Christian radio ministry of the University of Northwestern – St. Paul
Northwestern Media is the Christian radio ministry of the University of Northwestern – St. Paul , an evangelical university in Roseville, Minnesota . Northwestern Media operates three radio networks serving listeners primarily in the Midwestern United States: the Life Network, a Christian adult contemporary music station; the Faith Network, with Christian talk and teaching programs; and Spirit FM , also playing Christian adult contemporary music.
History [ edit ]
Northwestern Schools, as it was then known, entered the broadcasting business with the launch of KTIS-AM -FM in the Twin Cities on February 7, 1949.[1] The construction of KTIS, costing $40,000, was entirely underwritten by the school's students.[2] Its radio ministry soon expanded. On April 1, 1953, it bought KBOK in Waterloo, Iowa and changed its call letters to KNWS .[3] Growth continued with the October 25, 1955,[4] : C-149 launch of Fargo's KFNW and its 1961 acquisition of KIHO in Sioux Falls , which became KNWC .[5] Northwestern built FM stations in all three cities in 1965 (Fargo's KFNW-FM [4] : C-149 and Waterloo's KNWS-FM [6] ) and 1969 (KNWC-FM in Sioux Falls[4] : C-181 ). Northwestern acquired WRVB-FM in Madison, Wisconsin , in 1973,[7] changing it to WNWC ; the college would buy an AM station there in 1997.
In 1983, KDNI in Duluth, Minnesota came to air; it was joined by KDNW , a second frequency, in 1992. Des Moines, Iowa , became part of Northwestern Media's footprint when radio stations KJJC and KLRX were bought out of receivership[8] and became KNWI and KNWM in 2004. KJNW FM in Kansas City was acquired in 2013 from Calvary Bible College .[9]
Station sales [ edit ]
In 2010, citing years of low listener support and the fact that it was subsidized by the rest of the network, Northwestern College closed WSMR in Sarasota, Florida , which it had built in 1996; the station was sold to the University of South Florida for $1.275 million and began broadcasting classical music.[10]
Between 2007 and 2012, Northwestern owned a third station, KFNL in the Fargo, North Dakota , area. The station was sold to a commercial broadcaster, Mediactive, LLC, in 2012[11] and is now KBMW-FM .
Between April and August 2018, UNW briefly owned two secular stations, KDSN-AM -FM , in Denison, Iowa . UNW had acquired the stations in order to move KDSN-FM to another frequency and facilitate a signal upgrade for KNWI.[12]
Expansions [ edit ]
Northwestern acquired KLBF near Bismarck, North Dakota , from the Educational Media Foundation in 2017; KLBF became a Faith station, making it the westernmost station in the Northwestern Media portfolio and one of its few markets without a Life station.[13] EMF had previously donated WNWW , an AM radio station in Hartford, Connecticut , to the university in 2016.[14]
In 2018, Northwestern Media entered Omaha with its acquisition of KGBI-FM from Salem Media Group for $3.15 million.[15]
Northwestern Media made two major network acquisitions in 2019. The first came in July when the entire Refuge Radio network was donated to UNW. Refuge owned three full-power stations and 13 dependent translators in Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota.[16] The Refuge network was dismantled and almost all of its transmitters converted to repeat Life and Faith stations; former network key station WJRF in Duluth was taken silent (as Northwestern already had two stations there), the two other full-power stations began simulcasting Life stations, and the translators were spread around the Life and Faith networks.[17]
On August 6, 2019, the Illinois Bible Institute announced it would sell its New Life Radio Network (WBGL /WCIC ), a two-network radio ministry primarily broadcasting in Illinois, to the University of Northwestern. UNW paid $9,901,558.34 to acquire its 13 full-power stations and eight translators.[18] The acquisition brought UNW's number of broadcast licenses to 81 in 10 states.[19]
In 2021, Northwestern filed to purchase KLMP and KSLT in Rapid City, South Dakota and their repeaters from Bethesda Christian Broadcasting,[20] closing on the purchase in January 2022.[21] It obtained new licenses for full-power non-commercial stations in Ashland, Wisconsin , and Grand Rapids, Minnesota , in 2022,[22] [23] and it also purchased a series of FM translators rebroadcasting KSLT from the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel that year.[24]
In a $1.25 million transaction, UNW filed to acquire the Lake Area Educational Broadcasting Foundation, whose Spirit FM and Elevate FM services are broadcast in various cities in Missouri, in March 2023.[25] The purchase, including fifteen stations, eight translators, and six construction permits, was consummated on July 5, 2023.
