Minnesota Public Radio
Encyclopedia
Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), is the flagship National Public Radio member network for the state of Minnesota
. With its three services, News & Information, Classical Music
and The Current
, MPR operates a 42-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest serving over 8 million people. MPR has 127,150 members and more than 850,000 listeners each week, the largest audience of any regional public radio network.
Minnesota Public Radio has won more than 875 journalism awards, including the Peabody Award
, both the RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Award and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting award of the same name
, and the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Gold Baton Award.
Minnesota Public Radio, operating as American Public Media
, is the nation's second-largest producer and distributor of national public radio programs, reaching 14.6 million listeners nationwide each week. It is the largest producer and distributor of classical music programming in the country.
Minnesota Public Radio's 1,058-seat Fitzgerald Theater
and 100-seat UBS Forum provide a venue for live remote broadcasts, discussion forums, political debates, cultural programming and more.
As of 1999 the company operates on $32 million dollar a year with 30 stations in 6 states, and it has a $110 million endowment.
As of September 2011, MPR was equal with WNYC
for most listener support for a public radio network, and had the highest level of recurring monthly donors of any public radio network in the United States.
in Collegeville, just outside St. Cloud
. The Director of Broadcasting for the station was William H. Kling, a graduate of Saint John's.
It soon became apparent that St. Cloud and surrounding Stearns County didn't have enough listeners for the station to be viable, so Kling more than tripled KSJR's power in hopes of reaching the Twin Cities. However, it only provided grade B coverage to Minneapolis and the western portion of the metro, and completely missed St. Paul and the east. Realizing that the station needed to cover the Twin Cities to have a realistic chance of survival, St. John's signed on KSJN
, a low-powered repeater station for the Twin Cities, in 1968. However, the operation was still awash in debt. It soon became apparent that St. John's was in over its head operating a full-fledged noncommercial radio station, so it transferred KSJR/KSJN's assets to a community corporation, St. John's University Broadcasting. This corporation later changed its name to Minnesota Educational Radio, and finally Minnesota Public Radio. Kling led MPR as president and CEO for 44 years, before retiring in 2011.
In 1969 and 1970, MPR assisted in the formation of National Public Radio as a founding member of the organization. Gradually, the station moved its operations to St. Paul, and KSJN became the flagship station.
MPR began live broadcasting of Garrison Keillor
's A Prairie Home Companion
, one of the best-known programs on public radio, in 1974. In 1980, MPR originated the Peabody Award
-winning show, Saint Paul Sunday
, which went national via syndication in 1981.
MPR assisted in the formation of American Public Radio (now known as Public Radio International) in 1983, .
In 1991, MPR bought WLOL (99.5 FM) in the Twin Cities. This allowed MPR to split its services into two networks. The KSJN calls moved to 99.5, which began playing classical music full-time. News and talk remained on KSJN's original 91.1 frequency, which took new calls, KNOW-FM.
MPR acquired Marketplace Productions, which produces Marketplace
, "Marketplace Morning Report" and "Marketplace Money" from studios in Los Angeles, in association with the University of Southern California
, in 2000. That same year, MPR founded Southern California Public Radio, which entered into a public service operating agreement with Pasadena City College
for the operation of KPCC in Pasadena, California
.
In 2004, MPR announced it would buy WCAL
(89.3 FM), the classical music station operated by St. Olaf College
in Northfield, Minnesota
. WCAL (and a repeater station, KMSE in Rochester
), were sold in a deal valued at $10.5 million, which was approved by the Federal Communications Commission
in 2004
. The next year, following the acquisition by MPR, WCAL was transformed into MPR's third service, "The Current".
In 2008, a WCAL advocate group took St. Olaf College to court for breach of trust for selling the radio station. (A June 2008 judge's opinion described the station as a charitable trust and not the college's property to freely dispose with. http://savewcal.livejournal.com/121725.html)) MPR's General Counsel and three attorneys took part in the proceedings.http://savewcal.net/2008/10/28/rice-county-district-court-hearing-session-1-2/) The case is ongoing.
Today, MPR serves a regional audience of 850,000 listeners through 37 stations presenting three broadcast network services.
and NPR news/talk programming on a single service. Beginning in 1991
, MPR's programming split in two, forming separate news and classical music services (although one station in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
still carries a combination of those two services). The 2005 acquisition of WCAL
in Northfield, Minnesota
, which covers the Minneapolis-St. Paul and Rochester
areas, provided the opportunity to launch another music service, "The Current". This third service has gradually expanded to most of southern Minnesota.
