Telefarm Towers Shoreview
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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 locals, are owned by Telefarm, Inc., which is a company jointly owned by the Twin Cities stations WCCO channel 4, KSTP channel 5, and KARE channel 11. The towers are used for both analog and digital television broadcasts, plus the transmission of KSTC channel 45 (owned by the same company as KSTP) and WUCW channel 23. Some area radio stations also use the facility. The towers were initially built in the 1970s. In 1971, one of the towers collapsed when it was partially completed, killing seven workers.
The towers were upgraded at the turn of the century to allow the addition of digital TV transmitters to meet Federal Communications Commission requirements. Because each antenna assembly weighs many tons, the towers had to be strengthened. Work took a bit longer than expected, and KSTP notably used its original broadcast tower along University Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota for digital transmission for about a year starting in late 1999 before the construction was finished.
Upgrades to the first tower were completed in 2000. It now rises 437.7 meters (1436 feet) from the ground. Its geographical coordinates are .
Work on the second tower, which rises 438.3 m (1438 ft), was finished in 2001. It is located at .
[edit] See also
- KMSP TV Tower – another major tower in Shoreview
- List of masts
[edit] References
- (November 8, 1999). KSTP-TV to flip the switch for DTV. (press release)
- (January 30, 1998). TV, radio towers prep for digital overload. Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal.
