KSTP (AM)
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|
clear-channel) | |
Power | 50,000 watts |
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Transmitter coordinates | 45°1′32″N 93°2′38″W / 45.02556°N 93.04389°W (day) 45°1′32″N 93°3′6″W / 45.02556°N 93.05167°W (night) |
Repeater(s) | 94.5 KSTP-FM-HD2 |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | skornorth.com |
KSTP (1500
The KSTP three-tower
Programming
On weekdays, KSTP airs a local sports show Mackey and Judd. The rest of the time, it carries ESPN programming.
History
WAMD and KFOY
KSTP's start in 1928 was the product of a merger between two pioneering
Following a few test transmissions, WAMD made its formal debut broadcast on February 22, 1925. (In later interviews Stanley Hubbard traced WAMD's start to April 1924.)[5] It was located at the Marigold Dance Garden, and featured nightly "Midnight Frolics" broadcasts by the ballroom's orchestra.[6] It is claimed that WAMD was the first radio station to be completely supported by running paid advertisements.[7] Effective June 15, 1927, WAMD was assigned to 1330 kHz.[8]
On November 11, 1927, WAMD's transmitter site at Oxboro Heath on Lyndale Avenue South burned down, two weeks after the station had been sold to the National Battery Company. An initial arrangement was made to carry WAMD's programs over WRHM (now WWTC), transmitting on WAMD's 1330 kHz frequency.[9] Beginning on November 24, 1927, the WAMD broadcasts, still on 1330 kHz, were shifted to KFOY's facility in St. Paul.[10] (At this time KFOY was assigned to 1050 kHz).[8] The next day it was announced that National Battery had purchased KFOY,[11] and as of December 1, 1927 both KFOY and WAMD were reassigned to 1350 kHz.[12][13] WAMD continued making regular broadcasts until the end of March 1928, while KFOY, although it continued to be licensed for a few more months on a time-sharing basis with WAMD, ceased operations at this point.
National Battery Company
In mid-December 1927, the National Battery Company announced it had received permission from the Federal Radio Commission (FRC) to build a new station, with the call letters KSTP, operating from a transmitter site to be constructed three miles south of Wescott.[14] The next month it was reported that the new station, still under construction, had been assigned to 1360 kHz.[15] KSTP made its debut broadcast on March 29, 1928.[16][17] Although technically it was a separate station from WAMD and KFOY, both of which were formally deleted on April 30, 1928,[18] overall KSTP was treated as the direct successor to a consolidated WAMD and KFOY.[19]
Hubbard became the merged station's general manager, acquiring controlling interest in 1941. A month after the merger, KSTP became an affiliate for the
Hubbard reportedly acquired an RCA TV camera in 1939, and started experimenting with television broadcasts. But World War II put a hold on the development of television. In 1948, with the war over, KSTP-TV became the first television station in Minnesota. With KSTP 1500 already associated with NBC Radio, KSTP-TV became an NBC Television Network affiliate. From 1946 to 1952, KSTP also had an FM counterpart. KSTP-FM 102.1 was only on the air four years. There were few radios equipped to receive FM signals in that era, and management decided to discontinue FM broadcasts.
MOR and Top 40
As network programming moved from radio to television, KSTP programmed a
KSTP 1500 served as the
KSTP had also aired
The Talk Station and success in the 90's
While it usually carried local hosts, in 1988 KSTP became one of
Carried on the backs of Limbaugh and Lewis, the station enjoyed the success seen by many right-leaning stations during the 90's. While it's midday lineup was conservative, KSTP featured many left-leaning personablities, including
After almost a decade of success and at the peak of his ratings power,[27] Lewis left for WBT (AM) in 2003 while #1 in his time slot.,[28] setting off a series of programming moves which led to a steady decline in ratings.
Sensing an opportunity,
In an unprecedented moved for Twin Cities media, on August 1, 2006, the station announced that it would pay the
Sports Radio and Decline
Unable to find a consistent voice after the loss of Lewis and Limbaugh, and following years of dwindling ratings and lackluster leadership, KSTP laid off the majority of their staff and abruptly switched to
On March 9, 2011, KSTP announced it would be the new flagship for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers men's and women's basketball and men's ice hockey, ending a 68-year run on WCCO.[30] KSTP lost the right rights to KFXN-FM, which already aired Gopher football, in 2017.
On March 2, 2017, KSTP announced it would be the first radio broadcaster for pro-soccer team Minnesota United FC.[31] The move brought live soccer action to 1500 AM.
On January 15, 2019, KSTP rebranded as "SKOR North" (a reference to the Minnesota Vikings team song/chant, "Skol, Vikings"). KSTP would air local programming between 12 noon and 7 pm.[32][33] About a year later, in May 2020, KSTP suspended most of its local programming and laid off nearly all of its local staff. Station management cited the economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic for the changes. Sports programming continues, primarily composed of ESPN radio network broadcasts.[34]
In August 2023 the station ranked last in the market along with KUOM.
