge ffromra bamikryptoy KMEG, KPTH, eight other Pappas affiliates auctioned for $260 millions Ml Online How much do you know about your local TV stations? Take Dakota Dunes, said last week operations at the local affiilate continue as usual. Eymer sad he was pleased with the results of the auction, which he noted kept the stations together as a group. Stations included in auction Here are the 10 Pappas Telecasting stations included in the recent bankruptcy auction. The list includes the network affiliations and cities: KPTH (Fox) and KMEG (CBS), both Sioux City; KPTM (Fox) and KXVO (CW), both Omaha; KMPH (Fox) and KFRE-TV (CW), Fresno-Visalia, KTNC (TuVisi6n) San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, KAZH (TuVision) Houston; KDBC (CBS) El Paso, Texas; and KCWK (CW) Yakima-Pasco-Richland-Ken-newick, Wash.

By Dave Dreeszen ddreeszensiouxcityjournal.com DAKOTA DUNES Two local television stations appear poised to remove the financial cloud they've operated under for the last six months. KMEG, the local CBS affiliate, and KPTH, the Fox affiliate, were among 10 Pappas Telecasting stations acquired for $260 million recently as part of a Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy filing. The stations, which also included local affiliates in Omaha, were auctioned to pay the company's multi-million dollar debt. Judge Peter Walsh, U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, is scheduled to decide Monday whether to accept the only bid, submitted by New World TV Group, a limited liability company finan- 'We're in bankruptcy and some bills will have to be paid Eymer said.

The financial uncertainty also made it more challenging to recruit on-air talent and sales representatives, the general manager said. According to an email Williams sent to Pappas staff members following the auction, New World TV will be headed by longtime local station group executives Dan Sullivan and Bert Ellis. Eymer praised the appointments, noting that Sullivan is familiar with KMEG and KPTH offices, having visited previously. Like other media companies, KPTH and KMEG still face a challenging environment headed into 2009, said Dave Madsen, former station man- AUCTI0N, PAGE D7 our online quiz at siouxcityjournal.com. cially backed by Pappas lenders, the Fortress group.

As part of its bid, New World TV submitted plan to operate the 10 stations under what's known as an LMA, or local marketing agreements. If Walsh approves the deal, the new owners then would be required to apply to the Federal Communications Commission to transfer each of the stations' licenses. Scott Eymer, vice president and general manager for KMEG and KPTH, which share staff and offices in the auction proceedings. Eymer said it was frustrating for KMEG and KPTH to get grouped in the bankruptcy proceedings because the local stations were "performing well." Some local vendors also got caught up in the proceedings. The court did not allow the stations to pay any bills incurred prior to the bankruptcy filing on May 10.

"We sat down across the table (with vendors) and said, Ieiod pro Briar Cliff launches student-run graphic design business If fV i. From our perspective, it will be terrific to put bankruptcy of our parent company behind us," he said. "I know my employees and I Scott Eymer are anxious to move on. It certainly has been on our employees minds." New World's bid for the 10 stations was less than the $284 miillion loan that Pappas Telecasting secured in March 2006 from the Fortress group of lenders. Pappas owner Harry J.

About Cliff Works WHAT IS IT? A new student-run graphic design business at Briar Cliff University WHO'S BEHIND IT? Cliff Works is run by Briar Cliff students Jodi Gosch, Marena Fritzler, Megan Uhl and Emilee Straka. Faculty advisors are Judy under the care and supervision of Siouxland Obstetrics and Gynecology physicans, Drs. Edward P. Hagen, Paul Eastman, Tauhni Hunt and Angela Aldrich, offers a range of aesthetic medical treatments for If la' i I Pappas and his wife, Stella, personally guaranteed $30 million of that loan. In May, creditors forced Pappas into Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The filing was supposed to give the company time to come up with a reorganization plan, but that didn't happen. A trustee, E. Roger Williams, was appointed to oversee the operations and financial affairs. In late October, Williams filed a motion to start Thompson and Sunyoung Park. WHAT DO THEY OFFER? Primary focus is on print media, but other services, such as Web design, also are available.

HOW TO CONTACT? Call Cliff Works at 712-279-5515 or email at: women. After the centre decided to retool its look, Dr. Eastman's wife, Marilyn, an instructor of business administration at Briar Cliff, suggested they give Cliff Works a try. After meeting with Rejuvena taken to minimize the impact on our family, friends, neighbors, and on our community. Although it is always important to patronize our community's stores, restaurants, and other enterprises, supporting our Siouxland businesses by shopping locally becomes vitally important during an economic downturn.

