KARE
Encyclopedia
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
channel 11, is an NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
-affiliated television station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, and serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul area (commonly known as the Twin Cities) of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
and portions of western Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. It also operates KARE WX NOW, formerly known as NBC Weather Plus
NBC Weather Plus
NBC Weather Plus was a 24-hour, commercially sponsored, weather-oriented broadcast/cable television network jointly owned by NBC Universal and the local affiliates of the NBC network. It debuted on November 15, 2004 and shut down on December 31, 2008...
on its second digital subchannel
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
(11.2). KARE is owned by the Gannett Company
Gannett Company
Gannett Company, Inc. is a publicly-traded media holding company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States, near McLean. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. Its assets include the national newspaper USA Today and the weekly USA Weekend...
, with studios located in Golden Valley, Minnesota
Golden Valley, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,281 people, 8,449 households, and 5,508 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,982.3 people per square mile . There were 8,589 housing units at an average density of 839.5 per square mile...
.
History
KARE signed on the air as WTCN (the “TCN” stood for “Twin Cities Newspapers”), although it was not the first TV station in the Twin Cities to carry those call letters. Channel 4 originally carried the WTCN call sign, starting from its sign-on in 1949, but it was changed to WCCO-TVWCCO-TV
WCCO-TV, is the CBS owned and operated television station that serves the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota. Its transmitter is at the Telefarm complex in Shoreview, Minnesota.- History :...
in 1952 when the Twin Cities Newspapers company divested its broadcast properties; the TV station was sold to CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, which already owned WCCO-AM radio, while WTCN-AM (1280 AM, now WWTC
WWTC
WWTC is a long-standing radio station serving the Twin Cities region. Despite its up-and-down history, the station spawned two of the area's major television stations and had some very innovative and unusual periods in its history...
) was sold to the Minnesota Television Service Corporation headed by Saint Paul businessman Robert Butler, a former ambassador to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Twin Cities Newspapers was a partnership between the Saint Paul Pioneer Press and the Minneapolis Tribune.
Soon afterward, Butler's group applied for the channel 11 license. At the same time, WMIN (1400 AM, now KMNV
KMNV
KMNV is a radio station in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota that airs a Spanish-language music and entertainment format.-History:The station began as WMIN in the summer of 1936, when Saint Paul furniture retailer Edward Hoffman began broadcasting at 1370 kHz...
) also applied. Because the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) had a backlog of contested licenses, the two stations worked out an agreement for a joint application. The FCC approved this deal, and WTCN-TV/WMIN-TV went on the air on September 1, 1953 as an ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliate. The station also carried a secondary affiliation with DuMont
DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
. During the late 1950s, the station also was briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network
NTA Film Network
The NTA Film Network was an early American television network founded by Ely Landau in 1956. The network was not a full-time television network like CBS, NBC, or ABC. Rather, it operated on a part-time basis, broadcasting films and several first-run television programs from major Hollywood studios...
.
Under the agreement, the stations shared a transmitter mounted atop the Foshay Tower
Foshay Tower
The Foshay Tower, now the W Minneapolis – The Foshay hotel, is a skyscraper in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Modeled after the Washington Monument, the building was completed in 1929, months before the stock market crash in October of that year. It has 32 floors and stands high, plus an antenna mast...
in downtown Minneapolis, alternating use every two hours. WTCN's studios were in the Calhoun Beach Hotel
Calhoun Beach Club
The Calhoun Beach Club is an apartment community, health club, and commercial center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, just across Lake Street from its namesake Lake Calhoun. Its founders intended the club to meet their residential, recreational, and entertainment needs in one building...
in Minneapolis near Lake Calhoun, while WMIN-TV was based in the Hamm Building in downtown Saint Paul. On April 3, 1955, with FCC approval, WMIN sold its share of Channel 11, and WTCN took over the frequency full-time. On the same day, the WTCN stations were sold to the Bitner Group. Two years later, the Bitner group merged with Time-Life
Time-Life
Time–Life is a creator and direct marketer of books, music, video/DVD, and multimedia products. Its products are sold throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia through television, print, retail, the Internet, telemarketing, and direct sales....
.
The early draw of WTCN was its children's programming. There were characters like Sergeant Scotty, Wrangler Steve (Steve Cannon
Steve Cannon (radio)
Steve Cannon was an American radio personality who spent the bulk of his career hosting a drive time talk show in Minneapolis, Minnesota from 3pm-6pm and 3pm-7pm...
