Town Square TV names new executive director
By Jake Spitzack | Staff Writer | May 2025
On May 12, lifelong South St. Paul resident and former city mayor Beth Baumann will take over the reins as executive director at Town Square Television. She succeeds Jodie Miller, who held the mantle for 31 years. Baumann is leaving behind a long career in the banking industry to guide the next chapter of the 5-channel nonprofit cable station. However, she won’t be treading new ground in the nonprofit arena. She has been board chair of the nonprofit Neighbors Inc., and a board member at a handful of other nonprofits, including the South St. Paul Educational Foundation and South St. Paul Futures.
The Town Square board of directors approached her about the position last fall, attracted by her background in government and finance.
“I was thinking about retiring from corporate America and wanted to do a job that I would enjoy and have passion around,” said Baumann. “She [Miller] was great at what she did, so there are big shoes for me to fill. It’s going to be a challenge, especially in the environment we’re in right now, but I am up for it and am excited to get started.”
Baumann will oversee a 12-member team and host of volunteers working with the Northern Dakota County Cable Commission, the nonprofit’s parent organization. First and foremost, she will be focused on securing government funding, sponsorships, donations and other forms of revenue. She’s joining at a time when the funding model for local cable stations is in flux and the threat of losing local television coverage altogether is very real.
Due to the “cord-cutting” trend – people canceling their cable TV subscriptions in favor of wireless streaming services – broadband internet companies such as Comcast and CenturyLink are paying cities less in franchise fees. Currently, cable companies are required to pay a 5% franchise fee and a 2.25% public education government fee on their video production revenue to cable commissions, which supports local programming and covers costs of staffing, equipment, and the repair and maintenance of public rights-of-ways. Those fees have supported local cable since the 1970s. While fees have already dwindled in recent years, losing them entirely would be a significant blow to Town Square and other nonprofit cable providers.
The Equal Access to Broadband Act, a bill that would restore lost franchise fees, was brought to the Minnesota Senate and House of Representatives last year but no action was taken. Baumann is hopeful it will pass this year. The bill would also ensure that broadband internet service is made available to every home in every city in the state no matter how difficult it is to install. Those in opposition say the proposed fees will be passed along to streaming service consumers, which would ultimately raise internet costs.
The Minnesota Association of Community Telecommunications Administrators is heading up the bill in partnership with The League of Minnesota Cities, which represents 800 member cities. Sen. Matt Klein (District 53, DFL) and Rep. Rick Hansen (District 53B, DFL) are co-sponsoring the bill and other local legislators have pledged their support, including Sen. Sandra Pappas (District 65, DFL) and Rep. Mary Frances Clardy (District 53A, DFL). Former Town Square executive director Jodie Miller and South St. Paul Mayor Jimmy Francis both testified in support of the bill before the House Commerce Committee last year.
“We are thrilled to have found a candidate with Beth’s unique combination of deep knowledge of this community and strong experience,” said NDC4 Commission Chair Mickey Kieffer in a statement. “We thank retiring executive director Jodie Miller for her 31 years of leadership at NDC4 and Town Square Television, and broadly throughout our state and national organizations. It would be impossible to overestimate the impact of her dedication to public service on behalf of our residents and communities.”
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In addition to getting creative with new funding streams, Baumann will continue to explore new ways to grow the nonprofit’s pool of volunteers, perhaps by reviving high school or college student internships. Volunteers with Town Square are trained to operate a wide array of equipment, including cameras, lights and control boards. Town Square also has a production truck for covering news in the community and has worked with clubs such as Two Rivers’ Tech Warriors to help cover school programming, and organizations like The Uptake, a nonprofit news organization, to cover meetings at the State Capitol.
“We’re going to try some out-of-the-box thinking and come up with a way to give more value to the communities that we serve and the businesses in those communities,” said Baumann. “I’m excited to work with the whole team at Town Square because I worked with them when I was mayor, and I just love them. They’re very qualified and experienced and knowledgeable.”
Town Square TV began in 1987 to serve the cities of South St. Paul, West St. Paul, Mendota Heights, Inver Grove Heights, Lilydale, Mendota, and Sunfish Lake. Airing on channels 14, 15, 16, 18 and 19, it covers a wide variety of local programming including Game of the Week [sports], government meetings, election candidate coverage, community events, concerts and its Insight 7 news show. As a public access network, anybody can visit the studio at 5845 Blaine Ave. E. in Inver Grove Heights to use its video production equipment and create their own show to be aired. Likewise, people can edit prerecorded content at the studio or submit a completed program. Programs are accepted first-come, first-served and aren’t discriminated against based on content.
The studio features conference and office space, a recording area with new cameras, five editing suites with the latest software, portable camera equipment, newly updated control room equipment and more. Courses and workshops are held to teach people how to create shows. For more information, call 651-352-6100 or visit townsquare.tv. For more information on the Equal Access to Broadband Act, which is included in the House Commerce Committee Omnibus Bill (HF4077), visit mactamn.org/Legislation.
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