KSTP (AM)

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AM 1500 KSTP
Broadcast area	Minneapolis-St. Paul (day), Upper Midwest (night)
Slogan	The Talk Station
First air date	1923 or 1924
Frequency	1500 kHz AM
Format	Talk
Callsign meaning	K St. Paul
Owner	Hubbard Broadcasting Corp.
Website	www.am1500.com

Entrance to the KSTP studios on University Avenue in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. The sidewalk leading to the building lies precisely on the city line, as does the central leg of the tower.

AM 1500 KSTP is and is the flagship station of the Hubbard Broadcasting Corporation, which also owns several other TV stations across the United States and some other properties.

[edit] History

KSTP's AM signal at 1500 kHz is the product of a 1928 merger between two other Twin Cities stations. WAMD ("Where All Minneapolis Dances") and KFOY had each started broadcasting a few years earlier. Stanley E. Hubbard's WAMD went on the air for the first time on February 13, 1925 (some sources say 1923), originally broadcasting live dance music from a local ballroom. It is claimed that this was the first radio station to be completely supported by running paid advertisements. KFOY radio first took to the air on March 12, 1924 in St. Paul.

Twin Cities stations were experimenting with frequency-modulated transmissions in the late 1930s. KSTP engineers had started running W9XUP at 29.95 MHz by 1938. This "ultra-short-wave" station continued regular broadcasts until at least 1944. Other Twin Cities stations also experimented with FM, but not as extensively. WCCO operated a low-power station, but it apparently went off the air quickly. WTCN's FM transmission stayed around longer, but remained intermittent. KSTP's locally produced programs from this era include the 5:45 News, with newscaster Cal Karnstedt, in 1947.

KSTP was an affiliate for the NBC radio network for much of its early existence. They programmed a full service MOR radio format, in the shadow of the similar WCCO (AM). In 1974, KSTP-AM broke away from their longtime format and became one of four area stations at the time to program a rock music/Top 40 format, competing with the AM stations WDGY, KDWB and later, WYOO. The competition would eventually shake itself out, with outrageous rocker WYOO dropping out after being sold in 1976, the staid WDGY switching to country music the following year, and uptempo hits station KSTP evolving into its current news/talk format by 1979. Top 40 rock music, by this time, was starting to migrate to the FM band.

Notable hosts who have been on KSTP AM include Jesse Ventura, Tom Barnard, Don Vogel, John MacDougal, Griff, Geoff Charles, Joe Soucheray, James Lileks, Leigh Kamman, Barbara Carlson, Peter Thiele, Tom Mischke, Jason Lewis, and Paul Brand. This wonderfully entertaining stable of on-air talent was supported by an equally skillful team of producers who included Bruce Huff, Rob Pendleton, Alison Brown, Jean Bjorgen, David Elvin (who Vogel dubbed the "Steven Spielberg of Talk Radio"), Mitch Berg and others.

The station has, for the most part, emphasized local hosts over the years, though it was one of Rush Limbaugh's first affiliates (Clear Channel-owned KTLK-FM would take over rights to Limbaugh's show in January 2006). Other syndicated hosts previously on KSTP include Sean Hannity, Bruce Williams, Larry King & Owen Spann.

The station's studios are located in St. Paul and its transmitter is located in Maplewood, Minnesota.

On August 1, 2006, the station announced that they would be the new flagship for Minnesota Twins baseball, effective with the start of the 2007 season. The Twins had been on rival WCCO since arriving in Minnesota in 1961.

[edit] Reference

• Sies, Luther F. Encyclopedia of American Radio 1920-1960. Jefferson, NC:McFarland, 2000. ISBN 0-7864-0452-3

[edit] External links

• KSTP
• Radiotapes.com: featuring historic airchecks of KSTP-AM and other Twin Cities radio stations
• KSTP to be Minnesota Twins flagship affiliate in 2007

Query the FCC's AM station database for KSTP