Bismarck Mayor Mike Schmitz will host a monthly conversational program dedicated to bringing enhanced transparency to the City of Bismarck’s operations.
“Bismarck Insights with Mayor Mike Schmitz” will be unveiled the week of December 19 through Dakota Media Access. The 30-minute monthly program will feature a conversation between the Mayor of Bismarck and a variety of individuals who impact the Capital City.
“When I was elected as mayor, I wanted to ensure we emphasize transparency,” said Schmitz. “This program will serve as a valuable resource for the citizens of Bismarck by peeling back some of the layers between themselves and the city that brings them a variety of services every day.”
The program’s first episode will feature City Administrator Keith Hunke. Hunke first began working for the City of Bismarck as a laborer in Public Works in 1982 and has advanced to the city’s highest non-elected position.
“Keith was a natural fit for that first episode,” said Schmitz. “He has decades of experience with all things regarding Bismarck and has seen the city inside and out, top to bottom. He can speak to every topic about Bismarck’s local government and approaches city leadership with thoughtfulness and appropriateness. No one would have been a better fit for that first program.”
Future episodes will feature City staff including Public Works Utility Operations Director Michelle Klose, Police Chief Dave Draovitch, Fire Chief Joel Boespflug, Finance Director Dmitriy Chernyak and City Engineer Gabe Schell.
Schmitz is a lifelong North Dakotan, who was elected as Bismarck’s mayor in June. In addition to his role as mayor, Schmitz works as a Certified Public Accountant and is an owner with the firm Schmitz-Holmstrom CPAs. He graduated from the University of Mary in 1984.
Bismarck Insights will appear across the spectrum of Dakota Media Access programming:
- Government Access via channels 2 and 602HD, as well as on FreeTV.org, ROKU, AppleTV and FireTV
- Tuesdays at 4:15 p.m. (Program will be pre-empted every other month for Burleigh County Human Service Board meeting)
- Thursdays at Noon
- Saturdays at Noon
- Sundays at 6 p.m.
- Radio Accesson 102.5 FM
- Mondays at 9 p.m.
- Tuesdays at 4:15 p.m.
- Thursdays at Noon
- Fridays at 7 a.m.
- Saturdays at 2 p.m.
- On-Demand at FreeTV.org
Instructions are available online for adding Dakota Media Access to your AppleTV, ROKU or FireTV device. The City of Bismarck shares its information through its website and social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.