, includes a mix of locally-produced programs and national/international shows.
The MPR newsroom has garnered international acclaim, most recently earning the inaugural Knight News Innovation EPpy Award in 2008. MPR's newsroom is known for its Public Insight Network, a database of citizen sources who contribute their expertise on a wide array of topics. The Public Insight Network grew to 100,000 sources in 2011 and partners with other news media, journalism schools, foundations and community groups.
As of 2011, 41 transmitters carry MPR's News and Information service.
MPRNews.org is a non-profit news
website
maintained by MPR. This online news source covers issues that affect the state including politics
, business
, education
, health
, environment
and the economy
. MPR News offers headline news, video, blogs, audio and multiple ways for readers to become involved in the news-making process.
(99.5 FM) in the Twin Cities. MPR's classical music library consists of over 50,000 compact discs.
MPR's classical music service features several online initiatives, such as the popular "Classical Love Notes," which allow listeners to send romantic classical music selected by MPR on-air hosts to their loved ones.
In the fall of 2006, MPR's classical music service reached an all-time listener high with over 375,000 weekly listeners.
There are 36 transmitters broadcasting the classical music service, including one station in Sun Valley, Idaho
.
, debuted on January 24, 2005, and airs an Adult album alternative
format.
Several people on The Current's initial staff are well known in the area for previous work at stations that highlight music from Minnesota and the Upper Midwest
. Many of the staffers and on-air personalities came from other similar stations, such as the University of Minnesota
's KUOM
, community-oriented KFAI
, and commercial alternative rock outlets REV 105
and Cincinnati, Ohio
's WOXY.com.
Programming on The Current is mostly locally-produced, including Musicheads with Bill DeVille. The Current also airs nationally-produced shows such as Sound Opinions
with Jim DeRogatis
and Greg Kot
and American Routes
with Nick Spitzer. In July 2007
, The Current created a one-hour program of music hosted by Mark Wheat
called "The Current Rotation." The program airs exclusively on WNYE
91.5 FM in New York.
The Current is carried on seven transmitters, serving a majority of the state's population. The main transmitter is KCMP
(89.3 FM), licensed to Northfield
on the southeastern periphery of the Twin Cities, though the signal covers most of the metro area. A lower-power station, KMSE
(88.7 FM), serves Rochester
and southeastern Minnesota, and KCMP translators serve Hinckley
and Mankato
. In addition, the station is broadcast on a HD Radio
sideband channel to listeners of KNSR in St. Cloud
and KPCC in Los Angeles
. The Current also streams online at http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/services/the_current/streams.shtml in a variety of formats.
Local Current is a service programmed by the staff of The Current, and featured music from Minnesota artists. Local Current airs on the HD2 subchannel of KCMP and via a separate webstream.
Wunderground Radio is also programmed by personnel at The Current, and airs a variation of their AAA format, with music geared toward children and parents. Wunderground Radio airs via a separate webstream.
Radio Heartland features an eclectic mix of acoustic, Americana
and roots music. The service can be found on the HD2 subchannel of KNOW-FM and also via a separate webcast. KNOW-FM also features an HD3 subchannel consisting of programming from BBC World Service
and repeat airings of NPR shows.
Subsidiary Communications Authority
(SCA's) are used to transmit a Minnesota version of the Radio Talking Book Network to disabled listeners around the state, in cooperation with Minnesota State Services for the Blind. MPR also serves as the radio backbone for the radio portion of the state's Emergency Broadcasting System, and as the backbone for the state's AMBER Alert
System.
Plans are in place to add the digital
HD Radio
system across all of MPR's transmitters. Special receivers are required to decode these broadcasts. They will enable the main channel on each frequency to be broadcast with digital quality and to reduce the multipath interference
that sometimes affects FM analog broadcasting. This move will also make additional digital channels possible.
Listener contributions, corporations, foundations and educational partners account for approximately 60 percent of MPR’s total budget. Additional funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
(8 percent). The State of Minnesota provides modest capital grants to upgrade infrastructure and equipment in greater Minnesota, but does not provide operating funding to the organization. MPR also receives operating funding through the sale of on-air and online underwriting.