, who would later become one of WCCO radio's biggest draws), and the most popular of all, Casey Jones, played by Roger Awsumb and accompanied by his sidekick, Roundhouse Rodney (Lynn Dwyer). The "Lunch With Casey" show was on the station's schedule from 1954 until 1972.
In 1961, KMSP-TV
KMSP-TV
KMSP-TV, channel 9, is the Fox-owned-and-operated television station serving the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota designated market area, owned in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WFTC...
took the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliation and WTCN became an independent station
Independent station
An independent station is in the category of television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any television network....
, with its 10 p.m. newscast moving to 9 p.m. As a traditional general entertainment channel, WTCN offered cartoons, sitcoms, old movies, Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
baseball, locally produced shows, news, and dramas. It was also home to the Twin Cities' first prime-time newscast.
Chris-Craft Industries
Chris-Craft Industries
Chris-Craft Industries, Inc., formerly National Automotive Fibers, Inc., was a publicly-held American corporation traded on the New York and Pacific Stock Exchanges. It later took on the name of one of its acquisitions, Chris-Craft Boats...
bought the WTCN stations in 1964, but sold off WTCN-AM, which then became WWTC. Under Chris-Craft, WTCN modernized its newscasts. Up to that time, they were still shot on film.
Metromedia
Metromedia
Metromedia was a media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and owned Orion Pictures from 1986-1997.- Overview :...
bought WTCN in 1971 and in 1972, the station began using a new tower at the Telefarm
Telefarm Towers Shoreview
Telefarm Towers Shoreview is a transmission site for FM radio and television broadcasting in Shoreview, Minnesota consisting of two guyed towers. The towers, commonly called simply the Shoreview Towers by local residents, are owned by Telefarm, Inc., which is a company jointly owned by the Twin...
site in Shoreview, Minnesota. The new transmitter increased the station's broadcasting range significantly, boosting its secondary coverage to 72 miles. In 1973, after 20 years at the Calhoun Beach Hotel, WTCN moved to its current studio in Golden Valley. The address of the building was originally 441 Boone Avenue North, but is now known as 8811 Highway 55 (55427-4762)-the 11 corresponding to the station's dial position.
In the late 1970s, ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
began looking for stronger affiliates across the country—including Minneapolis-Saint Paul. The network had talks with WTCN, WCCO-TV
WCCO-TV
WCCO-TV, is the CBS owned and operated television station that serves the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota. Its transmitter is at the Telefarm complex in Shoreview, Minnesota.- History :...
(CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
), and KSTP-TV
KSTP-TV
KSTP-TV, channel 5, is the ABC affiliate for the Twin Cities. Its transmitter is located at the Shoreview Telefarm. It is the flagship station of Hubbard Broadcasting, which also owns several other broadcasting properties across the United States....
(NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
). KSTP surprised the industry in August 1978 by announcing its split with NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, ending a five-decade relationship in radio and TV. Channel 5 became an ABC affiliate on March 5, 1979—the network's biggest coup at that time. NBC then chose to affiliate with WTCN, after rejecting KMSP-TV's offer to become its affiliate. Metromedia sold about half of its cartoons and syndicated programming to former ABC affiliate KMSP-TV
KMSP-TV
KMSP-TV, channel 9, is the Fox-owned-and-operated television station serving the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota designated market area, owned in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WFTC...
, which eventually became the Twin Cities' largest independent station and one of the most prominent in the upper Midwest.
In 1983, Metromedia sold WTCN to Gannett to make room for its purchase of WFLD
WFLD
WFLD, virtual channel 32 , is the Fox owned-and-operated television station, based in Chicago, Illinois; through its parent company News Corporation, the station is owned in a duopoly with area MyNetworkTV affiliate WPWR-TV...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. (Later that year, Metromedia sold WXIX-TV
WXIX-TV
WXIX-TV channel 19 is the Fox Broadcasting Company affiliate in Cincinnati, Ohio. The station's city of license is Newport, Kentucky, across the Ohio River...
in Cincinnati to Malrite Communications to make room for its purchase of KNBN (now KDAF
KDAF
KDAF, virtual channel 33 , is a CW-affiliated television station serving the Dallas-Fort Worth television market area. The station is licensed to Dallas and owned by the Tribune Company with its studios located off the John W. Carpenter Freeway in northwest Dallas. The station's transmitter is...
