A CITY FOR THE STORIES. Steve Betchkal (left) and Micah Davis (right) hold a previous Midwest Emmy award they received for their collaborative film project, "Story Time with Steve & Micah." This year, they have been nominated together in the Environmental/Science - Short or Long Form Content category. The 2025 Upper Midwest Regional Emmy® Awards Ceremony will take place on Oct. 18, in Minneapolis, Minn.. (Submitted photo)

EDITOR'S NOTE (10/21/25): On Monday, Oct. 19, B.J. Hollars and Steve Dayton announced “When Rubber Hit The Road” won the Midwest Emmy for the Documentary - Historical Category. The duo expressed their shared gratitude online via social media, along with some humorous anecdotes — in true Fireside Productions fashion.

“Steve Dayton and I planned out this whole hilarious social media video for when we lost the Emmy. But then... we won the Midwest Emmy last night,” B.J. shared online to Facebook. “For real, though: any success we've had with  'When Rubber Hit The Road' is the result of the hundreds of hours Steve spent in front of the editing screen.

“We're so grateful to showcase what makes Eau Claire great — resilience, common cause, and good people's willingness to work together to bounce back better. We're a hard city not to love. Thanks for all your support. We are beyond humbled.”

We are just one week away from the Upper Midwest Regional Emmy® Awards Ceremony on Oct. 18 in Minneapolis, Minn.. Luckily for Chippewa Valley viewers, we have two sets of filmmakers who will bring their film projects to the land of 10,000 lakes.

Steve Betchkal, Micah Davis, B.J. Hollars, and Steve Dayton — in their respective roles as Eau Claire area filmmakers and collaborators — were nominated in early September for the Upper Midwest Emmy Chapter.

Steve and Micah’s collaboration, “The City for the Trees” received two nominations in the Environmental/Science - Short or Long Form Content category.

Micah additionally received nominations for his work on “Luke & Jenny” in the Lifestyle - Short Form Content, “Biking Eau Claire Bridges” in Video Essaying and in the Editor - Short or Long Form Content category for both “The City for the Trees” and “Biking Eau Claire Bridges.”

For the two, these productions — housed within the Story Time with Steve & Micah universe — will be Micah’s 10th and Steve's 32nd Emmy nominations.

“Even after all these years and all the nominations I am absolutely thrilled to be nominated,” Steve said. “It's the adult version of Christmas — and I can't wait to see what's under the tree on October 18th.”

For Steve, each story produced and told through these regional narratives embodies an individual expression of creativity; a challenge to tell stories with sound, words, and images altogether. “Give us the germ of a story idea, and we'll make that story resonate with you, the viewer,” he added.

For us, it's less about winning an Emmy than drawing more attention to the Eau Claire film scene.

B.J. HOLLARS

MIDWEST EMMY NOMINEE, CHIPPEWA VALLEY FILMMAKER

Micah, in turn, believes video storytelling is more relevant now than ever before; especially when the access to video watching is just a small cellular device away.

“Our hope is that someone will watch the video just because it's entertaining,” Micah said. “It simply keeps their attention — but during the course of being entertained — they have an emotional response to the subject, they form an opinion, they feel a connection.

“And hopefully they then do something about it,” he added.

"When Rubber Hit The Road," a film by Steve Dayton (left) and B.J. Hollars (right), has been nominated in the Documentary - Historical Category for the 2025 Midwest Emmys. (Submitted photo)

In the Documentary - Historical Category, B.J. and Steve Dayton, through their production company Fireside Productions, LLC, were nominated for a producer role in their 2024 production, “When Rubber Hit The Road.”

“Steve and I are so grateful that our first film has been nominated for such a prestigious award,” B.J. said. “For us, it's less about winning an Emmy than drawing more attention to the Eau Claire film scene, and the story of our city's resilience showcased in 'When Rubber Hit The Road.'

“But… we also wouldn't mind an Emmy,” he cheekily added.

As the duo prepares for next Saturday's awards ceremony, B.J. feels he has never seen such a deep, film-driven momentum — led by creatives — in the Chippewa Valley. This nomination, along with new film projects still in development, speaks to working toward more collaborative opportunities, and supporting area filmmakers.

“All credit goes to the tire workers and Eau Claireians featured in the film,” B.J. said. “Without them, there is no film.”

The 2025 Upper Midwest Emmys on Oct. 18 in Minneapolis, Minn. will be held at the Mystic Lake Event Center. For more information on the annual celebration, and to view the complete list of nominations, visit midwestemmys.org. To learn more about the developing work of Story Time with Steve & Micah and Fireside Productions, LLC, visit their respective webpages online.