KLBB (1220 AM) was an AM

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting 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 rad ...

licensed to

Stillwater, Minnesota Stillwater is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Washington County, Minnesota, Washington County. It is in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, on the west bank of the St. Croix River (Wisconsin-Minnesota), S ...

, serving the eastern suburban

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

area and western-central Wisconsin. It was locally and independently last owned by Dan & Gretchen Smith. Known as “Club 12-20,” KLBB formerly played adult standards and classic hits. It was the Twin Cities affiliate of the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

Radio Network. Other programming included “The Wolf Brewing All Request and Dedication Show with Stan Turner,” “The Morning Show with Jeff Petersen” and was the Twin Cities flagship station for Saint Paul Saints Baseball and Stillwater Ponies Football. The studios and transmitter were located in Stillwater, Minnesota. At full power, the daytime signal area covered the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul as well as portions of western

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. KLBB carried news updates at top of hour from

Fox News Radio Fox News Radio is an American radio network owned by Fox News. It is syndicated to over 500 AM and FM radio stations across the United States. It also supplies programming for three channels on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. History In 2003, ...

, Minnesota Network News, and local news from the KLBB News Desk focusing on the eastern Twin Cities area and western Wisconsin. Weather from Weatherology was also heard at the top of the hour. KLBB was also an affiliate of

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 ...

Adult Standards Adult standards (also sometimes known as the nostalgia or Big Band format) is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations. Adult standards started in the 1950s and is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly tho ...

format, which featured adult standards from artists such as

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

, Harry Connick, Jr., and

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Regarded as a pop icon, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American ...

as well as classics from

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

to contemporary music from such artists as

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

Diana Krall Diana Jean Krall (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, including over six million in the US. On December 11, 2009, ''Billboard (magazi ...

. On weekends, KLBB aired programs such as “The Stan Turner Show,” “Flashback Twin Cities with Tom Oszman,” “The Sounds of Sinatra,” “Shake Rattle Showtime,” “Martini Mix with Mike Martin”, “Sunday Morning Worship from St. Andrew’s; a live broadcast of worship services from St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi, Minnesota. KLBB also included national and local features such as “ The Osgood File,” “Bill Scott’s Titletown Report,” “Rudy Maxa’s Travel Minute,” “Community Calendar,” “Here’s What’s Happening in the Saint Croix Valley” and “Success Journal.” For over 25 years, incentives from local businesses were offered on “The Super Saver” show. Signing on in 1949, the 1220 AM frequency had a series of call letters including WSHB (1949 sign-on to 1955), WAVN (1955–1983), WVLE (1983–1985), WTCN (1985–1993), WIMN (1993-1/1/1997), WEZU (1/1/1997-2003), WMGT "The Mighty 12-20" (2003–2006), and KLBB (2006–2018). Noted personalities included Roger Erickson, Stan Turner, Ruth Koscielak, Ralph Jon Fritz, Bob Yates and Lee Valsvik. KLBB ceased broadcasting at 11:59 PM ( CT) on March 31, 2018. The 3.6 acres of land in Stillwater on which the station's

radio tower Radio masts and towers are typically tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the tallest human-m ...

was located had been sold for residential development. The announcement of the station's demise was made a month prior on February 28. KLBB concluded its final broadcast with a message from station owner Dan Smith, followed by the

song, “One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)”. Following that, the station’s transmitter was turned off. The station returned to the air at the end of March 2019 before its license would have met the FCC's cancellation criteria, using a temporary antenna setup atop the station's studio building to transmit with a power of 20 watts until a permanent transmitter site was found. KLBB continued to operate at low power, primarily simulcasting

NOAA Weather Radio NOAA Weather Radio (NWR), also known as NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards, is an automated 24-hour network of Very high frequency, VHF Frequency modulation, FM weather radio stations in the United States which broadcast weather information direct ...

, while seeking a new transmitter location; in May 2022, the station also disclosed that it was in negotiations to be sold. On September 21, 2022, the KLBB license was surrendered, and it was cancelled by the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

on September 23, 2022.

References

External links

Facility details for Facility ID 60646 (KLBB)
in the FCC Licensing and Management System
FCC History Cards for KLBB
(covering 1948-1981 as WSHB / WAVN)
Featuring Minneapolis/St. Paul radio airchecks dating back to 1924 including KLBB AM 1400 and AM 1220.
{{coord, 45, 03, 15, N, 92, 49, 42, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title Radio stations in Minnesota Radio stations established in 1949 Radio stations disestablished in 2022 1949 establishments in Minnesota 2022 disestablishments in Minnesota Defunct radio stations in the United States Defunct mass media in Minnesota

See also

References

External links