) in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.) Gannett made a significant investment into the station's news department. The anchor team of Paul Magers
Paul Magers
Paul Magers is a television news anchor for the CBS owned and operated television station KCBS in Los Angeles, California. He was born in Santa Maria, California, but grew up in Ellensburg, Washington...
and Diana Pierce was hired that September and led the station's 10:00 p.m. newscasts for 20 years, which is a record among Twin Cities news anchors. KARE-11's "Backyard" weather studio was also launched in 1983, coinciding with the arrival of meteorologist Paul Douglas
Paul Douglas (meteorologist)
Paul Douglas is a meteorologist, author, entrepreneur, and software expert in Minneapolis-St.Paul, Minnesota. He worked at WCCO-TV in Minneapolis, Minnesota from December 1997 until he was laid off in April 2008 as part of nationwide cutbacks by CBS...
in May.
In 1985, Gannett rechristened Channel 11 as WUSA, but after the company purchased WDVM-TV
WUSA (TV)
WUSA is a television station broadcasting on channel 9 in Washington, D.C.. Owned by the Gannett Company, WUSA is an affiliate of the CBS television network, and the longest-tenured affiliate of that network...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, it transferred the call letters to that station after being used in Minneapolis-St. Paul for only a year. The WTCN call letters were acquired nearly 20 years later by a television station
WTCN-CA
WTCN-CA is the Class A MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for West Palm Beach, Florida. It broadcasts a low-powered analog signal on UHF channel 50 from a transmitter south of Port Saint Lucie and I-95 in Martin County...
in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
On April 27, 2006, KARE became the first station in the Twin Cities (and among the first in the U.S.) to broadcast news in High Definition Television. As part of this transition, the station completely replaced its news set, originally built in 1986 and updated in the 1990s, with a new state-of-the-art backdrop. The station was still broadcasting in analog (with the news shot in a way that is still usable on the smaller 4:3 format of analog sets) until the federally mandated digital transition
DTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
on June 12, 2009.
Programming
A locally-produced children's program, Lunch with Casey, is remembered as being one of the unique contributions of the station. The show, featuring Roger Awsumb as Casey JonesCasey Jones
John Luther Jones was an American railroad engineer from Jackson, Tennessee, who worked for the Illinois Central Railroad...
, ran from 1954 until the end of 1972, with a brief reappearance in 1974. Sidekick
Sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...
s on the show included Joe the Cook, played by Chris Wedes, and Roundhouse Rodney, played by Lynn Dwyer. Wedes went on to play the clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
J.P. Patches in Seattle, Washington, credited as partial inspiration (along with Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
's Rusty Nails
Rusty Nails
Jim Allen portrayed the clown character Rusty Nails and was the host of various children's television shows in the Portland, Oregon, U.S. television market from 1957–1972...
) for Krusty the Clown on The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
.
The short-lived game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
Let's Bowl
Let's Bowl
Let's Bowl was a short-lived bowling game show that aired on the Comedy Central television network from 2001 to 2002 after a brief run on several TV stations across the U.S. in the mid-1990s, the first three being Minneapolis-St...
(filmed in the Twin Cities) had some episodes air on the station in the late '90s before it was remade for Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
. In January 2005, a local Public-access television
Public-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
cable TV program began airing. Called The Show to Be Named Later...
The Show to Be Named Later...
The Show To Be Named Later... was a late-night talk/variety sports show that ran on Minnesota's KARE/11. It was hosted by Jonny Voss. The show featured interviews with Minnesota's sports figures, in-depth analysis of Minnesota sports teams and athletes from the perspective of the show's host, and...
, it is described as "The first (and only) sports talk, comedy, and variety show", somewhat of a cross between Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
and Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Net
The Fox Sports Regional Networks, or simply Fox Sports Net , are a collection of cable TV regional sports networks in the United States owned and operated by News Corporation.- Beginnings :...
's The Best Damn Sports Show Period
The Best Damn Sports Show Period
The Best Damn Sports Show Period is an American sports television show on Fox Sports Net and Comcast SportsNet. The show regularly featured irreverent and opinionated interviews with top athletes, coaches, celebrities, and entertainers. It also aired Top 50 countdown shows and other sports...
. A weekly show for teenagers called The Whatever Show (or simply Whatever) and an outdoors program known as Minnesota Bound
Minnesota Bound
Minnesota Bound is a television series that explores the outdoors and activities in Minnesota. It has been produced since 1995, and is broadcast weekly on Kare 11, KTTC, KVLY, KEYC and KBJR. The show stars Ron Schara and his dog, Raven, a Black Labrador Retriever.Minnesota Bound is also a weekly...
have both aired on the station for about a decade. Former Minnesota Twin
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
Kent Hrbek
Kent Hrbek
Frequently injured , Hrbek retired after the players strike in 1994, citing his nagging injury problems and desire to spend more time with his wife and daughter at their home in Bloomington, MN...
also has hosted his own outdoors show Kent Hrbek Outdoors on the station since 2004. But in the fall of 2008, Kent Hrbek Outdoors was moved over to rival Fox affiliate KMSP.