Like other large nonprofit organizations with similar business models, additional funding for MPR comes from the for-profit Greenspring Media, a subsidiary of the parent nonprofit American Public Media Group (APMG), through sales of the magazine Minnesota Monthly and other ventures. APMG also owns and operates the Lake Wobegon USA store at the Mall of America
in Bloomington
, Minnesota
. and the Pretty Good Goods catalog. The for-profit Rivertown Trading Company, once a subsidiary of MPR’s parent company, was sold in 1998 for $124 million. Profits went toward creating MPR’s endowment, a percentage of which contributes to MPR's overall annual budget.
, Wisconsin
(La Crosse), North Dakota
(Fargo and Grand Forks), South Dakota
(Sioux Falls), Michigan
(Houghton), Iowa
(Decorah), and Idaho
(Sun Valley). MPR also operates KPCC in Pasadena, California
.
Most areas are served by both a classical music station and a news and information station. One location is covered by a single station that combines both services. Two locations are served by a classical music station, a news and information station, and The Current.
MPR's newest service, The Current, is available in Austin
, Hinckley
, Mankato
, the Twin Cities
, New Ulm
, Rochester
and St. Peter
.
Minnesota Public Radio also broadcasts all three of its services — News, Classical and The Current — on HD Radio
in several communities throughout the state of Minnesota. In the Twin Cities, MPR multicasts "Classical 24
", BBC News
and "More", a Spanish language
service from Radio Netherlands
called "Ahora", and "Wonderground Radio", a service specifically geared towards children.
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...
. With its three services, News & Information, Classical Music
KSJN
KSJN is the flagship station of Minnesota Public Radio's classical music network, serving the Twin Cities region. Prior to 1991, 99.5 was known as WLOL, best known as a top-rated CHR station during the 1980s.-KSJN intellectual unit:...
and The Current
KCMP
-WCAL:The station began with physics experiments in 1918 when five students and a professor built a small radio transmitter at St. Olaf College. Using a wire antenna strung between the campus chapel and the college's "Old Main" , signals from these experiments were picked up as far away as New...
, MPR operates a 42-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest serving over 8 million people. MPR has 127,150 members and more than 850,000 listeners each week, the largest audience of any regional public radio network.
Minnesota Public Radio has won more than 875 journalism awards, including the Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
, both the RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Award and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting award of the same name
Edward R. Murrow Award (CPB)
The Edward R. Murrow Award for Outstanding Contributions to Public Radio is a journalism award given by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting annually since 1997.-Recipients:* 1977, Burton D. Harrison* 1978, Donald R. Quayle* 1979, Albert L. Hulsen...
, and the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Gold Baton Award.
Minnesota Public Radio, operating as American Public Media
American Public Media
American Public Media is the second largest producer of public radio programs in the United States of America after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and operates radio stations in Minnesota, California, and Florida. Its station brands are Minnesota Public Radio,...
, is the nation's second-largest producer and distributor of national public radio programs, reaching 14.6 million listeners nationwide each week. It is the largest producer and distributor of classical music programming in the country.
Minnesota Public Radio's 1,058-seat Fitzgerald Theater
Fitzgerald Theater
The Fitzgerald Theater is the oldest existing stage venue in the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota, and the home of American Public Media's A Prairie Home Companion. It was one of many theaters built by the Shubert Theatre Corporation, and was initially named the Sam S. Shubert Theater...
and 100-seat UBS Forum provide a venue for live remote broadcasts, discussion forums, political debates, cultural programming and more.
As of 1999 the company operates on $32 million dollar a year with 30 stations in 6 states, and it has a $110 million endowment.
As of September 2011, MPR was equal with WNYC
WNYC
WNYC is a set of call letters shared by a pair of co-owned, non-profit, public radio stations located in New York City.WNYC broadcasts on the AM band at 820 kHz, and WNYC-FM is at 93.9 MHz. Both stations are members of National Public Radio and carry distinct, but similar news/talk programs...
for most listener support for a public radio network, and had the highest level of recurring monthly donors of any public radio network in the United States.
History
Minnesota Public Radio began on January 22, 1967, when KSJR signed on from the campus of Saint John's UniversityCollege of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University
The College of Saint Benedict , for women, and Saint John's University , for men, are partnered liberal arts colleges respectively located in St. Joseph and Collegeville, Minnesota, USA. Students attend classes and activities together, and have access to the resources of both campuses...
in Collegeville, just outside St. Cloud
St. Cloud, Minnesota
St. Cloud is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest population center in the state's central region. The population was 65,842 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Stearns County...
