From snowy roads to windy highways, driver Dean Wollen keeps Nebraska Public Media’s mobile production unit safely rolling statewide.
Watching driver Dean Wollen climb into the cab of the network’s remote production truck might remind you of someone getting into a combine or scaling a rock wall. On the early mornings, long days and late nights required to cover 200-plus hours of high school, collegiate and professional sports across the state, he drives the imposing 53-foot-long trailer along Nebraska’s interstates, highways and city streets. “I am sure Curious George on the back catches a lot of kids’ attention and I like the side with Chimney Rock,” said Wollen. He started as a substitute driver in the late 1990s after working years as a mechanic supervisor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. “I’ve been doing this for a long time,” said Wollen, a Class A CDL driver. He recalls the first time he ever sat behind the wheel. “I had to go to Brownville to pick up the vehicle and drive it all the way out to Gering and Scottsbluff,” he said, describing the eight-hour trip as a trial-by-fire experience. Safety is one of Wollen’s biggest concerns as he navigates roads that are becoming busier and drivers who are less patient, but he says a near constant presence in Nebraska is his biggest test. “When it’s windy out, this thing is a handful. With the cab over the front, it’s just like a big wall going into the wind,” he said. Most often, Wollen says the heavy trailer does well in snow and ice. “Crews often follow me because I leave good tire tracks.” The remote truck is outfitted with television equipment that makes it possible for Nebraska Public Media to deliver high-quality productions that rival national sports broadcasts. “What these teams do is fantastic,” said Wollen. As for driving a truck that stretches about two-thirds the length of a basketball court, Wollen smiles and says, “I enjoy it, or I wouldn’t do it.”