Skip to main content
About Prairie Public

Privacy Policy


Nothing is more important to us than protecting the private information of our visitors. From our homepage to the hundreds of pages of content produced by Prairie Public, the “prairiepublic.org” domain remains a safe haven. Our site pages adhere to a strict policy for ensuring the privacy of your, and your children’s, personally identifiable information (such as full name, address, e-mail address, telephone number and/or other identifiable information) and preserving the integrity of this online medium.

Gathering and Use of Information

  1. We will not collect personally identifiable information from you, other than what you supply to us on a voluntary basis.
  2. In order to participate in some activities, you might be asked to provide some personally identifiable information. This could be in connection with the following:
    • contest or sweepstakes registration
    • subscription registration for sites or services that require subscription (such as e-mail newsletters)
    • requests for membership information or events registration
    • E-commerce transactions
    • content submissions, community postings (i.e., forums or bulletin boards), comments and suggestions, or voting
  3. We may use your personally identifiable information for activities explained above, for internal and marketing promotional purposes, or when our membership and customer mailing lists are traded with carefully screened nonprofit organizations whose missions might interest individuals who have become members of Prairie Public (this is the only case where such information may be provided to third parties).
  4. We will always explain the extent of its use at the time you are asked to provide personal information. If you do not want this information to be collected or used by us for these purposes, you can simply “opt out.” Under certain circumstances, opting out may prevent your participation in activities for which personal information is needed, as in contests.


Tracking and Use of Cookies

We collect non-personal identification information through the use of “cookie” technology and/or IP address tracking. Non-personal identification information might include the browser you use, the type of computer, the operating systems, the Internet service providers and other similar information. Our system also automatically gathers information about the areas you visit on our sites and about the links you may select from within our site to other areas of the World Wide Web or elsewhere online.

We use such information in the aggregate to understand how our users as a group use the services and resources provided on our sites. This way we know which areas of our sites are favorites of our users, which areas need improvement, and what technologies are being used so that we may continually improve our sites.

We may share this aggregate statistical information with our partners or funders, but we will not share any individual names, personal navigational or other personal information.

Most browsers are set to accept cookies. You can set your browser to refuse cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. If you do so, please note that some parts of the Prairie Public sites, such as message boards, chats, shopping, contests and game areas, may not function properly.

We also use cookie technology through PBS Online localization options. By entering your zip code and then selecting Prairie Public as your local television station, a cookie assigns you a unique number (with no meaning whatsoever outside the customization process) that recalls this information each time you visit. As a result, you are able to customize your browsing experiences with PBS Online, putting Prairie Public’s television schedule, community events, and calendars at your fingertips every time you visit PBS Online. At no time will this cookie reveal to others your name, e-mail address, street address, or telephone number (even if you have entered these in other areas of PBS Online). You will always have the choice of opting out of any cookie-based activity on our site.

PBS KIDS Privacy Policy

Because PBS Kids speaks to a special audience, web sites that provide components for children must follow additional guidelines above and beyond the PBS Online policies. For complete guidelines on information collection and sponsorship, please visit the PBS KIDS Privacy Policy.

Acceptance of Privacy Policy Terms and Conditions

By using this site, you signify your agreement to the terms and conditions of this prairiepublic.org Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions, please do not use the site. We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change, modify, add, or remove portions of this policy at any time. Please check this page periodically for any changes. Your continued use of prairiepublic.org following the posting of any changes to these terms shall mean that you have accepted those changes. If you have any questions or concerns, please e-mail us at info@prairiepublic.org.

Links To Other Sites

Users will find links to funders, underwriters, content providers, or other Prairie Public partners. In many cases, the links represent cooperative projects or are mutual links established with persons or entities connected with our sites. Although we initially visit the sites or services that are so linked, we do not control the contents or links that appear on these sites. In addition, these sites or services, including their contents and links, may be constantly changing. These sites and services may have their own privacy policies, or no policy (policies) at all. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third party sites or services before providing any of them with your personal information.