. The Director of Broadcasting for the station was William H. Kling, a graduate of Saint John's.
It soon became apparent that St. Cloud and surrounding Stearns County didn't have enough listeners for the station to be viable, so Kling more than tripled KSJR's power in hopes of reaching the Twin Cities. However, it only provided grade B coverage to Minneapolis and the western portion of the metro, and completely missed St. Paul and the east. Realizing that the station needed to cover the Twin Cities to have a realistic chance of survival, St. John's signed on KSJN
KSJN
KSJN is the flagship station of Minnesota Public Radio's classical music network, serving the Twin Cities region. Prior to 1991, 99.5 was known as WLOL, best known as a top-rated CHR station during the 1980s.-KSJN intellectual unit:...
, a low-powered repeater station for the Twin Cities, in 1968. However, the operation was still awash in debt. It soon became apparent that St. John's was in over its head operating a full-fledged noncommercial radio station, so it transferred KSJR/KSJN's assets to a community corporation, St. John's University Broadcasting. This corporation later changed its name to Minnesota Educational Radio, and finally Minnesota Public Radio. Kling led MPR as president and CEO for 44 years, before retiring in 2011.
In 1969 and 1970, MPR assisted in the formation of National Public Radio as a founding member of the organization. Gradually, the station moved its operations to St. Paul, and KSJN became the flagship station.
MPR began live broadcasting of Garrison Keillor
Garrison Keillor
Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio personality. He is known as host of the Minnesota Public Radio show A Prairie Home Companion Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (born August 7, 1942) is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio...
's A Prairie Home Companion
A Prairie Home Companion
A Prairie Home Companion is a live radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor. The show runs on Saturdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Central Time, and usually originates from the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota, although it is frequently taken on the road...
, one of the best-known programs on public radio, in 1974. In 1980, MPR originated the Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
-winning show, Saint Paul Sunday
Saint Paul Sunday
Saint Paul Sunday is a Peabody Award-winning weekly classical music radio program, hosted by Bill McGlaughlin. It is America's most widely listened to weekly classical music program produced by public radio, and airs on approximately 200 stations nationwide. Programs since 1997 are also available...
, which went national via syndication in 1981.
MPR assisted in the formation of American Public Radio (now known as Public Radio International) in 1983, .
In 1991, MPR bought WLOL (99.5 FM) in the Twin Cities. This allowed MPR to split its services into two networks. The KSJN calls moved to 99.5, which began playing classical music full-time. News and talk remained on KSJN's original 91.1 frequency, which took new calls, KNOW-FM.
MPR acquired Marketplace Productions, which produces Marketplace
Marketplace (radio program)
Marketplace is a radio program that focuses on business, the economy, and events that influence them. Hosted by Kai Ryssdal, the show is produced and distributed by American Public Media, in association with the University of Southern California...
, "Marketplace Morning Report" and "Marketplace Money" from studios in Los Angeles, in association with the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, in 2000. That same year, MPR founded Southern California Public Radio, which entered into a public service operating agreement with Pasadena City College
Pasadena City College
Pasadena City College is a community college in Pasadena, California, USA, located on Colorado Boulevard. PCC is the third largest community college campus in the United States. PCC was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. In 1954, Pasadena Junior College merged with another junior...
for the operation of KPCC in Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
.
In 2004, MPR announced it would buy WCAL
KCMP
-WCAL:The station began with physics experiments in 1918 when five students and a professor built a small radio transmitter at St. Olaf College. Using a wire antenna strung between the campus chapel and the college's "Old Main" , signals from these experiments were picked up as far away as New...
(89.3 FM), the classical music station operated by St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College is a coeducational, residential, four-year, private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American immigrant pastors and farmers, led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after Olaf II of Norway,...
in Northfield, Minnesota
Northfield, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 17,147 people, 4,909 households, and 3,210 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,452.2 people per square mile . There were 5,119 housing units at an average density of 732.1 per square mile...
. WCAL (and a repeater station, KMSE in Rochester
Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...
), were sold in a deal valued at $10.5 million, which was approved by 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...
in 2004
November 2004
November 2004: January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – December-Events:November 2004: January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – December-Events:November 2004: January – February –...
