Primedia Workplace Learning on May 3 announced a $993,500 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice awarded to the University of Kansas to install a Homeland One First Responder Network across the state of Kansas.

The Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center and the Kansas Fire and Rescue Training Institute, both units of University of Kansas Continuing Education, will administer the grant.

The grant calls for Primedia’s Homeland One First Responder Training and Communications Network to be installed at 319 Kansas law enforcement and fire services agencies across the state. Homeland One will supplement the terrorism response training already delivered to firefighters and law enforcement officers through the Kansas Fire and Rescue Training Institute and the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center.

“The University of Kansas has been a recognized leader in providing law enforcement and fire service training for more than 60 years,” said JoAnn Smith, vice provost for university outreach and dean of Continuing Education at the University of Kansas. “The safety of Kansans is paramount to both the Law Enforcement Training Center and the Fire and Rescue Training Institute missions. We have expertise and an excellent infrastructure for this critical boost to the state’s existing training and communication capabilities.”

Homeland One's customizable training modules are modeled on National Interagency Incident Management Systems and based on the Department of Homeland Security's Office for Domestic Preparedness First Responder Training Guidelines and Standardized Emergency Management System standards. The first-ever Homeland One Network was recently established in more than 607 of New Hampshire’s first responder agencies.

"Our Homeland One First Responder Network is the first initiative of its kind to take the guidelines provided by the ODP and turn them into a complete Weapons of Mass Destruction curriculum, to be deployed in statewide distance learning systems,” said Bryan Mossey, vice president, Homeland One. “We’re proud to be serving the State of Kansas with a first responder community and look forward to educating agencies and deploying more sites across the country in the coming months."

In addition to enabling state-of-the-art modular homeland security training, the Homeland One First Responder Network will be used to brief first responders in times of emergency. Agencies across Kansas will receive four hours of broadcast time over the network each month that can be used for incident response, command briefing, or the coordination of resources across the state.

Various agencies will also be able to receive statewide secure communications directly from the Department of Homeland Security. A similar network with Primedia was launched more than five years ago through Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“First responders play a vital role in the state of Kansas, and they’ll now be able to use cutting-edge technology to ensure they perform at their best,” said U.S. Senator Sam Brownback. “This program will provide our first responders with the training they need to serve Kansans during emergencies. I am excited to see the implementation and impact of this new system and how it will benefit our communities.”

About Homeland One

Homeland One™ protects our nation's assets by uniting first responders through one vital training and communications network. Homeland One helps state and local emergency managers save lives, improve command and control and instill public confidence and is the only integrated training and communication solution that standardizes first responder training and allowing agencies to seamlessly communicate during an emergency. With an intra-agency network built on the emerging anti-terror/counter-terror guidelines of the National Strategy for Homeland Security, Homeland One provides customized training and communications to first responders, improving their effectiveness and minimizing the repercussions of domestic attacks and catastrophes. Reaching across the nation, the cross-agency communication from Homeland One gives officials command and control and gives America peace of mind. Homeland One is part of the Primedia Workplace Learning family of products serving the business-to-business training and communication market.

Log onto www.HomelandOne.com  for more information.

About Primedia Workplace Learning

Primedia Workplace Learning, a division of Primedia Education and Training, is the leading provider of Integrated Learning Solutions for more than eight million professionals in the ndustrial, healthcare, banking, automotive, fire and emergency, government and law, and security markets. Primedia Workplace Learning's unique offerings include the world's largest satellite-delivered distance learning services; CD-ROM, Web-based and video training programs; and an Internet-enabled learning management system, which better enables corporations and government agencies to manage, track and measure their in-house training efforts. This unparalleled combination of content, custom solutions, technology and "any time/anywhere" delivery represents the state of the art in the fast-growing business-to-business training market.

For more details on Primedia Workplace Learning, visit www.pwpl.com.

About Primedia Business

Primedia is the leading targeted media company in the United States. With 2003 revenues from continuing businesses of $1.3 billion, our properties deliver content via print as well as the Internet, live events and video and offer highly effective advertising and marketing solutions in some of the most sought-after niche markets. Primedia Enthusiast Media includes more than 120 consumer magazines, their Web sites and About.com, and is the #1 special interest magazine publisher in the U.S. with well-known brands such as Motor Trend, Automobile, Creating Keepsakes, In-Fisherman, Power & Motoryacht, Hot Rod, Snowboarder, Stereophile and Surfer. Primedia Consumer Guides is the #1 publisher and distributor of free consumer guides, with Apartment Guide, Auto Guide and New Homes Guide. Primedia Business Information has leading positions in 20 market sectors, such as Agribusiness, Communications, Entertainment, Marketing and Transportation. Primedia Education and Training includes Channel One and other educational and training products.

Primedia's stock symbol is NYSE: PRM.