KVBR (1340 AM, "Brainerd Business Radio") is a

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 ...

broadcasting a

news talk information Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, interviews wi ...

format. Licensed to

Brainerd, Minnesota Brainerd ( ) is a city and the county seat of Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 14,395 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Brainerd straddles the Mississippi River several miles upstream from its confluen ...

, United States, the station serves the

Brainerd Lakes area Brainerd ( ) is a city and the county seat of Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 14,395 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Brainerd straddles the Mississippi River several miles upstream from its confluen ...

. Founded in 1964 by the Persons family, the station is owned by

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 ...

, Inc., and features programming from

USA Radio Network USA Radio Network is an American mass media company, specializing in 24/7 news coverage, long-form talk radio shows, produced and distributed with a generally conservative focus. USA Radio Network produces and distributes 24-hour news, talk, inf ...

History

KVBR first went on the air on May 16, 1965, licensed to Greater Minnesota Broadcasting Corporation, Charlie Persons, president. The station changed its call sign from KVBR to KQBR on November 15, 1982, when the station was purchased by Jim and Larry Lakoduk of

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...

. The Lakoduks also owned KQWB AM- FM in Fargo and

WEBC WEBC (560 Hertz, kHz) is a commercial radio, commercial AM broadcasting, AM radio station in Duluth, Minnesota, and serving the Duluth-Superior media market, radio market. It is owned by Townsquare Media and it airs a sports radio, sports rad ...

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

. The station format was changed to

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country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

with the image "1340 Q-Country" under General Manager Chuck Whittman. The air staff for KQBR included Bob Randall (PD), Don Kelley (news), Barbara Ann, Don Jahnke, Charlie Kampa, Steve Sedall, H.P Thomas, Chuck Sargent, Dave Torkelson, Ken Adams and Jeff Butler. On August 15, 1986, the station returned its call sign to KVBR when the Lakoduks sold the station back to station founder Charlie Persons. The Persons family operated the station on a smaller scale than the Lakoduks, focusing on a news/talk format. Persons sold the station, as well as an FM

construction permit Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to bu ...

, to Jim Ingstad's Sioux Valley Broadcasting, Inc., in March 1994. In April 1996, KVBR was sold to Kommerstad Communications Company, LLC. BL Broadcasting, Inc., a unit of Omni Broadcasting, acquired KVBR in January 2004, operating from studios located in

Baxter, Minnesota Baxter is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 8,612 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Brainerd, Minnesota, Brainerd Brainerd micropolitan area, Mic ...

. Hubbard Broadcasting announced on November 13, 2014, that it would purchase the Omni Broadcasting stations, including KVBR. The sale was completed on February 27, 2015, at a purchase price of $8 million for the 16 stations and one translator.

References

External links

* Radio stations in Minnesota News and talk radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1964 Hubbard Broadcasting 1964 establishments in Minnesota Brainerd, Minnesota {{Minnesota-radio-station-stub