For decades, both Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
and Wheel of Fortune aired on rival station WCCO-TV. But, in 1999, Jeopardy! moved to KARE after WCCO aired the game show at 1:37 am (originally 9:30 AM) for several years. However, Wheel still airs on WCCO, making the Twin Cities one of the few markets where Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune don't air on the same station.
News operation
The station experimented with a 40-minute newscast at 10 p.m., before 35-minute nightly newscasts—now the standard—became common (being in the Central Time ZoneCentral Time zone
In North America, the Central Time Zone refers to national time zones which observe standard time by subtracting six hours from UTC , and daylight saving, or summer time by subtracting five hours...
, Minnesota stations generally broadcast news at 5, 6, and 10 p.m.). The 10:00 p.m. newscast features a "KARE 11 News Extra", an extended news story. A special sports show is put together periodically, and the station also broadcasts a group of morning shows each weekday. On April 27, 2006, KARE began to produce evening news broadcasts in HDTV.
The station made weather history on July 18, 1986 when helicopter pilot Max Messmer was flying out to cover a news story and noticed a funnel cloud
Funnel cloud
A funnel cloud is a funnel-shaped cloud of condensed water droplets, associated with a rotating column of wind and extending from the base of a cloud but not reaching the ground or a water surface. A funnel cloud is usually visible as a cone-shaped or needle like protuberance from the main cloud...
forming over the Springbrook Nature Center
Springbrook Nature Center
-Mission:The mission of Springbrook Nature Center is to preserve the integrity of and enable access to the natural resource base.-Site:Springbrook Nature Center is a park and nature reserve located in Fridley, Minnesota...
in Fridley
Fridley, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 27,449 people, 11,328 households, and 7,317 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,701.3 people per square mile . There were 11,504 housing units at an average density of 1,132.1 per square mile...
. Photojournalist Tom Empey was on board the chopper and shot amazing and unprecedented video of the twister. The images were broadcast live on that day's 5 p.m. newscast. That entire newscast is available online. The funnel soon formed into a full-fledged tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
as it touched the ground, and KARE broadcast images of the funnel for 30 minutes. In the years to come, this first aerial video of a tornado was heavily studied by meteorologists
Meteorology
Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
, and contributed significantly to what is known about tornado formation. It was moderate in intensity, with winds of 113–157 mph (an F2 on the original Fujita Scale
Fujita scale
The Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation...
), and caused $650,000 damage.
The KARE-11 news package (created by Third Street Music) was commissioned in 1996. KARE and KUSA are the only two Gannett-owned NBC affiliates to use a custom news package by Third Street Music. Although the rest of the station group (including KUSA) is using a new music package by Rampage Music New York, KARE has yet to switch to the new theme. However, it is using the new graphics package created by the Gannett Graphics Group (G3).
In June 2009, the KARE weather team and former meteorologist Paul Douglas
Paul Douglas (meteorologist)
Paul Douglas is a meteorologist, author, entrepreneur, and software expert in Minneapolis-St.Paul, Minnesota. He worked at WCCO-TV in Minneapolis, Minnesota from December 1997 until he was laid off in April 2008 as part of nationwide cutbacks by CBS...
formed a unique partnership to create KARE's new local weather channel, KARE Wx NOW. Douglas worked for KARE for more than a decade starting in the early 1980s, so it will be a homecoming of sorts for him and his new company, WeatherNation. This new service is available 24 hours everyday on TV and online. WeatherNation staff rotate shifts. Paul Douglas most of the time is on air afternoons Monday to Fridays. The rest of staff rotates between days and evenings and weekends.
Currently KARE produces Approximately 9.5 hours of local news a week. (4.5 hours on weekdays & 5 hours on weekends.)
The National Press Photographers Association
National Press Photographers Association
NPPA is the acronym for the National Press Photographers Association, founded in 1947. The organization is based in Durham, North Carolina and its mostly made up of still photographers, television videographers, editors, and students in the journalism field...
(NPPA) has awarded KARE its "Station of the Year" (large markets)in 1985, 1995, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2010.
