C-SPAN returning to Carson City this Wednesday and Thursday

National cable and satellite television network C-SPAN is returning to the Nevada state capital this Wednesday and Thursday, April 11-12 to engage the community through interactive demonstrations of its public service resources, a C-SPAN press release said.

The Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network's Bus, a state-of-the-art 45-foot long customized motor coach, will be along for the ride, too, hosting Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and the public on Wednesday, April 11.

"We will be parked outside of the Capitol building to host Gov. Brian Sandoval aboard the Bus for a live interview for our signature morning call-in program, Washington Journal," the press release stated.

That event takes place at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, followed by a public invitation from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. The bus will be parked on the walkway near the corner of North Carson Street and East Fifth Street in front of the Nevada Legislature.

C-SPAN has partnered with cable television provider Charter Spectrum to make a return trip to Carson City, part of its "50 Capitals Tour" this year.

The C-SPAN Bus embarked on a "50 Capitals Tour" beginning in September 2017 and has been heading to every U.S. state capital since. The tour culminates in November 2018 for the 25th anniversary of the Bus program.

Throughout this 14-month tour, the C-SPAN Bus is opening its doors at each state capitol to welcome visitors and interview elected officials during Washington Journal.

The network last visited the Nevada state capital in July 2013 when Carson City Mayor Bob Crowell and other community dignitaries welcomed it to the area on the steps of the historic Nevada Capitol building.

At that time, C-SPAN spent a week in Carson City recording the area’s history and literary life for its Book TV (C-SPAN2) and American History TV (C-SPAN3).

Among its features were the collections at the Nevada State Railroad Museum, Nevada Capitol building, Stewart Indian School, Nevada State Archives, Carson City Mint, the Comstock, Dangberg Ranch in the Carson Valley, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), silver king William Sharon, women in gaming, and the history of legalized prostitution in Nevada.

This time around, C-SPAN representatives will also gather video responses from visitors as part of its "Voices from the States," an opportunity for visitors to share viewpoints on state issues and what they think Washington leaders should do to address local concerns.

Visitors will learn about C-SPAN Classroom, a free online educational resource, and C-SPAN's extensive online Video Library. C-SPAN has archived its programming since 1987, and the library now contains more than 235,000 hours of searchable public affairs content for viewing, research and education purposes.

"Charter is thrilled that the C-SPAN Bus is visiting, bringing their political and educational resources to the community," said Adam Falk, Senior Vice President of State Government Affairs for Charter Communications. "We're proud to partner with C-SPAN and look forward to residents, teachers and students stepping aboard to experience all that C-SPAN has to offer. Congratulations to all of our local prize winners in C-SPAN's national StudentCam documentary competition – it’s a terrific recognition."

While in the region, C-SPAN will visit area high schools and recognize national winners at Spanish Springs High School in Sparks for their winning StudentCam video documentaries.

Each year since 2006, C-SPAN partners with local cable providers in communities nationwide to invite middle school students (grades 6-8) and high school students (grades 9-12) to produce short documentaries on a subject of national importance.

This year students addressed the theme, “The Constitution & You: Choose a provision of the U.S. Constitution and create a video illustrating why it's important to you."

C-SPAN received in response a record of 2,985 video submissions from over 5,700 students in 46 states and Washington, D.C. One hundred fifty student and 53 teacher prizes were awarded, totaling $100,000 in prize money. Visit www.studentcam.org to watch all 2018 winning videos.

The C-SPAN Bus will be parked in the back parking lot of Carson High School, 1111 N. Saliman Road, from 8 to 10 a.m. on Thursday, April 12, and then out front of Sierra Lutheran High School, 3601 Romans Road, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The bus will be in Sparks Friday afternoon, April 13 at Spanish Springs High School to its two StudentCam winning entries.

In Carson City, C-SPAN programming is provided by Charter Spectrum as a commercial-free public service and can be seen on channel 20, C-SPAN2 on channel 197, C-SPAN3 on channel 196 and on the web at C-SPAN.org. Funding for C-SPAN operations, including Bus visits, is provided by cable and satellite TV providers.

Created by the cable TV industry in 1979 and now in nearly 100 million TV households, C‐SPAN programs three public affairs television networks; C‐SPAN Radio, heard in Washington D.C., at 90.1 FM and available as an App; and C-SPAN.org, a video‐rich website offering live coverage of government events and access to the vast archive of C‐SPAN programming. C-SPAN established the C-SPAN Bus community outreach program on Nov. 2, 1993.