Stations [ edit ]
Faith Network [ edit ]
Faith Network stations
Call sign
Frequency
City of license
ERP Watts
Class
FCC info
Rebroadcasts
KTIS
900 AM
Minneapolis, Minnesota
50,000-D/500-N
B
‹The template AMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KTIS
K206DI
89.1 FM
Mankato, Minnesota
250
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KTIS
K214DF[note 1]
90.7 FM
Golden Valley -Minneapolis, Minnesota
99
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KTIS
K264CD
100.7 FM
Des Moines, Iowa
99
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KTIS
K215DU
90.9 FM
Hutchinson, Minnesota
230
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KTIS
W248CU
97.5 FM
Minneapolis -St. Paul, Minnesota
250
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KTIS
K277CC
103.3 FM
Pennock –Willmar, Minnesota
170
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KTIS
WNWW [note 2]
1290 AM
West Hartford, Connecticut
490-D/11-N
D
‹The template AMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KTIS
W231CZ[note 1]
94.1 FM
Hartford, Connecticut
32
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WNWW
KNWS
1090 AM
Waterloo, Iowa
1,000-D/0-N
D
‹The template AMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KNWS
K226CK
93.1 FM
Waterloo, Iowa
250
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KNWS
KDNI
90.5 FM
Duluth, Minnesota
2,000
C3
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KDNI
K254DS
98.7 FM
Grand Rapids, Minnesota
250
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KDNI
K207ES
89.3 FM
Hibbing, Minnesota
12
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KDNI
K220BI
91.9 FM
Grand Marais, Minnesota
34
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KDNI
KLBF [note 2]
89.1 FM
Lincoln -Bismarck, North Dakota
2,300
C3
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KTIS
KFNW
1200 AM
West Fargo, North Dakota
50,000-D/13,000-N
B
‹The template AMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KFNW
K273DJ
102.5 FM
West Fargo, North Dakota
250
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KFNW
KNWC
1270 AM
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
5,000-D/2,300-N
B
‹The template AMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KNWC
K208EX
89.5 FM
Brandon, South Dakota
230>100(CP)
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KNWC
K288EV
105.5 FM
Brookings, South Dakota
250
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KNWC
K288GA
105.5 FM
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
220
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KNWC
K298CY
107.5 FM
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
250
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KNWC
WNWC
1190 AM
Sun Prairie -Madison, Wisconsin
4,800-D/21-N
D
‹The template AMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WNWC
W284CW
104.7 FM
Madison, Wisconsin
250
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WNWC
KLMP
88.3 FM
Rapid City, South Dakota
63,000
C
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KLMP
KLMP-FM1
88.3 FM
Rapid City, South Dakota
2,300
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KLMP
KCKP
100.9 FM
Laurie, Missouri
23,500
C3
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KCKV
91.9 FM
Kirksville, Missouri
1,000
A
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
K207AY
89.3 FM
St. Robert, Missouri
99
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KCKP
K211FV
90.1 FM
Sedalia, Missouri
54
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KCKP
K285FC
104.9 FM
Jefferson City, Missouri
250
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KCKP
KURL
93.3 FM
Billings, Montana
60,000
C1
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
Life Network [ edit ]
Life Network stations
Call sign
Frequency
City of license
ERP Watts
Class
FCC info
Rebroadcasts
KTIS-FM
98.5 FM
Minneapolis, Minnesota
100,000
C0
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KTIS-FM
K224DB
92.7 FM
Willmar, Minnesota
170
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KTIS-FM
K232EK
94.3 FM
Rochester, Minnesota
115
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KTIS-FM
K235BH
94.9 FM
Mankato, Minnesota
250
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KTIS-FM
K270DZ
101.9 FM
New Ulm, Minnesota
250
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KTIS-FM
K299AL
107.7 FM
Albert Lea, Minnesota
250
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KTIS-FM
KNWI
107.1 FM
Osceola -Des Moines, Iowa
100,000
C1
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KNWI-FM
KNWM [note 3]
96.1 FM
Madrid -Ames, Iowa
6,000
A
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KNWI-FM
KNWS-FM
101.9 FM
Waterloo, Iowa
100,000
C
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KNWS-FM
K242BX
96.3 FM
Marshalltown, Iowa
250
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KNWS-FM
K245AZ
96.9 FM
Dubuque, Iowa
170
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KNWS-FM
K261DH[note 1]
100.1 FM
Iowa City, Iowa
47
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KNWS-FM
KDNW
97.3 FM
Duluth, Minnesota
72,000
C1
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KDNW-FM
KRFG [note 4]
102.9 FM
Nashwauk -Hibbing, Minnesota
25,000
C3
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KDNW-FM
WJRF [note 4]
89.5 FM
Duluth, Minnesota
1,650>40,000(CP)
A>C1(CP)
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KDNW-FM[26]
K201IX
88.1 FM
Grand Rapids, Minnesota
250
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KDNW-FM
W230AN
93.9 FM
Hayward, Wisconsin