Ratings
KARE has won the coveted demographic of viewers 25 to 54 years-old in almost every Nielsen Ratings sweeps period since the late 1980s. The station has been able to build on NBC's primetime lead-ins, which are the lowest in the market. However, KARE has placed second overall in households at 5, 6, and 10 p.m since May 2006, trailing rival CBS affiliate WCCO. The station slipped from its top spot among women in 2007 for the first time in two decades, and factoring in KMSP-TVKMSP-TV
KMSP-TV, channel 9, is the Fox-owned-and-operated television station serving the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota designated market area, owned in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WFTC...
's 9 p.m. newscast, KARE tumbled to third place overall in February 2008.
In November 2010, KARE suffered its first loss in the target 25-54 demographic during its 10 p.m. newscast since 1986, with longtime runner-up WCCO-TV gaining the upper hand. However, WCCO likely benefited from a series of heavily-promoted newscasts to mark the retirement of the station's longtime evening anchor involving the return of former on-air personalities during the sweeps period, leading at least one media critic to question the durability of WCCO's edge. The November 2010 numbers also showed KARE had regained second place in overall viewership.
Current on-air staff
Anchors- Diana Pierce - Kare 11 Today at 11am, Kare 11 News at 4
- Julie Nelson - weeknights at 5pm, 6 and 10 p.m.
- Mike Pomeranz - weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
- Pat Evans - Kare 11 Today 11am weekdays at 4 p.m. (also weather anchor)
- Kim Insley - weekday mornings
- Tim McNiff - weekday mornings
- Eric Perkins - Saturday mornings, weekends at 5 and 10 p.m. and Saturdays at 6 and 6:30 p.m.
- Rena Sarigianopoulos - weekends at 5 and 10 p.m. and Saturdays at 6 and 6:30 p.m.
KARE 11 Weather Now
- Belinda Jensen (AMSAmerican Meteorological SocietyThe American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
Seal of Approval) - Chief Meteorologist; Monday-Thursdays at 4, 5, 6 and 10 p.m. and Saturday mornings - Jerrid Sebesta - Meteorologist; Fridays at 4, 5, 6 and 10 p.m., weekends at 5 and 10 p.m. and Saturdays at 6 and 6:30 p.m.
- Sven Sundgaard (AMS Seal of Approval) - Meteorologist; weekday mornings
WeatherNation Staff
- Paul Douglas - Seen on air weekday afternoons
- Kristin Clark - Weekday evenings
- Rob Koch - Weekends
- Susie Martin - weekends/fills in during the week sometimes
- Gretchen Mishek - Weekdays/weekends
- Todd Nelson - Weekday mornings
- Bay Scroggins - Weekends
KARE 11 Sports
- Randy Shaver - Sports director; weeknights at 6 and 10 p.m.
- Eric Perkins - Sports anchor; weekends at 5 and 10 p.m. and Saturdays at 6 and 6:30 p.m.
- David Schwartz - Sports reporter
- David Watkins - Sports reporter
Reporters
- Dave Berggren
- Pete Busch - Traffic reporter
- Allen Costantini
- John Croman - General assignment and Capitol reporter
- Jeffrey DeMars - "Backpack journalist"
- Karla Hult
- Boyd Huppert
- Janel Klein - also a reporter for NBC, MSNBC, NFL etc
- Jeff Olsen (also fill-in weather anchor)
- Julianna Olsen - freelance
- Kyle Porter
- Ron Schara - Minnesota Bound host
- Scott Seroka
- Jana Shortal
- Renee Tessman - General assignment and Health Fair 11 reporter
- Trisha Volpe
- Shayne Wells - Metro Mix reporter
- Boua Xiong
Notable former staff
- Andre Bernier (weekday morning meteorologist)
- Asha BlakeAsha BlakeAsha Blake is an Emmy award-winning journalist who anchored KTLA-TV News @ 1PM with Frank Buckley in Los Angeles. She previously was the anchor of the 9:00 p.m. news on Denver's CW affiliate, KWGN-TV before leaving KWGN in 2007 to return to Los Angeles...
(reporter/anchor) - Steve CannonSteve CannonSteve Cannon may refer to:*Steve Staley, voice actor whose stage name is Steve Cannon*Steve Cannon , Minnesota radio personality on WCCO-AM...
(deceased) - Bernie GraceBernie GraceBernie Grace is a television news reporter, most notably with KARE 11 Minnesota. Early in his career, he was a news director at radio stations in Virginia and Rhode Island. He then worked at television stations in Orlando, Fl, and Richmond, Va. In February 1979 he joined the KARE 11 News Team in...
