Heartland Media Conference

The Minnesota Broadcasters Association, North Dakota Broadcasters Association and South Dakota Broadcasters Association bring you the Heartland Media Conference. The conference will look at ways to innovate, provide opportunities to collaborate with others and celebrate the successes of the radio and TV stations serving the Heartland of Minnesota and the Dakotas.

Location

Radisson Blu
201 5th St. N.
Fargo, ND 58102

Timing

Timing and Speakers Subject to Change.

Tuesday, May 5th, 2026

12:00 PM 

Registration, Vendors Open

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Sessions for Engineers in partnership with SBE with speakers: John George of Broadtech Services Inc., Mike Pappas of Orban and Fred Baumgartner!

5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Welcome Reception at Blu Bar at Radisson Blu

Wednesday, May 6th, 2026

7:30 AM - 9:00 AM

Registration, Breakfast, Vendors Open

9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Advocacy Updates with Curtis LeGeyt, President & CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters

Agencies and AI with Erin Callaghan, President of Enterrpise Partnerships for Futuri

FCC Compliance and Updates with David Oxenford of Wilkinson|Barker|Knauer and John George of Broadtech Services

National Guard and Department of Veterans Affairs

Keynote Session: "Overcoming adversity and mental mindset (no bad days)" with Hunter Pinke

"What Elite Sellers do to Get Noticed in 2026" with Jeff Schmidt, Senior VP of Professional Development at the RAB

Keynote Speaker:

Hunter Pinke

Growing up in rural North Dakota, Hunter Pinke spent his childhood summers working at his family’s lumberyard and on his grandparent’s grain farm. After graduating high school in his class of 18 students, he ventured to the University of North Dakota where he played as a tight end in 34 football games. Following his junior season, he suffered a spinal cord injury in a downhill skiing accident, leaving him as a chest-down paraplegic. Pinke finished his college football career as a team captain, on the sidelines in his wheelchair and earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He went on to play three seasons of collegiate wheelchair basketball at the University of Arizona, where the Wildcats were national runner-up two consecutive seasons with Pinke as team captain. Pinke earned second-team academic All-American honors and his graduate degree in real estate development. Today, Hunter Pinke resides in his native rural North Dakota, working in his passions of residential construction, family farming, and is a keynote speaker across North America, delivering messages of finding the joy in every day and living a life with no bad days. 

Hotel Room Block

Radisson Blu
201 5th St. N.
Fargo, ND 58102

$161/night + taxes and fees

Click Here to book a room.

The deadline to book a room in the room block is April 5th, 2026.

Sponsorship and Vendors

Interested in sponsoring or becoming a vendor? Reach out to Rosanne.Rybak@minnesotabroadcasters.com.