ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- St. Cloud State University radio station KVSC’s annual trivia marathon is gearing up for the contest this weekend but without its long-time station manager.

attachment-Jo McMullen-Boyer
Jo McMullen-Boyer
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Jo McMullen-Boyer retired in the spring of 2023 and passed away unexpectedly a short time later.

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Paul Habstritt, WJON
Paul Habstritt, WJON
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KVSC Operations Director Jim Gray says it is different because he worked on the contest with McMullen-Boyer for 30 years but because they knew she was retiring they were somewhat prepared for trivia without her:

"Everybody has kind of felt the change happening but we are comfortable with it knowing that it's there, knowing what our end goals are to preserve the listenership, preserve this event, preserve the station so everybody's kind of rolling with the punches. Is her absence noted? Absolutely, every day."

New Station Manager Dan Seeger says everyone is feeling McMullen-Boyer’s loss:

"I think everybody around here definitely does feel the difference and feels the loss. Jo's on the mind of almost everybody who comes in here. We've had so many teams coming in and talking about how much they admired and loved her and the teams are feeling it too."

He says her loss is emphasizing for everyone they need to do things the right way:

"It's really emphasizing for us the importance of doing it the right way and of carrying this contest forward in a way that does honor that legacy and as we are making sure that Jo is continued to be thought of."

Paul Habstritt, WJON
Paul Habstritt, WJON
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Gray says they do have some things planned to honor McMullen-Boyer at the awards ceremony on Sunday and her legacy will live on at KVSC. He also says they will still have all the things teams have come to expect in the trivia contest:

"The contest is going to be the same in terms of, there's going to be some theme-related questions but there's going to be an awful lot that are not theme related. There are going to be some that are top of mind where somebody in your team may have that answer on the top of their mind but the bulk of it's going to be you need to know how to go find these answers."

It is the 45th year of the contest at KVSC and the theme is Camp Trivia.  Gray says “homework” will be back for the 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. hours each night and they do have a new scoring system that will make their operation much more efficient.

Paul Habstritt, WJON
Paul Habstritt, WJON
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He continued that the station couldn't do the contest without all the volunteers and their over 40 sponsors. The sponsors provide the volunteers with food for the entire weekend and prizes for the winning teams.

Paul Habstritt, WJON
Paul Habstritt, WJON
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Gray says they strive to have one meal every hour for 50 people, and some of the volunteers are taking the theme to heart by having a "trivia encampment" at Stewart Hall and spending the night in tents. The 50-hour marathon starts at 5:00 p.m. on Friday and people have until 3:00 p.m. that day to get their team registered.

Paul Habstritt, WJON
Paul Habstritt, WJON
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Paul Habstritt, WJON
Paul Habstritt, WJON
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Paul Habstritt, WJON
Paul Habstritt, WJON
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