250
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KDNW-FM
W220EB
91.9 FM
Ashland, Wisconsin
38
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KDNW-FM
W268AT
101.5 FM
Spooner, Wisconsin
19
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KDNW-FM
K288BF
105.5 FM
Grand Marais, Minnesota
122
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KDNW-FM
KJNW
88.5 FM
Kansas City, Missouri
100,000
C1
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KJNW-FM
KGBI-FM
100.7 FM
Omaha, Nebraska
100,000
C0
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KGBI-FM
KFNW-FM
97.9 FM
Fargo, North Dakota
100,000
C
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KFNW-FM
K230AS
93.9 FM
Fergus Falls, Minnesota
250
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KFNW-FM
KNWC-FM
96.5 FM
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
100,000
C
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KNWC-FM
KRGM[note 5]
89.9 FM
Marshall -Redwood Falls, Minnesota
4,250
C3
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KNWC-FM
K208FJ
89.5 FM
Fairmont, Minnesota
250
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KNWC-FM
K210CG
89.9 FM
Spirit Lake, Iowa
250
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KNWC-FM
K220HY
91.9 FM
Spencer, Iowa
250
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KNWC-FM
K257CH[27]
99.3 FM
Estherville, Iowa
80
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KNWC-FM
K220IT
91.9 FM
Watertown, South Dakota
50
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KNWC-FM
K229BK
93.7 FM
North Sioux City, South Dakota
250
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KNWC-FM
K231AR
94.1 FM
Mitchell, South Dakota
250
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KNWC-FM
WNWC-FM
102.5 FM
Madison, Wisconsin
50,000
B
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WNWC-FM
W237CO
95.3 FM
Richland Center, Wisconsin
10
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WNWC-FM
KSLT
107.1 FM
Spearfish, South Dakota
100,000
C
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KSLT-FM
KSLT-FM1
107.1 FM
Rapid City, South Dakota
2,400
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KSLT-FM
KSLP[note 6]
90.3 FM
Fort Pierre, South Dakota
2,000
A
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KSLT-FM
KSLS[note 7]
90.7 FM
Dickinson, North Dakota
3,400
A
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KSLT-FM
K292DN
106.3 FM
Newcastle, Wyoming
31
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
KSLT-FM
Spirit FM [ edit ]
See Spirit FM (Missouri) .
Acquired Stations of New Life Media Network from the Illinois Bible Institute [ edit ]
Call sign
Frequency
City of license
ERP Watts
Class
FCC info
Rebroadcasts
WCIC
91.5 FM
Pekin -Peoria, Illinois
47,000
B
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WCIC
WSCT[note 9]
90.1 FM
Springfield, Illinois
3,800
A
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WCIC
WPRC[note 9]
88.7 FM
Sheffield, Illinois
8,500
B1
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WCIC
W212AN
90.3 FM
Jacksonville, Illinois
55
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WSCT
W219DV
91.7 FM
Jacksonville, Illinois
38
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WSCT
W255AI
98.9 FM
Bloomington, Illinois
55
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WCIC
W263AO
100.5 FM
Galesburg, Illinois
19
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WCIC
K247BW
97.3 FM
Bettendorf, Iowa
40
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WPRC
WBGL
91.7 FM
Champaign, Illinois
20,000
B
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WBGL
WCFL [note 10]
104.7 FM
Morris, Illinois
50,000
B
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WBGL
WIBI [note 10]
91.1 FM
Carlinville, Illinois
50,000
B
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WBGL
WNLD[note 10]
88.1 FM
Decatur, Illinois
1,000
A
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WBGL
WZGL[note 10]
88.1 FM
Charleston, Illinois
2,100
A
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WBGL
WCRT-FM[note 10]
88.5 FM
Terre Haute, Indiana
1,050
A
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WBGL
WCBW-FM[note 10]
89.7 FM
East St. Louis, Illinois
250
A
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WBGL
WBMV[note 10]
89.7 FM
Mount Vernon, Illinois
10,500
B1
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WBGL
WVNL[note 10]
91.7 FM
Vandalia, Illinois
100
A
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WBGL
WIMB[note 10]
89.1 FM
Murphysboro, Illinois
3,500
A
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WBGL
W211AD
90.1 FM
Granite City, Illinois
60
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WIBI
W230BS
93.9 FM
Effingham, Illinois
38
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WBMV
K295FB
106.9 FM
Cape Girardeau, Missouri
92
D
‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion .› FCC
WBMV
^ a b c Translator owned by the Educational Media Foundation
^ a b Full-power simulcast of KTIS-AM
^ Full-power simulcast of KNWI
^ a b Full-power simulcast of KDNW
^ Full-power simulcast of KNWC-FM
^ Full-power simulcast of KSLT
^ Full-power simulcast of KSLT
^ Owned by the West Iowa Fellowship of Evangelicals
^ a b Full-power simulcast of WCIC
^ a b c d e f g h i Full-power simulcast of WBGL
References [ edit ]
^ "KTIS, Religious Station, Launched" . Star-Tribune . February 8, 1949. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
^ "Students Finance New Station KTIS" . Minneapolis Star . February 8, 1949. Retrieved August 24, 2019 .