. The next year, following the acquisition by MPR, WCAL was transformed into MPR's third service, "The Current".
In 2008, a WCAL advocate group took St. Olaf College to court for breach of trust for selling the radio station. (A June 2008 judge's opinion described the station as a charitable trust and not the college's property to freely dispose with. http://savewcal.livejournal.com/121725.html)) MPR's General Counsel and three attorneys took part in the proceedings.http://savewcal.net/2008/10/28/rice-county-district-court-hearing-session-1-2/) The case is ongoing.
Today, MPR serves a regional audience of 850,000 listeners through 37 stations presenting three broadcast network services.
Services
With the addition of later stations, MPR originally offered a mix of classical musicClassical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
and NPR news/talk programming on a single service. Beginning in 1991
1991 in radio
The year 1991 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:* January 18 - Brian Beirne became one of the few celebrities from radio to get a "star" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame....
, MPR's programming split in two, forming separate news and classical music services (although one station in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
Upper Peninsula of Michigan
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the northern of the two major land masses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan. It is commonly referred to as the Upper Peninsula, the U.P., or Upper Michigan. It is also known as the land "above the Bridge" linking the two peninsulas. The peninsula is bounded...
still carries a combination of those two services). The 2005 acquisition of WCAL
KCMP
-WCAL:The station began with physics experiments in 1918 when five students and a professor built a small radio transmitter at St. Olaf College. Using a wire antenna strung between the campus chapel and the college's "Old Main" , signals from these experiments were picked up as far away as New...
in Northfield, Minnesota
Northfield, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 17,147 people, 4,909 households, and 3,210 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,452.2 people per square mile . There were 5,119 housing units at an average density of 732.1 per square mile...
, which covers the Minneapolis-St. Paul and Rochester
Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...
areas, provided the opportunity to launch another music service, "The Current". This third service has gradually expanded to most of southern Minnesota.
News and information
MPR's news and information service, originating from KNOW-FM (91.1 FM) in the Twin CitiesTwin cities
Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...
, includes a mix of locally-produced programs and national/international shows.
The MPR newsroom has garnered international acclaim, most recently earning the inaugural Knight News Innovation EPpy Award in 2008. MPR's newsroom is known for its Public Insight Network, a database of citizen sources who contribute their expertise on a wide array of topics. The Public Insight Network grew to 100,000 sources in 2011 and partners with other news media, journalism schools, foundations and community groups.
As of 2011, 41 transmitters carry MPR's News and Information service.
MPRNews.org is a non-profit news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
maintained by MPR. This online news source covers issues that affect the state including politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
, environment
Environmental policy
Environmental policy is any [course of] action deliberately taken [or not taken] to manage human activities with a view to prevent, reduce, or mitigate harmful effects on nature and natural resources, and ensuring that man-made changes to the environment do not have harmful effects on...
and the economy
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
. MPR News offers headline news, video, blogs, audio and multiple ways for readers to become involved in the news-making process.
Classical music
Like its news and information service, MPR's classical music service is distributed via a statewide network of 37 stations originating from KSJNKSJN
KSJN is the flagship station of Minnesota Public Radio's classical music network, serving the Twin Cities region. Prior to 1991, 99.5 was known as WLOL, best known as a top-rated CHR station during the 1980s.-KSJN intellectual unit:...
(99.5 FM) in the Twin Cities. MPR's classical music library consists of over 50,000 compact discs.
MPR's classical music service features several online initiatives, such as the popular "Classical Love Notes," which allow listeners to send romantic classical music selected by MPR on-air hosts to their loved ones.
In the fall of 2006, MPR's classical music service reached an all-time listener high with over 375,000 weekly listeners.
There are 36 transmitters broadcasting the classical music service, including one station in Sun Valley, Idaho
Sun Valley, Idaho
Sun Valley is a resort city in Blaine County in the central part of the U.S. state of Idaho, adjacent to the city of Ketchum, lying within the greater Wood River valley. Tourists from around the world enjoy its skiing, hiking, ice skating, trail riding, tennis, and cycling. The population was 1,427...
.
The Current
MPR's third service, 89.3 The CurrentKCMP
-WCAL:The station began with physics experiments in 1918 when five students and a professor built a small radio transmitter at St. Olaf College. Using a wire antenna strung between the campus chapel and the college's "Old Main" , signals from these experiments were picked up as far away as New...