Past Personalities
Notable hosts who have been on KSTP include John Hines,
Previous logo
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for KSTP". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/KSTP-AM
- ^ "New Stations", Radio Service Bulletin, March 2, 1925, page 3.
- ^ "New Stations", Radio Service Bulletin, April 1, 1924, page 4.
- ^ "Stanley Hubbard: One of the last of the originals", Broadcasting, November 23, 1981, pages 39-46.
- ^ "Station WAMD Opens With Midnight Frolic", Minneapolis Daily Star, February 23, 1925, page 5.
- ^ "Chronology of Milestones: Commercial Aspects", The First Quarter Century of American Broadcasting by E. P. Shurick (1946), page 178.
- ^ a b "Broadcasting Stations" (effective June 15, 1927), Radio Service Bulletin, May 31, 1927, page 7.
- ^ "Fire Destroys Radio Station", Minneapolis Morning Tribune, November 12, 1927, page 1.
- ^ "WAMD Will Broadcast Today From St. Paul", Minneapolis Morning Tribune, November 24, 1927, page 8.
- ^ "National Battery Co. Buys Station for WAMD", Minneapolis Morning Tribune, November 26, 1927, page 14.
- ^ "Schedules of Six Stations Changed", Minneapolis Daily Star, November 30, 1927, page 6.
- ^ "Alterations and Corrections", Radio Service Bulletin, November 30, 1927, pages 7-8.
- ^ "St. Paul to Get Powerful New Radio Station", Minneapolis Sunday Tribune, December 11, 1927, page 1.
- ^ "Radio Enlargement", Minneapolis Daily Star, January 4, 1928, page 1.
- ^ "Radio Station KSTP Opened by President", Minneapolis Star Tribune, March 30, 1928, page 6.
- ^ "President Opens Switch", Washington (D.C.) Evening Star, March 30, 1928, page 56.
- ^ "List of broadcasting stations surrendering licenses during the period between March 15, 1927, and June 30, 1928", Second Annual Report of the Federal Radio Commission (year ending June 30, 1928), page 83.
- ^ "Alterations and Corrections", Radio Service Bulletin, February 29, 1928, page 5.
- ^ "Broadcasting Stations, by Wave Lengths, Effective November 11, 1928, Commercial and Government Radio Stations of the United States (edition June 30, 1928), page 176.
- ^ "KSTP Wins Boost". Broadcasting. February 15, 1933. p. 6. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
- ^ "Shunt-Excited Antenna Used by U-h-f Station" by Donald M. Miller, KSTP, Electronics, May 1939, pages 44-46.
- ^ "Assignments of United States Standard Broadcast Stations Listed by Frequency", page 1442.
- ^ KSTP (advertisement), Broadcasting, July 23, 1956, page 139.
- ^ Puig, Claudia (December 5, 1989). "Limbaugh dishes it out to liberals on radio". Minneapolis Star Tribune. pp. 1E.
- ^ Matheny, Dave (October 31, 1994). "The Voice of America". Minneapolis Star Tribune. pp. 1E.
- ^ Tevlin, Jon (December 29, 2002). "Talking Head". Minneapolis Star Tribune. pp. 1E. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ Caulfield Rybak, Deborah (December 12, 2003). "Fox's Hannity to fill Lewis spot on KSTP-AM". Minneapolis Star Tribune. pp. B5. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ "KSTP-AM 1500 going all-sports talk, joining ESPN" by Amy Carlson Gustafson, Pioneer Press, February 10, 2010 (Updated November 12, 2015)
- ^ Miller, Phil (March 10, 2011). "WCCO says goodbye to Gophers sports". Star Tribune.
- ^ "MNUFC Matches Broadcast on FOX 9/My29 and 1500 ESPN". March 2, 2017.
- ^ KSTP Relaunching as SKOR North Radioinsight - January 14, 2019
- ^ Upper Midwest Broadcasting Northpine.com - January 15, 2019
- ^ Nelson, Joe. "Significant layoffs at Twin Cities radio stations SKOR North, MyTalk, KS95". Bring Me The News. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
External links
- KSTP website
- KSTP in the FCC AM station database
- KSTP in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- FCC History Cards for KSTP (covering 1928–1980)
- Radiotapes.com Historic Minneapolis/St. Paul airchecks dating back to 1924 including KSTP and other Twin Cities radio stations.
- Rick Burnett's TwinCitiesRadioAirchecks.com has additional airchecks of KSTP and other Twin Cities radio stations from the '60s and '70s, including Chuck Knapp's 2nd show on KSTP.
Preceded by 830 WCCO 1961–2006 |
Radio Home of the Minnesota Twins 2007–2012 |
Succeeded by 96.3 KTWN-FM 2013–2017 |