Northwestern Schools, as it was then known, entered the broadcasting business with the launch ofKTIS-AM-FM in the Twin Cities on February 7, 1949.[1] The construction of KTIS, costing $40,000, was entirely underwritten by the school's students.[2] Its radio ministry soon expanded. On April 1, 1953, it bought KBOK inWaterloo, Iowa, and changed its call letters toKNWS.[3] Growth continued with the October 25, 1955,[4]: C-149 launch ofKFNW inFargo, North Dakota, and its 1961 acquisition of KIHO inSioux Falls, which becameKNWC.[5] Northwestern built FM stations in all three cities in 1965 (Fargo'sKFNW-FM[4]: C-149 and Waterloo'sKNWS-FM[6]) and 1969 (KNWC-FM in Sioux Falls[4]: C-181 ). Northwestern acquired WRVB-FM inMadison, Wisconsin, in 1973,[7] changing it toWNWC; the college would buyan AM station there in 1997.
In 1983,KDNI inDuluth, Minnesota,came to air; it was joined byKDNW, a second frequency, in 1992.Des Moines, Iowa, became part of Northwestern Media's footprint when radio stations KJJC and KLRX were bought out of receivership[8] and becameKNWI and KNWM in 2004.KLJC inKansas City was acquired in 2013 fromCalvary Bible College[9] and renamed it KJNW.
In 2010, citing years of low listener support and the fact that it was subsidized by the rest of the network, Northwestern College closedWSMR inSarasota, Florida, which it had built in 1996; the station was sold to theUniversity of South Florida for $1.275 million and began broadcasting classical music.[10]
Between 2007 and 2012, Northwestern owned a third station in the Fargo area, KFNL. The station was sold to a commercial broadcaster, Mediactive, LLC, in 2012[11] and is nowKBMW-FM.
Between April and August 2018, UNW briefly owned two secular stations,KDSN-AM-FM, inDenison, Iowa. UNW had acquired the stations in order to move KDSN-FM to another frequency and facilitate a signal upgrade for KNWI.[12]
Northwestern acquiredKLBF nearBismarck, North Dakota, from theEducational Media Foundation in 2017; KLBF became a Faith station, making it the westernmost station in the Northwestern Media portfolio and one of its few markets without a Life station.[13] EMF had previously donatedWNWW, an AM radio station inHartford, Connecticut, to the university in 2016.[14]
In 2018, Northwestern Media entered Omaha with its acquisition ofKGBI-FM fromSalem Media Group for $3.15 million.[15]
Northwestern Media made two major network acquisitions in 2019. The first came in July when the entireRefuge Radio network was donated to UNW. Refuge owned three full-power stations and 13 dependent translators in Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota.[16] The Refuge network was dismantled and almost all of its transmitters converted to repeat Life and Faith stations; former network key stationWJRF in Duluth was taken silent (as Northwestern already had two stations there), the two other full-power stations began simulcasting Life stations, and the translators were spread around the Life and Faith networks.[17]
On August 6, 2019, the Illinois Bible Institute announced it would sell its New Life Radio Network (WBGL/WCIC), a two-network radio ministry primarily broadcasting in Illinois, to the University of Northwestern. UNW paid $9,901,558.34 to acquire its 13 full-power stations and eight translators.[18] The acquisition brought UNW's number of broadcast licenses to 81 in 10 states.[19]
In 2021, Northwestern filed to purchaseKLMP andKSLT inRapid City, South Dakota, and their repeaters from Bethesda Christian Broadcasting,[20] closing on the purchase in January 2022.[21] It obtained new licenses for full-power non-commercial stations inAshland, Wisconsin, andGrand Rapids, Minnesota, in 2022,[22][23] and it also purchased a series of FM translators rebroadcasting KSLT from the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel that year.[24]
In a $1.25 million transaction, UNW filed to acquire the Lake Area Educational Broadcasting Foundation, whose Spirit FM and Elevate FM services are broadcast in various cities in Missouri, in March 2023.[25] The purchase, including fifteen stations, eight translators, and six construction permits, was consummated on July 5, 2023.
In 2024, the Sound of Life Radio Network's nine stations and three translators in New York were donated to Northwestern Media.[26] One of the Sound of Life stations, WSSK inSaratoga Springs,[27] ceased operations on April 28, 2024, as its tower was demolished following a truck damaging its guy wires; Northwestern Media turned in its license in April 2025.[28]
^Lakes Area Christian Radio files to donate the Estherville, IA-licensed translator K257CH at 99.3 FM to the University of Northwestern-St. Paul."Deal Digest – February 20, 2020".Inside Radio. February 20, 2020. RetrievedFebruary 26, 2020.
