Bad industry news be darned, at least two Mankato media organizations will be hiring this fall.

With a little help, of course, from the Educare Foundation.

When the Mankato Area School Board holds its regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. tonight in the Intergovernmental Center, members will likely approve more than $54,000 in 2009 Educare grants. Included on the list is a $17,600 award to purchase broadcasting equipment and begin a television newscast at Mankato East and West High Schools.

And while there won’t be any actual hiring, West business teacher Todd Nelson and East business teacher Andy Krueger will each have a broadcast class in which students plan, produce and film their own live television news show. The class will also create extended material for use on the web.

Nelson said the grant will purchase two good cameras for each school as well as teleprompters and mixers.

“We’ve been trying to get this going for a couple years now,” Nelson said.

East Junior High teacher Lynell Senden and Dakota Meadows teacher Sherry Miller received an $8,000 grant to purchase 40 GPS hand-held units. The pair of earth science teachers plan to use the GPC devices during a unit on the geology of the Minnesota River valley.

During the unit, students visit Minneopa State Park, New Ulm Quartzite Quarries, SMC’s Kasota Quarry and others to conduct field investigations. The GPS units will help students mark waypoints and create maps of their data and observations.

“It’s great to incorporate technology,” Senden said. “The students are so much more interested and engaged.”

Other grant awards include: $1,800 to begin a school store at Mankato West; $2,450 for Bridges students to attend BizTown; $2,545 for East’s world language department to purchase cameras for speaking assessments; $3,200 for a SMART Board for staff development; $1,845 for a portable SMART Board at Hoover; $1,229 for an infant simulator at Mankato Central; $3,590 for junior high students to attend Career Day; $3,000 for a SMART Board at Mankato Central; and $9,000 to purchase 20 iTouches at East High School for geometry and biology classes.