Star Rankin and Paula Airhart are more than local TV personalities making a scene in Ames; both women also strive to make a difference.

Rankin and cohort Airhart work together on the Ames Public Access Television (APAT) program “Another Freakin’ Day in Paradise,” a call-in show airing on Friday nights from 10 to 11 p.m. on Channel 10.

“I consider it a live, community call-in talk show,” Rankin said, summarizing the format of the program.

To Airhart, the purpose of the show is to keep the public informed about Ames happenings and to “network” by making new acquaintances.

“For me, [the show’s purpose] is to get people involved in their community,” she said.

The pair will be doing a Halloween episode tonight. They said they’re both considering donning costumes for the show.

“I’m thinking of going as a voter,” Rankin joked, saying she intends to mention the importance of voting on tonight’s episode.

“I might be a girl [for Halloween] this year,” Airhart said. She said the program’s usual audience might be shocked at her appearance on the program because she doesn’t “look much like a girl.”

“I have to find a dress I like,” she said.

Dressing “like a girl” might sound like a common practice for heterosexual females, but neither Rankin nor Airhart is heterosexual.

Rankin is openly bisexual, and Airhart is a self-proclaimed “dyke.” Rankin and Airhart were a couple for four years, but despite their recent breakup, they have remained close friends.

Though both are frank about their sexuality, they don’t use the show strictly as a sounding board for promoting the gay and lesbian lifestyle. They talk about their feelings.

“Public access [TV] is such an important way for people to exercise their First Amendment rights of free speech,” Rankin said.

The duo encountered and overcame many obstacles in its effort to exercise that right.

The most recent impediment is recruiting an ample number of volunteers to aid in the show’s production. Rankin said the station requires a minimum crew of five people to run studio equipment. They currently are searching for help.

Due to the shortage of assistance, they haven’t aired a new episode since late September.

Rankin isn’t green when it comes to the medium of broadcasting. She stepped into the public access arena in 1990.

In fall of ’93, Rankin began hosting a show called “Friday Night Alive,” which she described as a “Saturday Night Live” spin-off “with a twist.”

After the show ended, she met Airhart in the summer of ’94 and kickstarted another show, aptly titled “Sex, Drugs, Rock and Extinction,” which discussed sexuality, drug use, rock music and environmentalism.

“Most times, people wanted to talk about sex and sexuality,” she said, noting a majority of the show’s callers were students.

The show ended on a sour note due to a mishap in the studio. After taping the show one Friday night, Rankin forgot to remove the tape from the video tape recorder.

The episode, which contained material considered by many as unsuitable for daytime audiences, aired on a Sunday afternoon, a time when many viewers are churchgoing families.

She said the “religious right” took out an advertisement in The Tribune protesting the show and handed a copy of the taping to the Story County Attorney.

According to Rankin, the county attorney referred the tape to the Polk County Attorney who decided the content wasn’t offensive.

Amidst the controversy, APAT changed its policies to quell the swelling objections from community members.

“Basically, [APAT] took away my right to do shows,” she said.

After the spat, Rankin quit her staff position at the station.

“We had quite a following,” she recollected. “It’s no wonder people got upset — here are these two queers talking about sex late at night.”

As a result of policy changes, Rankin and Airhart were barred from nighttime TV. For a short time, they did a relaxed daytime show on Mondays titled “Kickin’ It in Ames” until more shifts in policy allowed them to return to their Friday-night time slot.

In the fall of ’95, the duo decided to do “Another Freakin’ Day in Paradise.”

The show’s title emanated from Airhart’s animated reaction to Rankin’s naivet‚.

“Paula got mad about something one day because I was being naive about something,” she said. “Paula said, ‘You just think it’s another freakin’ day in paradise.’ But she didn’t say freakin’.

“I think we’re a good mix because we’re so different,” Rankin said.