KQDS-TV

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KQDS-TV
KQDS screenshot
Duluth, Minnesota / Superior, Wisconsin
Branding FOX 21
Slogan "FOX for the Northland"
"FOX 21 News, the choice is simple"
Channels 21 (UHF) analog,
17 (UHF) digital
Affiliations FOX
Owner Red River Broadcasting
Founded 1994
Call letters meaning K Quality Duluth Superior
Former callsigns KNLD (1994-1999)
Former affiliations Independent (1994-1999)
Transmitter Power 550kw (analog) 1,000kw (digital)

KQDS-TV 21 is the FOX affiliate for Duluth, Minnesota, USA, serving Northeastern Minnesota, Northwestern Wisconsin, and a portion of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. KQDS-DT transmits on channel 17. Its transmitter is located in Duluth.

Contents

[edit] News

KQDS-TV produces FOX 21 News at 9, a live 35-minute newscast airing Monday through Friday. The newscast debuted March 12, 2007, with co-anchors Amy Rutledge and Nick LaFave. Rutledge co-anchored at KDLH Channel 3 until March 2005, and the news staff includes veterans of every commercial station in the market.

FOX 21 News at 9 breaks some conventions of modern TV newscasts, with longer stories and daily news coverage from communities across the market. The station also has a partnership with the Duluth News Tribune and provides weather for co-owned radio stations in the market.

[edit] News Team

  • Amy Rutledge- Anchor/Reporter
  • Nick LaFave- Anchor/Reporter
  • Todd Nelson- Weather
  • Randy Howe- Sports
  • Jenn O'Neill- Sports Reporter
FOX 21 News anchors.
FOX 21 News anchors.
  • Melissa Ganje- Reporter
  • Lisa Waldrup- Reporter
  • Julie Moravchik- News Director
  • Jon Ellis- Asst. News Director
  • Dean Vogtman- Chief Photojournalist
  • Harry Baker- Photojournalist
  • Chris Misun- Photojournalist
  • John Thain- Photojournalist

[edit] Syndicated programming

[edit] Repeaters

  • Red River also owns KQDS-AM 1490/FM 94.9, KZIO-FM 104.3/94.1 and WWAX 92.1 FM, all in Duluth, MN, in addition to twelve other stations in northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin.

[edit] History

The station that is now KQDS-TV signed on as KNLD-TV in 1994. However, very few people knew the station was actually on the air at this time, as it broadcast at low power with an extremely limited schedule -- usually only a few hours in the morning to meet minimum FCC requirements for keeping its license. The station was independent, and although its lineup once included Big Ten College Football, most of the schedule was filled with the Shop at Home network by the late 1990's.

In 1998, Red River Broadcasting sister company KQDS Acquisition Corp. purchased KNLD-TV, KDDS 1490 AM (now KQDS-AM), and KQDS-FM 94.9, and later changed KNLD-TV's callsign to KQDS-TV. The new owners found some controversy as they tried to upgrade: KQDS was constructing a new tower to replace its old one adjacent to Duluth Central High School, and some school and city officials expressed concern about the danger of ice falling from the tower onto the Central parking lot. Although the new tower had already been approved by city officials, KQDS agreed to construct the new tower further from the parking lot than initially planned.

On September 1, 1999, KQDS-TV became a FOX affiliate, increased its power, and added eight translator stations across the Northland. This was the first time the full FOX programming lineup was available over-the-air in the market.

In FOX 21's early years, the station experimented with a 9 p.m. newscast produced by NBC affiliate KBJR. It was broadcast out of KBJR's studios and anchored by KBJR's Mark Mallory (news), Paul Heggen (weather) and Tom Hansen (sports). The newscast was cancelled after about nine months due to low ratings.

KQDS-DT signed on several years later, and increased to 1,000kw in 2006 following construction of a new transmitter plant.

[edit] Trivia

  • Prior to KQDS-TV's affiliation with FOX in 1999, KBJR Channel 6 and WDIO Channel 10 had secondary affiliations with the network, carrying NFL football, and in some seasons, popular FOX programs at alternate times. FOX programming was also available on cable systems from the national "Foxnet" channel.
  • The original callsign of KNLD-TV/KQDS-TV, never used on the air, was KRBR, which is now used by a radio station in the market.
  • KQDS-DT is the only station in the Duluth-Superior market broadcasting at full digital power of 1,000kW.
  • FOX 21 is the only station with translators in Ashland, Hayward, and Ironwood.

[edit] External links

Broadcast television in the Duluth/Superior market (Nielsen DMA #137)

KDLH 3 (CBS) (The CW via "KWBD" on DT2) - KBJR 6 / KRII 11 (NBC) (MNTV on KBJR DT2) (WX+ on KBJR DT3) -
WDSE 8 / WRPT-DT 31 (PBS) - WDIO 10 / WIRT 13 (ABC) - KQDS 21 (FOX) - WLEF 36 (PBS / WPT) - K58CM 58 (TBN)
Defunct broadcast stations

WAST-LP 25 (UPN)
Fox Network Affiliates in the state of Minnesota

KMSP 9 (Minneapolis) - KBRR 101 (Thief River Falls) - KQDS 21 (Duluth) - KXLT 47 (Rochester)

1Satellite of KVRR, Fargo, North Dakota
See also: ABC, CBS, CW, MyNetworkTV, NBC, PBS, and Other stations in Minnesota
Fox Network Affiliates in the state of Michigan

WJBK 2 (Detroit) - WXMI 17 (Grand Rapids) - WMQF 19 (Marquette) - W32CV 321 (Ironwood) - WFQX 33 / WFUP 45 (Cadillac / Vanderbilt) - W40AN 402 (Escanaba) - WSYM 47 (Lansing) - WSMH 66 (Flint / Saginaw)

1W32CV is a repeater of KQDS-TV, Duluth, Minnesota.
2W40AN is a repeater of WLUK-TV, Green Bay, Wisconsin.
See also: ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, UPN, WB and Other stations in Michigan and CBC, CTV, Global, SRC and Other stations in Ontario
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