^ "School Group to Assume Control of KBOK Apr. 1" . The Courier . March 17, 1953. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
^ a b c "Radio" (PDF) . 1976 Broadcasting Yearbook . 1976. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
^ "Station KIHO Is Now KNWC" . Argus-Leader . April 19, 1961. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
^ "Waterloo's KNWS Begins FM Operation" . Cedar Rapids Gazette . June 17, 1965. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
^ "College Buys Radio Station" . Wisconsin State Journal . January 30, 1973. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
^ Sprau, Dave (June 26, 2003). "ESPN radio affiliate closes" . Iowa State Daily . Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
^ Venta, Lance (January 29, 2013). "Northwestern College Buys KLJC Kansas City" . RadioInsight . Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
^ "Noncommercial WSMR-FM Sarasota FL going secular" . RBR . August 4, 2010. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
^ Venta, Lance (March 5, 2013). "The Bone Fargo Goes Dark" . RadioInsight . Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
^ Venta, Lance. "Station Sales Week Of 9/7: KDSN Gets Divested Soon After Its Acquisition" . RadioInsight . Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
^ "KLBF/89.1 (Lincoln-Bismarck) has returned to the air..." Northpine . October 2, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
^ "K-LOVE Transfers Ownership of WCCC-AM in Hartford to Faith Radio" . NRB Today . April 14, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2019 .
^ "Salem Media Announces Sale of KGBI-FM in Omaha" . BusinessWire . May 22, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
^ "Refuge Media Group Donates Stations To University of Northwestern-St. Paul" . Inside Radio . July 19, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
^ Ellis, Jon (September 3, 2019). " "Life," "Faith" Networks Expand on Former Refuge Stations" . Northpine . Retrieved September 3, 2019 .
^ Jacobson, Adam (August 6, 2019). "Faith Radio Finds New Life With 13 New Stations, Plus Translators" . RBR . Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
^ "U. of Northwestern Buys 13 Stations From Illinois Bible Institute" . Inside Radio . Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
^ Ellis, Jon. "Bethesda Sells 2 of its 3 Rapid City Stations to Northwestern" . Northpine . Retrieved October 29, 2021 .
^ Ellis, Jon. "Northwestern Closes Purchase of Two Rapid City Stations, Third to be Sold" . Northpine . Retrieved February 3, 2022 .
^ Ellis, Jon. "Running List: FCC Grants New Non-Commercial FM Stations" . Northpine . Retrieved January 21, 2022 .
^ Ellis, Jon. "Running List: FCC Monitor: Quad Cities FM Translator to Relay iHeart Station" . Northpine . Retrieved April 17, 2022 .
^ Deal Digest, InsideRadio. "Deal Digest - September 1, 2022" . InsideRadio . Retrieved September 1, 2022 .
^ Venta, Lance (March 15, 2023). "Northwestern Media Expands Across Missouri With Spirit-FM Purchase" . RadioInsight .
^ "FCC Grants Upgrade for Duluth Station" . Upper Midwest Broadcasting at NorthPine.com . Retrieved February 6, 2020 .
^ Lakes Area Christian Radio files to donate the Estherville, IA-licensed translator K257CH at 99.3 FM to the University of Northwestern-St. Paul."Deal Digest – February 20, 2020" . Inside Radio . February 20, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2020 .
^ "Western Iowa FM Station Moves, Making Way for Des Moines Upgrade" . Upper Midwest Broadcasting at NorthPine.com . Retrieved January 16, 2020 .