Mid-America EMMY Awards/NATAS

11/24/2025

One of the highlights of Emmy weekend was a Student Workshop planned by our Education Committee, led by Dr. Ginger Blackstone & Dr. Deb Larson. Students learned from a panel of industry pros from all platforms of visual media- from journalism to advertising- moderated by our own Mid-America President Kris Ketz KMBC. Our panel included Robin Jackson - jackson • appleton, Brett McMillan - St. Louis Cardinals, Amber Ruch - KFVS-TV, Nathan Vickers - KMOV & Shirley Washington - Fox2Now.

After the panel, students gathered in micro sessions with even more industry pros- including Brett Akagi - Akagi Media, Anne Hughes - WQAD, Kevin Johnson - Coolfire Studios, Carly O'Keefe KFVS, Kalup Phillips - KFVS-TV & Sonseeahray Tonsall - KARK 4 News.

Dedicated to promoting educational opportunities in Mid-America for the next Generation, we would like to thank everyone for the taking the time to invest in these students. Congrats to Deb & Ginger on a great workshop, and many thanks to all the students who joined us!

11/11/2025

Words just seem inadequate.

10/28/2025

What a GREAT retrospective of Anne-Marie!!

10/25/2025

We are getting ready for the Mid-America EMMY Awards/NATAS Gala tonight! President Kris Ketz with KMBC will walk you through what to expect if you are one of our winners tonight.

10/25/2025

We are getting ready for the Mid-America EMMY Awards/NATAS Gala tonight! President Kris Ketz with KMBC will walk you through what to expect if you are one of our winners tonight.

10/24/2025

It’s EMMY weekend and the Mid-America EMMY Awards/NATAS advance team is already at the Ameristar Casino Resort Spa St. Charles getting everything picture perfect for you! Good luck to all the nominees!

10/24/2025

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO! The Ameristar is a big place- let us save you some steps!

If you’re staying at the Hotel- when you drive over the entrance bridge, immediately take a LEFT into the parking garage & park near an elevator. Those elevators will take you to Lobby for check-in.

If you’re coming straight to the Gala- when you drive over the entrance bridge, you’ll want to park in the garage on your RIGHT. Park by the elevator -3rd Floor is best if there is availability- but whatever floor you park on, find your way to the 3rd floor elevators and look for/follow the signs for the Conference Rooms Convention Center!

10/23/2025

Can't wait to honor Paul this weekend!

Paul Pepper will be recognized by Mid-America EMMY Awards/NATAS with its Gold Circle award on Oct. 25, 2025, in St. Charles, Missouri. Professor Emeritus Stacey Woelfel presented Pepper with the award last month at RJI TV during a recording session that'll be shown at the ceremony.

"The Gold Circle recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to television for fifty years or more," according to the Mid-America chapter of the Emmys.

KOMU 8 will air a retrospective on Pepper's career during the 6 p.m. newscast on Thursday, Oct. 23. Pepper was a fixture on KOMU and KBIA 91.3 FM from 1969 until his retirement in 2023.

Pictured: Paul Pepper, left, Stacey Woelfel and Travis McMillen, senior media producer for RJI and the J-School, whose career started on "Pepper & Friends."

KOMU-TV live stream: https://www.komu.com/streaming/.

Read "Paul Pepper: The man behind the microphone": https://www.voxmagazine.com/magazine/paul-pepper-kbia-radio-and-friends-host/article_24548f32-a95a-11e8-83f4-5334453f47bd.html.

📷: Nate Brown

10/16/2025

Congratulations to the 2025 George F. Davis Grant Recipients! Thank you to all who applied for this year’s grant- we appreciate your dedication to continued growth and excellence in our industry!