KZIO (104.3 / 94.1 FM) is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

located in

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior, Wisconsin, Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: Downtown Dul ...

that serves as a

satellite station A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...

to Minnesota Public Radio's AAA station

KCMP KCMP (89.3 FM, 89.3 The Current) is a radio station owned by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) that broadcasts a AAA music format including a significant rotation of songs by local artists. Licensed to Northfield, Minnesota and covering the Minnea ...

, with inserts for local weather, underwriting messages, and a local music program that airs on Sunday evenings. Established in 1995 as WRSR, the station is owned by

American Public Media Group American Public Media Group, 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. H ...

Minnesota Public Radio 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 ha ...

. Its former owner was

Red River Broadcasting Red River Broadcasting is a television broadcasting company based in Fargo, North Dakota. It operates Fox affiliates in the Fargo, North Dakota and Duluth, Minnesota–Superior, Wisconsin television markets. Curtis Squire, Inc., a holding compa ...

, which also owns

KQDS-TV KQDS-TV (channel 21) is a television station in Duluth, Minnesota, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. Owned by Red River Broadcasting, the station has studios on London Road in Duluth (along I-35), and its transmitter is located we ...

channel 21 and formerly owned KQDS 1490,

KQDS-FM KQDS-FM (94.9 FM, "95 KQDS") is a classic rock music formatted radio station located in Duluth, Minnesota. Established in 1976 as KAOH-FM, the station is owned by Midwest Communications, and follows a format similar to that of the well-known ...

94.9, and WWAX 92.1 before deciding to sell their radio assets through 2015 into 2017. The studios under RRB ownership were located at Grandma's Marketplace in Canal Park in Duluth.

History

The main station, KZIO which operates at 104.3 MHz, is based in

Two Harbors, Minnesota Two Harbors is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, Minnesota, United States, along the shore of Lake Superior. The population was 3,633 at the 2020 census. Minnesota State Highway 61 serves as a main route in Two Harbors. Gooseberry ...

— its previous monikers were derived from its Duluth

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...

(low-power rebroadcaster), K231BI which operates at 94.1 FM. 104.3 FM can be heard in Duluth, though its signal is spotty. The former active rock format signed on as "X106" using 106.3 as the translator until upgrading to 94.1 FM. The call letters KZIO were originally located at what is now

KDKE KDKE (102.5 FM, "Duke FM") is a classic country radio station located in Duluth, Minnesota (licensed to Superior, Wisconsin). KDKE is owned by Midwest Communications, which also owns WDSM, WDUL, KDAL, KDAL-FM and KTCO in Duluth. All the Duluth st ...

102.5 MHz in the same market. 102.5 KZIO aired a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

format in the 1980s and 1990s until switching formats in 1996. 104.3 began as WRSR with a

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the ...

format in September 1995 before transitioning to several adult-based radio formats until settling upon the

active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

format in March 2003. Over the years, 94X has aired some

mainstream rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active ro ...

and

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...

music that is not typically a part of the

format in an effort to fend off rock-based formats at various competing stations. Past and Present 94X DJ's include Zooch, Hans, The Kid, Ray, Ace Rockolla, The Milkman, Diesel, Smiling Mike, Alli Foxx, Todd Spoons and Skid Mark. On February 27, 2017, Red Rock announced their intentions to sell KZIO and K231BI to

for $300,000. It will convert the station to a non-commercial operation. MPR confirmed late in March that the station would carry their The Current network in the market upon the sale's closing. The application to transfer the licenses was granted on April 24, 2017. The transaction closed on May 15, and KZIO went silent after the sale closing during a transition period. MPR has asked for a waiver to operate the station remotely as a satellite of Current's main station KCMP. KZIO returned to the air and began broadcasting The Current in the first week of June 2017.

References

External links

The Current official website
* * * {{coord, 46.941, N, 91.983, W, type:landmark_region:US-MN_source:FCC, display=title Adult album alternative radio stations in the United States Minnesota Public Radio NPR member stations Radio stations in Duluth, Minnesota Radio stations established in 1995 1995 establishments in Minnesota