, debuted on January 24, 2005, and airs an Adult album alternative
Adult album alternative
Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats....
format.
Several people on The Current's initial staff are well known in the area for previous work at stations that highlight music from Minnesota and the Upper Midwest
Upper Midwest
The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the midwest. Although there are no uniformly agreed-upon boundaries, the region is most commonly used to refer to the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and...
. Many of the staffers and on-air personalities came from other similar stations, such as the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
's KUOM
KUOM
KUOM, known as "770 Radio K", "Real College Radio" is a college radio station operated by the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Likely the oldest station in the state, Radio K broadcasts an eclectic mix of music from its transmitters—a variety that has been praised by radio critics...
, community-oriented KFAI
KFAI
KFAI is a community radio station in Minnesota. The station broadcasts a wide variety of music, and also airs programming catering to many of the diverse ethnic groups of the region...
, and commercial alternative rock outlets REV 105
WGVX
WGVX, WGVY and WGVZ is a trimulcast serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul region, and an area of central Minnesota to the north. The three stations are now owned by Cumulus Media, along with sister stations KQRS-FM and KXXR....
and Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
's WOXY.com.
Programming on The Current is mostly locally-produced, including Musicheads with Bill DeVille. The Current also airs nationally-produced shows such as Sound Opinions
Sound Opinions
Sound Opinions is a radio talk show focusing on rock music. It airs Friday night at 8 PM CST and Saturday morning at 11 AM CST on Chicago Public Radio. The show is hosted by Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot and features interviews with musicians and industry figures as well as featuring current music...
with Jim DeRogatis
Jim DeRogatis
James "Jim" DeRogatis is an American music critic and co-host of Sound Opinions. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as Spin, Guitar World and Modern Drummer, and for fifteen years was the pop music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.He joined Columbia College Chicago as a full-time...
and Greg Kot
Greg Kot
Greg Kot is an American writer and journalist. Since 1990, Kot has been the music critic at the Chicago Tribune, where he has covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and business issues...
and American Routes
American Routes
American Routes is a weekly two-hour public radio program that presents the breadth and depth of the American musical and cultural landscape. Hosted by Nick Spitzer, American Routes is syndicated by 225 stations, with over half a million listeners. It is produced out of New Orleans and distributed...
with Nick Spitzer. In July 2007
2007 in radio
The year 2007 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*January 8: Nanci "The Fabulous Sports Babe" Donnellan returns to radio after a six-year absence, filling in for local hosts in Florida....
, The Current created a one-hour program of music hosted by Mark Wheat
Mark Wheat
Mark Wheat is an English disc jockey working at the Minnesota Public Radio station KCMP where he provides one of the outlet's unique voices because of his accent. Wheat grew up in the small town of Clenchwarton, near King's Lynn, Norfolk, England, where he dreamed of becoming a radio host while...
called "The Current Rotation." The program airs exclusively on WNYE
WNYE (FM)
- History :WNYE is operated by the NYC Media Group, a division of the City of the New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. The program started out as a high-frequency AM station in 1938, switching to 42.1 MHz FM in 1942. In 1946, it moved to 91.7 MHz, in a new FM...
91.5 FM in New York.
The Current is carried on seven transmitters, serving a majority of the state's population. The main transmitter is KCMP
KCMP
-WCAL:The station began with physics experiments in 1918 when five students and a professor built a small radio transmitter at St. Olaf College. Using a wire antenna strung between the campus chapel and the college's "Old Main" , signals from these experiments were picked up as far away as New...
(89.3 FM), licensed to Northfield
Northfield, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 17,147 people, 4,909 households, and 3,210 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,452.2 people per square mile . There were 5,119 housing units at an average density of 732.1 per square mile...
on the southeastern periphery of the Twin Cities, though the signal covers most of the metro area. A lower-power station, KMSE
KMSE
KMSE is a radio station licensed to Rochester, Minnesota. The station is owned by Minnesota Public Radio , and airs MPR's "The Current" network, consisting of an Adult Album Alternative music format originating from KCMP in Northfield, Minnesota....
(88.7 FM), serves Rochester
Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...
and southeastern Minnesota, and KCMP translators serve Hinckley
Hinckley, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,291 people, 551 households, and 332 families residing in the city. The population density was 454.3 people per square mile . There were 614 housing units at an average density of 216.0 per square mile...
and Mankato
Mankato, Minnesota
Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 39,309 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The county seat of Blue Earth County, it is located...
