 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
 | |
| