Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, YourClassical MPR and The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest.
MPR has won more than 875 journalism awards, including the Peabody Award,[1][2] both the RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Award and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting award of the same name, and the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Gold Baton Award. As of September 2011, MPR was equal with WNYC for most listener support for a public radio network, and had the highest level of recurring monthly donors of any public radio network in the United States.[3]
MPR also produces and distributes national public radio programming via American Public Media.
History
Minnesota Public Radio began on January 22, 1967, when KSJR-FM first signed on from the campus of Saint John's University in Collegeville, just outside St. Cloud. Colman Barry, then president of Saint John's, saw promise in the then-relatively-new technology of FM radio, and believed radio was an appropriate extension of Saint John's cultural and artistic functions to the broader community.[4] He hired a 23-year-old graduate of St. John's, William H. Kling, as director of broadcasting.[5]
The network began more or less out of necessity. Shortly after KSJR signed on, it became apparent that St. Cloud and surrounding Stearns County did not have enough listeners for the station to be viable. Kling more than tripled KSJR's power in hopes of reaching the Twin Cities. However, it only provided grade B coverage to Minneapolis and the western portion of the metro, and completely missed St. Paul and the east. Realizing that the station needed to cover the Twin Cities to have a realistic chance of survival, St. John's started KSJN, a low-powered repeater station for the Twin Cities, in 1968. The operation was awash in debt, and by 1969, St. John's realized it did not have the adequate financial or personnel resources to operate a full-fledged noncommercial radio station. With Barry's support, Saint John's transferred KSJR/KSJN's assets to a community corporation, St. John's University Broadcasting. This corporation later changed its name to Minnesota Educational Radio, and finally Minnesota Public Radio.[6] Kling led MPR as president and CEO for 44 years, before retiring in 2011.[5][7]
MPR was a charter member of National Public Radio in 1971, and had helped lay the groundwork for forming that organization during 1969 and 1970. In 1971, operations moved from Collegeville to St. Paul, funded in part with a news programming "demonstration" grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. New studios were built and KSJN became the flagship station. During the 1970s, additional stations were added across Minnesota. It was during this period KSJN's news department won numerous regional and national awards and became one of the region's most highly-regarded news operations.
In 1974, MPR began live broadcasting of Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion, one of the best-known programs on public radio, from the Park Square Theatre in Saint Paul. In the early days of the program, members of the production staff were said to have to work hard to fill the theatre seats, sometimes bringing in radio station staff and urging passersby to come into the theatre from the street outside. In 1980, MPR originated the Peabody Award-winning classical music show Saint Paul Sunday, which went national via syndication in 1981.
MPR assisted in 1983 with the formation of American Public Radio - now known as Public Radio International, which merged with Public Radio Exchange in 2019.
Originally, MPR played a mix of classical music and NPR news/talk programming. However, as NPR expanded its offerings, Kling made plans to split MPR into separate classical and news/talk networks. To that end, MPR sought to buy a second FM frequency in the Twin Cities from the late 1970s onward. As a fallback, in 1980 it bought WLOL (AM 1330), one of the oldest stations in Minnesota, and changed its calls to KSJN (AM), a simulcast of KSJN-FM. In 1989, AM 1330 changed its calls to KNOW and began airing an expanded lineup of NPR programming. In 1991, MPR bought WLOL-FM, AM 1330's former FM sister, allowing it to finally split its services into two networks. The KNOW call letters and intellectual unit, including the NPR news and talk format, moved to KSJN's old frequency of 91.1. The KSJN calls moved to WLOL-FM's former frequency of 99.5, which began playing classical music full-time.
MPR acquired Marketplace Productions, which produces Marketplace, "Marketplace Morning Report" and "Marketplace Money" from studios in Los Angeles, in association with the University of Southern California, in 2000. That same year, MPR founded Southern California Public Radio, which entered into a public service operating agreement with Pasadena City College to run KPCC in Pasadena, California. In 2004, MPR began distributing its own shows through American Public Media, leaving PRI; APM was the third radio network in the U.S. to have received founding support from MPR, probably an unmatched record for an American radio station or network.[8]
In 2004, MPR announced it would buy WCAL (89.3 FM), the classical music station operated by St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. WCAL (and a repeater station, KMSE in Rochester), were sold in a deal valued at $10.5million, which was approved by the Federal Communications Commission in 2004. The next year, following the acquisition by MPR, WCAL changed its call letters to KCMP and was transformed into MPR's third service, "The Current".
In 2008, a WCAL advocacy group took St. Olaf College to court for breach of trust in selling the radio station. (A June 2008 judge's opinion described the station as a charitable trust and therefore, not the college's property to freely dispose of. MPR's General Counsel and three attorneys took part in the proceedings. However, a 2009 court found in favor of MPR due to its ruling that the statute of limitations on the matter had expired, nullifying the advocacy group's standing.)
Today, MPR serves a regional audience of one million listeners through 43 stations presenting three broadcast network services.
With the addition of later stations, MPR originally offered a mix of classical music and NPR news/talk programming on a single service. Beginning in 1991, MPR's programming split in two, forming separate news and classical music services (although one station in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan still carries a combination of those two services). The 2005 acquisition of WCAL in Northfield, Minnesota, which covers the Minneapolis–St. Paul and Rochester areas, provided the opportunity to launch another music service, "The Current." This third service has gradually expanded to most of southern eastern Minnesota.
MPR News
MPR's news and information service includes a mix of locally produced programs and national/international shows. The flagship station is KNOW-FM (91.1 FM) in the Twin Cities.
The MPR newsroom has garnered international acclaim, most recently earning the inaugural Knight News Innovation EPpy Award in 2008.[10] MPR's newsroom is known for its Public Insight Network, a database of citizen sources who contribute their expertise on a wide array of topics. The Public Insight Network grew to 140,000 sources in 2011 and partners with other news media, journalism schools, foundations and community groups.
As of 2022, 24 full power stations carry MPR's News and Information service and various translator signals around the state offer additional coverage.
MPRNews.org is a non-profit news website maintained by MPR. This online news source covers issues that affect the state including politics, business, education, health, environment and the economy. MPR News offers headline news, video, blogs, audio and multiple ways for readers to become involved in the news-making process.
YourClassical MPR
MPR's classical music network is carried on 18 full power stations and various translators offer additional coverage. The flagship station is KSJN (99.5 FM) in the Twin Cities. In April 2021, the station rebranded as YourClassical MPR, aligning it with the umbrella branding used for American Public Media's digital classical music platforms and nationally-distributed programming.[11][12] Most of the network's schedule is a simulcast of APM's Classical 24 network, although statewide morning and afternoon shows air Monday-Friday and the network airs various specials and live broadcasts. The HD 2 signal of KSJN-FM offers a 24 hour feed of the Classical 24 network.
On September 10, 2020, Garrett McQueen, the host of Classical 24's Music Through the Night, and MPR's only African-American classical music host, was terminated by American Public Media for "not following programming guidelines."[13] According to McQueen, he was "given two warnings – one of which was about his need to improve communication and the other warning was for switching out scheduled music to play pieces he felt were more appropriate to the moment and more diverse."[13][14]
MPR's third service, The Current, debuted on January 24, 2005, and airs an adult album alternative format.
Several people on The Current's initial staff are well known in the area for previous work at stations that highlight music from Minnesota and the Upper Midwest. Many of the staffers and on-air personalities came from other similar stations, such as the University of Minnesota's KUOM, community-oriented KFAI, and commercial alternative rock outlets REV 105 and Cincinnati, Ohio's WOXY.com.
Programming on The Current is mostly locally produced. The flagship station is KCMP (89.3 FM), licensed to Northfield on the southeastern periphery of the Twin Cities, though the signal covers most of the metro area. A lower-power station, KMSE (88.7 FM), serves Rochester and southeastern Minnesota, KZIO (104.3 FM) serves the Duluth area, and translators offer additional coverage in other parts of the state.[15] The service is also carried as an HD service on several of MPR's full power stations. KPCC, the NPR affiliate in Los Angeles operated by MPR's parent company, APM, carries The Current on its HD 2 signal. The Current also streams online in a variety of formats.
Additional services
Minnesota Public Radio also programs several other music services, all available online, with a few offered on HD Radio in the Twin Cities area.
Carbon Sound is the newest MPR service, focused on R&B music and Black artists. In addition to streaming online, it is available on the HD 2 subchannel of KCMP in the Twin Cities.
Local Current is a service programmed by the staff of The Current, and features music from Minnesota artists. The service streams online.
Purple Current is an R&B and Hip-Hop service inspired by Prince.
Rock The Cradle is also programmed by personnel at The Current, and airs a variation of their AAA format, with music geared toward children and parents. It is available via a separate webstream.
Radio Heartland features an eclectic mix of acoustic, Americana and roots music. The service can be found on the HD2 subchannel of KNOW-FM and also via a separate webcast. KNOW-FM also features an HD3 subchannel consisting of programming from NPR and the BBC World Service. The signal carries additional hours of Morning Edition and All Things Considered not available on KNOW's main signal. Several other NPR and APM shows air on the service.
Subsidiary Communications Authority (SCA's) are used to transmit a Minnesota version of the Radio Talking Book Network to disabled listeners around the state, in cooperation with Minnesota State Services for the Blind. MPR also serves as the radio backbone for the radio portion of the state's Emergency Alert System, and as the backbone for the state's AMBER Alert System.
MPR owns WGGL, the NPR affiliate serving Houghton, Michigan. The station airs a combination of NPR News, BBC World Service and Classical 24 programming. While MPR supplies weather updates, local MPR programming and news updates are not aired on the station.
Minnesota Public Radio is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization.
MPR's funding comes from listener contributions (membership dues), foundations, corporate and private contributions, government grants, advertising, education partners and publicly traded securities.
The for-profit Rivertown Trading Company, once a subsidiary of MPR's parent company, was sold in 1998 for $124million. Profits went toward creating MPR's endowment, a percentage of which contributes to MPR's overall annual budget. [18]
Annual expenses
Total expenses for MPR for 2023 (July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023), as shown in the MPR Board of Trustees audit, was 117.1 million dollars. (119.7 million dollars the following year.) [19][20]
The above 2023 total includes 17.7 million dollars spent on fundraising and is distributed among all the categories in the table below.
Summary table for MPR 2023 expenses
Category
Millions of dollars
Salaries and wages
47.7
Employee Benefits and Payroll Taxes
10.7
Professional Fees and Marketing
27.3
Production and Acquisition
13.6
Office and Occupancy
1.1
Interest
0.2
Dereciation and Amortization
3.0
Financial
1.2
Other Expenses
2.1
Total
117.1
On MPR's federal 2021 tax form, total expenses are shown as $112,380,820.
On their federal 2021 tax form, MPR entered 9.2 million dollars for "Fees for services (nonemployees)" under the category of "Other". Since that amount is less than ten percent (it's 8.2 percent) of their total expenses, they are not required to provide any details on Schedule O, and none were provided. [21]
On MPR's federal 2022 tax form (the most recent available), total expenses are shown as $115,780,425.
On their federal 2022 tax form, MPR entered 10.4 million dollars for "Fees for services (nonemployees)" under the category of "Other". That amount is also less than ten percent (it's 8.9 percent) of their total expenses, and no details were provided on Schedule O. [22]
Compensation for officers, directors, trustees and key employees
The table below shows MPR's highest compensated employees, as listed on MPR's 2021 tax return.
Compensation in 2021
Person
Position
Compensation (dollars)
David Kansas
Former EVP & President, APM
652,287
Jon McTaggart
President & CEO. APMG
558,767
Kai Ryssdal
Host
469,760
Kevin Gilman
National Account Executive
465,520
Duchesne Drew
President MPR
452,712
Michael Lewis
Senior Vice President & GCO
452,105
David Brancaccio
Host
423,104
Morris Goodwin JR.
Senior Vice President & CPO, AMPG
420,185
Per the 2021 tax return, the average compensation for the eight highest compensated employees was 486,805 dollars. [23]
Per the 2022 tax return, the average compensation for the eight highest compensated employees was 550,073 dollars. [24]
Revenue details
Total revenue shown on MPR's 2022 tax return was 113,958,386 [25]
Total revenue shown on MPR's 2021 tax return was $174,153,779.
The amounts listed in the table below are from MPR's 2021 tax return. [26]
Minnesota Public Radio broadcasts on several dozen stations that serve Minnesota and its neighboring communities and various translators providing additional local coverage. Stations are located in Minnesota, South Dakota (Brookings and Sioux Falls), Michigan (Houghton), Iowa (Decorah), and Idaho (Sun Valley).[27] MPR also operates KPCC in Pasadena, California.
Most areas are served by both a classical music station and a news and information station. Duluth and Rochester are served by a classical music station, a news and information station, and The Current.
Minnesota Public Radio also broadcasts all three of its services – News, Classical and The Current – on HD Radio in several communities throughout the state of Minnesota. In the Twin Cities, MPR multicasts Classical 24, an additional news service and Purple Current.
Public Insight Network
Public Insight Network (PIN) a newsgathering and networking initiative founded by MPR, was created by American Public Media in 2003. Through the PIN initiative, a community of citizens were able to consign their insights, personal experiences, and first-hand knowledge to journalists they trusted. This shared knowledge could then be included in printed materials, broadcast on live news, or shared on the Internet.[28] PIN contributed to national shows such as Marketplace.
Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) is a network of 38 public radio stations in the state of Wisconsin. WPR's network is divided into two distinct services, the WPR News Network and the WPR Music Network.
American Public Media (APM) is an American company that produces and distributes public radio programs in the United States, the second largest company of its type after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and operates radio stations in Minnesota and California. Its station brands include Minnesota Public Radio and Southern California Public Radio. Based in St. Paul, Minnesota, APM is best known for distribution of the national financial news program Marketplace.
American Public Media Group (APMG), formerly the Minnesota Communications Group, is the non-profit parent organization of Minnesota Public Radio, American Public Media, and Southern California Public Radio. Jean Taylor is APMG's President and CEO.
KCMP is a radio station owned by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) that broadcasts an adult album alternative (AAA) music format including a significant rotation of songs by local artists. Licensed to Northfield, Minnesota, and covering the Minneapolis-St. Paul market, the station's studios are located at the MPR Broadcast Center on Cedar Street in downtown St. Paul, while its transmitter is located atop the Vermillion Highlands near Coates. The Current is also broadcast on stations in Rochester, Duluth-Superior, Pasadena-Los Angeles, translators around Minnesota, and online.
KUOM – branded Radio K - Real College Radio – is a daytime-only, non-commercial, college radio station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Owned by the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, the station is operated by students and faculty. It mainly airs alternative rock with other genres of music. The studios are in Rarig Center on the University of Minnesota campus.
WLOL is a radio station in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota. It broadcasts a Catholic radio format and is part of the Relevant Radio network. WLOL's transmitter is located along the Minnesota River in Savage.
KSJN is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Owned by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), this station serves the Twin Cities region as the flagship of "YourClassical MPR", MPR's classical music network. KSJN's studios are located at the MPR Broadcast Center on Cedar Street in downtown Saint Paul, while its transmitter is located on the KMSP Tower in Shoreview. KSJN broadcasts using HD Radio technology, and uses its HD2 subchannel to carry American Public Media's Classical 24 network.
Dale Connelly was co-host of The Morning Show on Minnesota Public Radio. The program was first carried on KSJN at frequency 91.1 (now KNOW-FM, later on KSJN at 99.5 and finally on KCMP 89.3 "The Current"; all in the Twin Cities and live on MPR's classical music network in outstate Minnesota. Connelly took over for Garrison Keillor, who was the original host along with Tom Keith. The show aired for more than 30 years. On October 15, 2008, Keith announced his intention to retire on December 11. The Morning Show was discontinued after a final live performance at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul that morning. After the demise of the Morning Show, Connelly began hosting, directing, and producing a show in a similar genre on an Internet broadcast and HD Radio called "Radio Heartland." He also hosted Saturday evening broadcasts of recorded performances on the Minnesota News service of Minnesota Public Radio. Those programs were canceled by MPR on June 4, 2010, and Connelly was laid off as of June 30, 2010.
William Hugh Kling is the founder and president emeritus of Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media. He was also a founding member of the board of directors of National Public Radio, the founding chairman/President of Southern California Public Radio in Los Angeles, and the founding chairman and president of Public Radio International. Kling is a social media entrepreneur who built both successful non-profit public media companies and for-profit companies to support those non-profits.
KNOW-FM is the flagship radio station of Minnesota Public Radio's news and information network. It is licensed to St. Paul and serves the Minneapolis-St. Paul radio market. The station is non-commercial and listener-supported. The studios are in the MPR Broadcast Center on Cedar Street in downtown St. Paul.
Classical 24 is a syndicated, satellite-delivered public radio service providing classical music to its carrying stations. It generally airs overnights on many non-commercial and a handful of commercial classical music stations. However, the service is operated 24 hours a day and is used by some stations during the day to augment their schedules. It was co-created by a partnership between Minnesota Public Radio and Public Radio International to fulfill the need for a comprehensive classic music service for stations to supplement their schedules. As part of this partnership, the service is produced by American Public Media and since 2018, is distributed by Public Radio Exchange. It began operation on December 1, 1995.
The WKNO FM Stations is a pair of public radio stations based in Memphis, Tennessee, that serve the "Mid-South" region with local fine arts and classical music programs, as well as news and information programs from the National Public Radio, Public Radio International, and American Public Media networks.
WGGL-FM is an NPR member station in Houghton, Michigan. It first began broadcasting in 1968 and has been owned and operated by Minnesota Public Radio since 1982. It carries a mix of classical music and NPR news-talk programming, running a schedule similar to what MPR ran before its 1991 split into a two-channel network.
KSJR-FM is a radio station licensed to Collegeville, Minnesota, and serving the St. Cloud area. The station is owned by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), and airs MPR's "Classical Music Network," originating from the Twin Cities. The station has inserts at least once an hour for local underwriting and weather.
WSCN is a radio station licensed to Cloquet, Minnesota, serving the Duluth-Superior area. The station is owned by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), and airs MPR's "News and Information" network, originating from the Twin Cities. The station has inserts at least once an hour for local underwriting and weather. MPR also maintains an office and studio in downtown Duluth.
WSCD-FM is a radio station licensed to Duluth, Minnesota, serving the Duluth-Superior area. The station is owned by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), and airs MPR's "Classical Music Network", originating from KSJN in Minneapolis/St. Paul.
The Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network was the world's first radio reading service for the blind; the first on-air date was January 2, 1969. The purpose of a radio reading service is to make current print material available, through the medium of a radio, to those who cannot read it because of a physical condition such as blindness, visual disability, dyslexia, or strokes. In 1969, there were no other options available to blind and visually impaired people.
John Michael Barone is an American organist, radio host, and producer, specializing in the pipe organ. His weekly Pipedreams program is distributed by American Public Media. He was the classical music director at Minnesota Public Radio for 25 years and hosted broadcasts of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and MPR's The New Releases.
WCAL was a non-commercial AM radio station licensed to Northfield, Minnesota, that was operated from its establishment in 1922 until its deletion in 1991 by St. Olaf College.
1 2 Adelson, Andrea (April 5, 1999). "The Business of National Public Radio". The New York Times. Retrieved January 24, 2009. Begun in 1966 by William H. Kling at a small, troubled college station, the St. Paul-based organization is now a $32million, six-state media empire of 30 stations with a $110million endowment.
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