KNUJ (860 AM) is a radio station in

New Ulm, Minnesota New Ulm ( ) is a city and the county seat of Brown County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,120 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located on the triangle of land formed by the confluence of the Minnesota River a ...

. The station airs a

full service Full service or Full Service may refer to: Entertainment Books * ''Full Service'' (book), a 2012 memoir by Scotty Bowers * '' Full Service No Waiting'', a 1998 album by Peter Case Music * "Full Service", a song by the New Kids on the Block fr ...

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the te ...

talk Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...

format and is owned by James Ingstad. KNUJ also has a sister station, KNUJ-FM.

History

KNUJ went on the air May 22, 1949 by Mickelson Media, owner of the New Ulm Journal. Mickelson Media owned the station for over 36 years. In the early 1970s, KNUJ-FM was established on 93.1 FM. That station would become

KXLP KXLP (94.1 FM) is a radio station in Mankato, Minnesota (licensed to Eagle Lake) and serving the Minnesota River Valley. The 94.1 FM frequency went on the air September 21, 2007, airing a classic rock format that migrated from a sister station ...

in 1982. On March 6, 1986, KNUJ and KXLP were the first two stations purchased by upstart owner James Ingstad, a member of a family that owned radio stations in

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

and other areas. A few years later, KXLP's studios were moved to Mankato. A new KNUJ-FM signed on in June 1995, as "BRaT 107.3." The 4,000-watt station licensed to nearby Sleepy Eye played

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

music. Both stations simulcast from 6 to 8:30 am, Monday through Friday, and shorter hours on Saturday. A month later, KNSG in

Springfield, Minnesota Springfield is a city in Brown County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,152 at the 2010 census. U.S. Highway 14 serves as a main route in the community. This location is in the middle of some of Minnesota's most productive far ...

signed on the air. On August 14, 1998,

Cumulus Broadcasting Cumulus Media, Inc. is a broadcasting company of the United States and is the second largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States ahead of Audacy and behind iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership ...

purchased many stations from Ingstad. Two years later, Cumulus turned around and sold some of the stations, including KNUJ and KNUJ-FM to Clear Channel. The sale became effective on October 2, 2000. Ingstad obtained the three stations again from Clear Channel in February 2003, as part of a trade for a station in

Bismarck, North Dakota Bismarck (; from 1872 to 1873: Edwinton) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat, seat of Burleigh County, North Dakota, Burleigh County. It is the state's List of cities i ...

. KNSG was spun off to Linder Radio. KNUJ-FM changed its format to adult hits in June 2005, picking up a satellite-fed syndicated format from

Westwood One Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The co ...

, and becoming "SAM 107.3."

Programming

KNUJ is mostly a locally oriented news/talk/sports and farm station. In addition, the station airs an hour long

polka music Polka is a dance style and genre of dance music in originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though generally associated with Czech and Central European culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the A ...

weekdays and on Sunday afternoons. The station also plays

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

whenever they aren't carrying other types of programming. Both KNUJ and KNUJ-FM simulcast a common morning show weekdays. KNUJ-FM also broadcasts a live local news show from Sleepy Eye following the show. KNUJ also operates a separate mail order business known as KNUJ Polka Cassette & CD Sales, selling primarily polka music, nationwide.

External links

KNUJ and KNUJ-FMKNUJ Polka Cassette & CD Sales
* * {{coord, 44, 17, 10, N, 94, 25, 50, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title Radio stations in Minnesota Country radio stations in the United States News and talk radio stations in the United States New Ulm, Minnesota Radio stations established in 1949