. In addition, the station is broadcast on a HD Radio
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
sideband channel to listeners of KNSR in St. Cloud
St. Cloud, Minnesota
St. Cloud is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest population center in the state's central region. The population was 65,842 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Stearns County...
and KPCC in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. The Current also streams online at http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/services/the_current/streams.shtml in a variety of formats.
Additional services
Minnesota Public Radio also programs several other music services, all available online, with a few offered on HD Radio in the Twin Cities area.Local Current is a service programmed by the staff of The Current, and featured music from Minnesota artists. Local Current airs on the HD2 subchannel of KCMP and via a separate webstream.
Wunderground Radio is also programmed by personnel at The Current, and airs a variation of their AAA format, with music geared toward children and parents. Wunderground Radio airs via a separate webstream.
Radio Heartland features an eclectic mix of acoustic, Americana
Americana
Americana refers to artifacts, or a collection of artifacts, related to the history, geography, folklore and cultural heritage of the United States. Many kinds of material fall within the definition of Americana: paintings, prints and drawings; license plates or entire vehicles, household objects,...
and roots music. The service can be found on the HD2 subchannel of KNOW-FM and also via a separate webcast. KNOW-FM also features an HD3 subchannel consisting of programming from BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
and repeat airings of NPR shows.
Subsidiary Communications Authority
Subsidiary Communications Authority
Subsidiary Communications Authorization in the United States, and Subsidiary Communications Multiplex Operation in Canada, is a subcarrier on a radio station, allowing the station to broadcast additional services as part of its signal.-Background:"Subsidiary Communications Authorization" is the...
(SCA's) are used to transmit a Minnesota version of the Radio Talking Book Network to disabled listeners around the state, in cooperation with Minnesota State Services for the Blind. MPR also serves as the radio backbone for the radio portion of the state's Emergency Broadcasting System, and as the backbone for the state's AMBER Alert
AMBER Alert
An AMBER Alert or a Child Abduction Emergency is a child abduction alert bulletin in several countries throughout the world, issued upon the suspected abduction of a child, since 1996...
System.
Plans are in place to add the digital
Digital radio
Digital radio has several meanings:1. Today the most common meaning is digital radio broadcasting technologies, such as the digital audio broadcasting system, also known as Eureka 147. In these systems, the analog audio signal is digitized into zeros and ones, compressed using formats such as...
HD Radio
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
system across all of MPR's transmitters. Special receivers are required to decode these broadcasts. They will enable the main channel on each frequency to be broadcast with digital quality and to reduce the multipath interference
Multipath interference
Multipath interference is a phenomenon in the physics of waves whereby a wave from a source travels to a detector via two or more paths and, under the right condition, the two components of the wave interfere...
that sometimes affects FM analog broadcasting. This move will also make additional digital channels possible.
Programs
Minnesota Public Radio regional programs:
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American Public Media programs heard on Minnesota Public Radio:
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Other programs heard on Minnesota Public Radio:
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Funding
Minnesota Public Radio is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization and relies on contributions from listeners, foundations, educational partners and corporations for its general operations. It also receives support through underwriting on the air and on the Web.Listener contributions, corporations, foundations and educational partners account for approximately 60 percent of MPR’s total budget. Additional funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a non-profit corporation created by an act of the United States Congress, funded by the United States’ federal government to promote public broadcasting...
(8 percent). The State of Minnesota provides modest capital grants to upgrade infrastructure and equipment in greater Minnesota, but does not provide operating funding to the organization. MPR also receives operating funding through the sale of on-air and online underwriting.
Like other large nonprofit organizations with similar business models, additional funding for MPR comes from the for-profit Greenspring Media, a subsidiary of the parent nonprofit American Public Media Group (APMG), through sales of the magazine Minnesota Monthly and other ventures. APMG also owns and operates the Lake Wobegon USA store at the Mall of America
Mall of America
The Mall of America, also called MOA and the Megamall, is a shopping mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities, in the United States. It is located southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway 77, north of the Minnesota River and is across the...
in Bloomington
Bloomington, Minnesota
Bloomington is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota in Hennepin County. Located on the north bank of the Minnesota River above its confluence with the Mississippi River, Bloomington lies at the heart of the southern...
