KSTP-FM (94.5

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

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 ...

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

, serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul

radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

. It is the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

FM station of

Hubbard Broadcasting Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. is an American television and radio broadcasting corporation based in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was founded by Stanley E. Hubbard. The corporation has broadcast outlets scattered across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri ...

and airs a

hot 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 ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

. The station has long been known on-air as "KS95". The

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

s and offices, located on University Avenue, along the boundary line between St. Paul and

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, are shared with

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

KSTP (AM) KSTP (1500 kHz; ''SKOR North'') is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is the flagship AM radio station of Hubbard Broadcasting, which owns dozens of television and radio stations in nine states. KSTP has a ...

KSTP-TV KSTP-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, serving the Twin Cities area as an affiliate of ABC. It is the flagship television property of locally based Hubbard Broadcasting, which has owned th ...

KTMY KTMY (107.1 FM broadcasting, FM) is an entertainment-oriented talk radio, talk radio station, serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Twin Cities as well as portions of West Central Wisconsin. The station is owned and operated by Hubbard Broadcasting ...

, and

KSTC-TV KSTC-TV (channel 5.2) is an independent television station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, serving the Twin Cities area. Owned by Hubbard Broadcasting, it is sister to Saint Paul–licensed ABC affiliate and company flagshi ...

. There is a broadcasting tower behind the station, though it is only used as an emergency back-up, in case there are problems with the main tower (which is located in

Shoreview, Minnesota Shoreview is a city in Ramsey County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 26,921 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. Geography According to the United ...

). KSTP-FM has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...

(ERP) of 95,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s (100,000 with

beam tilt Beam tilt is used in radio to aim the main lobe of the vertical plane radiation pattern of an antenna below (or above) the horizontal plane. The simplest way is mechanical beam tilt, where the antenna is physically mounted in such a manner a ...

). The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is located at

Telefarm Towers The Telefarm Towers is a transmission site for FM radio and television broadcasting in Shoreview, Minnesota consisting of two guyed towers. The towers, called ''Shoreview Towers'' by local residents, are owned by Telefarm, Inc., a joint ventur ...

, off County Road F West. KSTP-FM broadcasts in the

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...

hybrid format; the HD-2 subchannel carries the all sports programming heard on KSTP (AM).

History

The current KSTP-FM began broadcasting in November 1965. It was founded by Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc., which already had extensive broadcasting experience, including sister station

. In 1938 and 1939 KSTP (AM) had also operated a high-fidelity AM

Apex The apex is the highest point of something. The word may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional entities * Apex (comics) A-Bomb Abomination Absorbing Man Abraxas Abyss Abyss is the name of two characters appearing in Ameri ...

"experimental audio broadcasting station", W9XUP, originally on 25,950 kHz and later on 26,150 kHz. In 1946 an FM station, also with the call sign KSTP-FM,

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

at 102.1 MHz. This first KSTP-FM was shut down in 1952 and the license was cancelled, due to management not believing that FM radio would be profitable. It mostly

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

the AM station, which was an

affiliate Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation platfo ...

of the

NBC Red Network The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (also known as the NBC Red Network from 1927 to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in continuous operation from 1926 through 1999. Along with the NBC Blue Network, it wa ...

, and the stations carried NBC's schedule of dramas, comedies, news and sports. The vacated 102.1 assignment is now home to

KEEY-FM KEEY-FM (102.1 MHz, "K102") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to St. Paul, Minnesota, and serving the Minneapolis-Saint Paul radio market. It broadcasts a country music radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The radio stu ...

. As more stations added FM counterparts in the 1960s, the current KSTP-FM debuted on November 1, 1965, now on its present-day frequency of 94.5 MHz. This new KSTP-FM also simulcast its AM sister's programming, 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 ...

middle of the road format of popular music, news and sports. In the late 1960s, the FM station began separate programming, airing a beautiful music format. With several other Twin Cities FM stations also devoted to

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

music, Hubbard would flip KSTP-FM to

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 ...

branded as "KS95" in 1975. By 1991, KSTP-FM had evolved into a

format. KSTP-FM served as the radio flagship for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

from 1985 to 1987.

HD Radio

KSTP-FM began

HD radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...

broadcasting in 2013, and in December of that year added a simulcast of all-sports sister station KSTP

1500 AM The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1500 kHz: The Federal Communications Commission categorizes 1500 AM as a U.S. clear-channel frequency. WFED Washington, D.C., and KSTP St. Paul are the dominant Class A stations on 15 ...

on its HD2 subchannel, a simulcast moved from another Hubbard-owned station, KTMY-HD2. The station added an HD3 subchannel, affiliated with the Spanish-language

ESPN Deportes Radio ESPN Deportes Radio was an American Spanish language sports radio network created and produced by Disney-owned ESPN. Programming included call-in talk shows and commentary from hosts about a full range of sporting events, including soccer, ...

in September 2016. The HD3 subchannel was discontinued in September 2019, after

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

discontinued ESPN Deportes Radio.

Awards

KSTP-FM has won numerous Crystal Awards,

Marconi Award :''"Marconi Award" links here. Note that in the Netherlands, the radio academy awards are also called Marconi Awards.'' The Marconi Radio Awards are presented annually by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) to the top radio stations and ...

s and Service to America Awards from the

National Association of Broadcasters The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a Industry trade group, trade association and lobbying, lobby group representing the interests of commercial and non-commercial over-the-air radio and television broadcasting, broadcasters in th ...

(NAB), noting the station's dominance in its format and dedication to community service. KSTP-FM's first Crystal Radio Award, which is given annually by the NAB to stations that demonstrate outstanding community service, was won in 2004. The station won Crystal Awards again in 2007 and 2014. KSTP-FM has been honored with several Marconi Awards from the National Association of Broadcasters recognizing the top performing radio stations in America. 2000 - Adult Contemporary Station of the Year, 2007 - Large Market Station of the Year, 2012 - Legendary Station of the Year, 2012 - Large Market Personality of the Year-Moon and Staci, 2013 - Large Market Station of the Year, 2014 - Large Market Personality of the Year-Ryan and Shannon, 2015 - Large Market Station of the Year, 2018 - Adult Contemporary Station of the Year. The National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation awarded KSTP-FM the prestigious Service to America Award in 2001, 2008, 2010 and 2014. This award recognizes outstanding community service by local broadcasters. In 2013 KSTP-FM won an Upper Midwest Regional

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for Musical Composition/Arrangement for the song "Clouds".

Past slogans

* "KS95, for the great ones. In stereo." (mid-1970s) * "Gentle is KS95" (mid-1970s) * "Always 95 And Sunny, KS95" (1981–1991) * "80s, 90s and Today" (1991–2010) * "Variety... 90s, 2K and Today" (2010–2014) * "Today's Variety" (2014–2019) * "Today's Variety from 2K to Today" (2019-)

References

External links

KSTP-FM official website
*
FCC History cards for KSTP-FM
(covering 1965–1981)
Historic Minneapolis/St. Paul airchecks dating back to 1924 including KS95 and other Twin Cities radio stations.
{{coord, 45.062, N, 93.140, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title Hubbard Broadcasting Radio stations in Minneapolis–Saint Paul Hot adult contemporary radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1965