KNOW-FM

KNOW-FM
City of license Minneapolis-St. Paul
Broadcast area Minneapolis-St. Paul
Branding Minnesota Public Radio
Frequency

91.1 FM (MHz)
(also on HD Radio)


91.1 HD-2 Radio Heartland (Folk)
91.1 HD-3 BBC World Service
First air date 1967
Format Public; News/Talk
ERP 100,000 watts
HAAT 400 meters
Class C
Facility ID 42949
Callsign meaning the word KNOW
Former callsigns KSJN (1967-1989)
Affiliations MPR, NPR
Owner Minnesota Public Radio
Sister stations KCMP, KSJN
Webcast Listen Live
Website minnesota.publicradio.org

KNOW-FM (91.1 FM) is the flagship radio station of Minnesota Public Radio's "news and information" network, primarily broadcasting a talk radio format to the Minneapolis-St. Paul market. The frequency had previously gone under the call sign KSJN, but the purchase of a commercial station at 99.5 MHz in 1991 allowed MPR to broadcast distinct talk radio and classical music services.

Contents

History

WLOL (1330 AM) was purchased by MPR in 1980 and carried the KSJN call sign until 1989 when the KNOW letters became available. The AM signal was later spun off into a for-profit subsidiary to help fund the public broadcaster, and was eventually sold off. The station has since reverted to their original WLOL call sign.

In the 1970s, KSJN 91.1 FM and WLOL (99.5 FM) cooperated in an experimental use of quadraphonic stereo, with each station carrying two channels of audio. However, this "quadcast" had some undesirable "ping-pong" effects, much like early stereo broadcasts using the same method did. Somewhat ironically, KNOW currently broadcasts primarily in monaural as its schedule is not music-focused.

HD Radio

KNOW-FM features Radio Heartland, a Web-and HD Radio- service, on its HD Radio subchannel. Its playlist consists primarily of acoustic, singer-songwriter, folk and Americana music.[1] The service launched in December 2008.[2]

Radio Heartland's schedule also includes the programs A Prairie Home Companion and American Routes from American Public Media, and the shows Thistle and Shamrock and Mountain Stage from NPR. These additional shows were added to Radio Heartland's schedule in November 2009.[3]

Austin, Texas

The callsign KNOW was also used by a major AC radio station in Austin, Texas, located at 1490 kHz. The station signed off in 1989 after operating for 50 years. The Spanish station KFON assumed the frequency in 1993.

See also

References

  1. ^ http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/services/radio_heartland/faq.shtml
  2. ^ Schmitt, Christina. "From the Heart: Dale Connelly brings Radio Heartland to the digital world." Minnesota Monthly, February 2009.
  3. ^ http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/services/radio_heartland/

External links