A new cooperative program between KSMQ Public Television and Minnesota State University, Mankato is offering university students real-world experience in the field of television production through a summer internship. The first student in the program, Mike Jeffrey, began participation this week. Jeffrey, a senior from St. Paul majoring in film and media studies, will be creating local media content for KSMQ under the direction of staff from KSMQ’s Emmy Award-winning production department.

“This partnership will be a great opportunity for Mankato students as well as the KSMQ production team,” said Eric Olson, KSMQ Public Television president and CEO, in a press release. “We have much to learn from the upcoming generation of media content producers. We know the students will benefit from working in the field with our visual storytellers who are creating meaningful programming today in the ever-changing television environment.”

The internship idea came about shortly after Minnesota State University, Mankato expanded its degree offerings to include a major in Film and Media Studies in the fall of 2015. Advanced students in the major can apply for the twelve-week internship through the English or Mass Media Departments.

The next episode of KSMQ Public Television’s “On Q Insight,” will focus on the outlaw gangs following the end of the Civil War that plagued the western United States. Northfield, Minnesota, earned distinction when the townsfolk, in a shootout on Division Street, disrupted the James-Younger Gang in the midst of a bank robbery. Northfield Historical Society Executive Director Hayes Scriven recounts the event on the next episode, which airs at 8:30 p.m. Friday on KSMQ Public Television.