(crime reporter, 1979–2006) - Jack HornerJack Horner (journalist)Gordon John "Jack" Horner was a noted sports journalist who worked in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market of Minnesota. He participated in the first modern television broadcasts of KSTP-TV channel 5, appearing on the first fully electronic telecast in the state on December 7, 1947...
(sportscaster, 1960s) - Dave LeeDave LeeDave Lee may refer to:* Dave Lee , British horn and Wagner tuba player associated with the Michael Nyman Band* Dave Lee , British DJ, producer, and remixer often better known as Joey Negro* Dave Lee...
(puppeteer/host of "Popeye 'n' Pete"/"Beetle 'n' Pete"/"Dave Lee and Pete"/"The Dave Lee Show," 1962-1969) - Paul MagersPaul MagersPaul Magers is a television news anchor for the CBS owned and operated television station KCBS in Los Angeles, California. He was born in Santa Maria, California, but grew up in Ellensburg, Washington...
(main anchor, 1983–2003), now anchor at KCBS-TVKCBS-TVKCBS-TV, channel 2, is an owned-and-operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Los Angeles, California. KCBS-TV shares its offices and studio facilities with sister station KCAL-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter...
in Los Angeles
KARE-TV broadcasting facilities
In addition to the main transmitters in Shoreview, KARE uses a network of broadcast translators to carry its analog signal to outlying parts of the state:
|
St. James, Minnesota As of the census of 2000, there were 4,695 people, 1,845 households, and 1,186 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,050.3 people per square mile . There were 2,006 housing units at an average density of 876.0 per square mile... Walker, Minnesota As of the census of 2000, there were 1,069 people, 449 households, and 258 families residing in the city. The population density was 734.3 people per square mile . There were 517 housing units at an average density of 355.1 per square mile... Willmar, Minnesota As of the census of 2000, there were 18,351 people, 7,302 households, and 4,461 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,549.9 people per square mile . There were 7,789 housing units at an average density of 657.8 per square mile... Windom, Minnesota As of the census of 2000, there were 4,490 people, 1,910 households, and 1,195 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,263.6 people per square mile . There were 2,089 housing units at an average density of 587.9 per square mile... |
KARE was also previously repeated on KLKS-LP channel 14 in Breezy Point
Breezy Point, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 979 people, 413 households, and 306 families residing in the city. The population density was 74.7 people per square mile . There were 899 housing units at an average density of 68.6 per square mile...
/Brainerd
Brainerd, Minnesota
Brainerd is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,590 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Crow Wing County and one of the largest cities in Central Minnesota...
from 1995 until July 16, 2011, when carriage of KARE was discontinued due to a decision made by Gannett on a corporate level. The repeater was owned locally by the Lakes Broadcasting Group, owner of KLKS
KLKS (FM)
KLKS is a radio station owned by the Lakes Broadcasting Group and located in Breezy Point, Minnesota. It serves the Brainerd Lakes Area....
radio.
KARE, along with WCCO-TV
WCCO-TV
WCCO-TV, is the CBS owned and operated television station that serves the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota. Its transmitter is at the Telefarm complex in Shoreview, Minnesota.- History :...
, is also carried on most cable systems in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario. The stations do not make any attempt to cater to this audience, other than their inclusion on regional weather maps.
Digital television
The station's digital channel, VHF 11, is multiplexed. NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
-HD programming is carried on digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
11.1 and WX Now is carried as 11.2. As part of the analog television shutdown and digital conversion was completed, KARE shut down its analog transmitter on June 12, 2009, and moved its digital broadcasts back to channel 11. KARE increased its power from 27.1 kW to 45.3 kW on May 11, 2010. The station says the upgrade should be particularly noticeable to people who live more than 50 miles from its Shoreview transmitter. In the analog era, KARE and most other VHF High stations (channels 7-13) used 316 kW, the maximum then allowed. However, VHF High power levels in the Upper Midwest now vary widely from about 10 kW to 75 kW.
External links
- KARE-TV 11 Minneapolis - St. Paul Official Homepage
- KARE 11 at Twin Cities TV Source
- Lunch with Casey Jones
- Minnesota Bound
- The Show to Be Named Later...
- Station of the Year
- TC Media Now - historical footage and documents from WTCN/WUSA/KARE
- KARE 1986 Tornado coverage
- Historical photos of WTCN-TV and WTCN-AM from the Minnesota Historical Society
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