During a recession, as consumers begin to reduce their expenditures, fewer dollars flow through our local economy and if this more cautious spending becomes too prevalent, it adversely affects the ability of the private sector to turn a profit. Of course, if businesses have difficulty generating earnings, they look to cut their own expenses and may be forced to layoff employees and this harmful cycle Journal photo by Jerry Mennenga Find more photos and buy copies at slouxcityjournal.com Principals in Cliff Works, a new student-run graphic design business at Briar Cliff University, are shown in the college's Intergrated Multimedia Lab with 'some of their designs. Clockwise from bottom left is: sophomore Emilee Straka, junior Megan Uhl, senior Marena Fritzler and senior Jodi Gosch. LE MARS, IOWA Hospital receives national award Press Ganey Associates has named Floyd Valley Hospital as a winner of its 2008 Summit Award Winner. Press Ganey currently partners with more than 7,000 health care facilities including over 40 percent of U.S.

hospitals to measure and improve the quality of their care. The company's databases are the largest in the industry, and allow facilities nationwide to benchmark their results against peer organizations. The Summit Award recognizes top performing facilities that sustain the highest level of customer satisfaction for three or more consecutive years. Le Mars-based Floyd Valley, rec; ognized for its achievement in emergency care, is just one of the nation.s 46 organizations to receive the honor in 2008. SIOUX CITY Donations help WIT buy 3-D printer Western Iowa Tech Community College has purchased a new state-of-the-art 3-D printer with the help of three businesses: Wells' Dairy State Steel Supply Company and Valmont Industries Inc.

The printer uses high performance composite and elas-tomeric printing material make 3-D model prototypes. It offers the option of printing in multiple colors to enhance the quality and contrast of the prototypes. The new technology enhances student skills with hands-on learning and provide cost effective modeling capabilities to local and area businesses. WIT President Dr. Robert Dunker said the donations would allow the college to strengthen partnerships with local and area businesses.

Representatives of three companies attended an appreciation event last Tuesday at WIT, where they accepted plaques honoring the donations. A demonstration of the new printer followed, showcasing the printer's design capabilities. Dave Dreeszen INSIDE New ag secretary Vilsack career launched from small-town tragedy. AGRIBUSINESS D5 ONLINE Eye on Business blog Journal business editor Dave Dreeszen talks about what's happening on the local business scene in his Eye on Business blog at slouxcltyJournal.com blogs. fir' By Dave Dreeszen ddreeszensiouxcityjournal.com SIOUX CITY Briar Cliff University seniors Jodi Gosch and Marena Fritzler look forward to taking what they learned about graphic design out into the real world.

And they won't have to wait until graduation to do so. Gosch and Fritzler, along with underclassmen Emilee Straka and Megan Uhl, are principals in a newly formed student-run design business called Cliff Works. The venture the graphic design majors invaluable hands-on experience working with professional clients both on and office campus. In the process, the students simultaneously earn class credit and hourly pay for their work, as well as a chance to build their portfolios. Cliff Works is the latest startup business housed in Briar Cliff's Eldon and Regina Roth Center for En-trepreneur- Sunyoung Park ship.

The small business lab, which opened seven years ago in Heelan Hall, is named for the co- founders of Beef Products Inc. The college provides seed money, office space and equipment for student-run businesses, as Judy Thompson well as support from faculty and other students. Sunyoung Park, instructor of graphic design, and Judy Thompson, professor of busi- Tis the Whether you greet your friends with a cheerful "Merry Christmas" or a warm "Happy Holidays," chances are you exchange gifts with family and friends at this time of year. With Christmas just a few days away, it is also likely that you may be doing some last minute shopping and, as this column aims to explain, it has never been more important than right now to support our local economy. Unfortunately, just as these late-December procrastinators scramble to complete their "to-do" lists, news outlets are continuously warning of a deepening recession.

So, as the national media repeatedly reports on how little consumers are spending, how significantly retailers arc being forced to slash prices, and ultimately keep green in Siouxland tion officials, Uhl and Straka returned with a number of different ideas, recalled Kim Leaf, administrator of Siouxland Obstetrics and Gynecology. The centre picked the best design, and the students then turned it into a print advertisement, which ran in the Sioux City Journal in October. "They were very open to ideas," Leaf said. "If we didn't like something, they were willing to change it. They were very pleasant, and they were very good." Uhl said she was surprised by DESIGN, PAGE D7 repeats itself as the economy spirals downwards.

One way that we can all help bolster Siouxland's economy during the difficult days ahead is by reminding ourselves and encouraging others to shop locally. By spending our limited resources with businesses in the tri-state region, we help strengthen our own economy and protect the jobs of our friends and neighbors. It may not seem like much, but if we all did our holiday and Christmas shopping right here in the Sioux City metro, those dollars would remain here resulting in a stronger regional economy which, in the end, benefits all of us. This is certainly not to say that we should avoid making MCGOWAN, PAGE D7 ness administration, serve as faculty advisors for Cliff Works. "The idea has been around a few years, but it's had some bumps and starts," Thompson said.

During the recently completed fall term, Gosch and Fritzler interned at a firm in Chicago, where Briar Cliff offers an off-campus program. Meanwhile, Straka, a sophomore from Battle Creek, and Uhl, a junior from Merrill, Iowa, completed a project for Cliff Works' first client, the Rejuvenation Centre. The Dakota Dunes centre, season to A how weak the U.S. economy is, consumer confidence is predictably declining. As consumer confidence falls, the possibility of entering a vicious cycle of plummeting sales and decreasing profits begins to crystallize which, in turn, can lead to rising unemployment and lower incomes.

This is why recessions can be so unpredictable and scary. While Siouxland cannot insulate itself from a deteriorating national economy, there are proactive steps that can be 4 7 Journal photo by Davt Dreeuen Shopper Julie Culler of Kingsley, Iowa, looks over a farm toy at the Eastgate Bomgaars store in Sioux City. Sioux City-based Bomgaars operates 44 farm and home stores in the tri-state region..