, 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 the Pretty Good Goods catalog. The for-profit Rivertown Trading Company, once a subsidiary of MPR’s parent company, was sold in 1998 for $124 million. Profits went toward creating MPR’s endowment, a percentage of which contributes to MPR's overall annual budget.
Broadcast coverage
Minnesota Public Radio broadcasts on 43 stations that serve Minnesota and its neighboring communities and 42 translators providing additional local coverage. (40 + 41 = 81 total.) Stations are located in MinnesotaMinnesota
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...
, 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...
(La Crosse), North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
(Fargo and Grand Forks), South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
(Sioux Falls), Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
(Houghton), Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
(Decorah), and Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
(Sun Valley). MPR also operates KPCC in Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
.
Most areas are served by both a classical music station and a news and information station. One location is covered by a single station that combines both services. Two locations are served by a classical music station, a news and information station, and The Current.
MPR's newest service, The Current, is available in Austin
Austin, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 23,314 people, 9,897 households, and 6,076 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,168.2 people per square mile . There were 10,261 housing units at an average density of 954.3 per square mile...
, Hinckley
Hinckley, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,291 people, 551 households, and 332 families residing in the city. The population density was 454.3 people per square mile . There were 614 housing units at an average density of 216.0 per square mile...
, Mankato
Mankato, Minnesota
Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 39,309 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The county seat of Blue Earth County, it is located...
, the Twin Cities
Twin cities
Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...
, New Ulm
New Ulm, Minnesota
New Ulm is a city in Brown County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,522 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Brown County....
, Rochester
Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...
and St. Peter
St. Peter, Minnesota
St. Peter is a city in Nicollet County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 11,196 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Nicollet County.St...
.
Minnesota Public Radio also broadcasts all three of its services — News, Classical and The Current — on HD Radio
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
in several communities throughout the state of Minnesota. In the Twin Cities, MPR multicasts "Classical 24
Classical 24
Classical 24 is a syndicated, satellite-delivered public radio service providing classical music to its carrying stations. It generally airs overnights on many non-commercial and a handful of commercial classical music stations. However, the service is operated 24 hours a day and is used by some...
", BBC News
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
and "More", a Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
service from Radio Netherlands
Radio Netherlands
Radio Netherlands Worldwide is a public radio and television network based in Hilversum, producing and transmitting programmes for international audiences outside the Netherlands...
called "Ahora", and "Wonderground Radio", a service specifically geared towards children.
See also
- American Public MediaAmerican Public MediaAmerican Public Media is the second largest producer of public radio programs in the United States of America after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and operates radio stations in Minnesota, California, and Florida. Its station brands are Minnesota Public Radio,...
- Saint Paul SundaySaint Paul SundaySaint Paul Sunday is a Peabody Award-winning weekly classical music radio program, hosted by Bill McGlaughlin. It is America's most widely listened to weekly classical music program produced by public radio, and airs on approximately 200 stations nationwide. Programs since 1997 are also available...
- Public Insight JournalismPublic Insight JournalismPublic Insight Journalism is a pioneering approach to journalism created by American Public Media. It recognizes that broadcast media today operate in a changed media environment, and need to expand the resources available to journalists when deciding what is news and reporting on that news, as...
(a newsgathering and networking initiative founded by MPR) - In the LoopIn the LoopIn the Loop is an idiom meaning "informed" or "up-to-date". It may also refer to:*In The Loop, a radio and internet program produced by Minnesota Public Radio*In the Loop , a 2009 feature film directed by Armando Iannucci...
(radio show) - Independent Public RadioIndependent Public RadioIndependent Public Radio is a public radio network in Minnesota. It is the second-largest public radio organization in the state, after Minnesota Public Radio...
(another public radio network in Minnesota, also known as AMPERS) - Inishowen Community RadioInishowen Community RadioInishowen Community Radio is a local radio station broadcasting on the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland...
External links
- Minnesota Public Radio Web site, including history and list of stations
- Minnewiki: The Minnesota Music Encyclopedia – Wiki operated by Minnesota Public Radio
- American Public Media website
- Terry Fiedler and Deborah Caulfield Rybak (October 24, 2004). MPR chief 'sings his own song' in creating a national powerhouse. Star TribuneStar TribuneThe Star Tribune is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is published seven days each week in an edition for the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. A statewide version is also available across Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota. The...
. Accessed November 18, 2004. - MPRNewsQ - Online news service launched in 2009