Minnesota teenagers are losing a valuable piece of the TV landscape. "Whatever," the Emmy-winning program on KARE, Channel 11, that is reported by kids and designed for kids, will go off the air at the end of the month after 11 years, shutting down a rare opportunity for young people to gossip about movies, hobnob with celebrities and get a taste of journalism.

"I'm definitely sad to see it go," said Mike Lehan, a Miami Dolphins cornerback who was part of the inaugural season. On "Whatever," he covered everything from Usher to a search for his birth parents. "It taught me communications skills. It forced me to articulate better, have eye contact and how to present yourself in a professional setting. It was amazing."

KARE general manager John Remes said that the program, which airs Saturday mornings, was a moneymaker during much of its run but is no longer profitable.

Remes declined to pinpoint when the show started operating in the red.

He said that the general weakening of the economy and the fact that the show relied on niche advertising contributed to the show's cancellation. The last episode will air at 10 a.m. Aug. 31 and will most likely feature some retrospective elements.

It's being replaced by "3-2-1 Penguins," a syndicated cartoon about space-traveling birds.

Erin Rasmussen, who co-created "Whatever" in 1997 with Laura Stokes Thompson, said she is disappointed by the news but grateful for its long run and the opportunity to contribute to a program that championed teenage interests as well as diversity.

"We always had a lot of kids of color because we knew a lot of them didn't have other opportunities to see themselves on TV," said Rasmussen, who left the program after the first six years and currently runs the local production company Reframing Media.

Among her most treasured memories: An interview in which then-Gov. Jesse Ventura told a "Whatever" reporter that he didn't think some college athletes should have to attend classes -- a remark that made national news -- and a student-created video on bus safety that still gets played at schools across the country.

More than 150 former students can call themselves part of the "Whatever" family. Damon Maloney, now a reporter at an Arkansas TV station, fondly remembers his opportunity to interview the Black Eyed Peas and basketball player Scottie Pippen. Nina Bouphasavanh, who reported at stations in Albany, N.Y., and Cheyenne, Wyo., before becoming associate producer for "Bizarre Foods With Andrew Zimmern," was moved by the experience of doing a "Whatever" piece on the family of Minnesota kidnapping victim Jacob Wetterling.

"The series made a lasting impression on me," she said. "It was a one-of-a-kind opportunity and nothing else can mirror that satisfaction."

Dan Serafin, an alum from the 1999-2000 season, said the experience fueled his interest in a TV career. He's currently employed as a staff writer on Nickelodeon's "Back at the Barnyard."

"I weep for the kid who will no longer be inspired by student-run programming and will instead be exposed to OxiClean commercials."

njustin@startribune.com • 612-673-7431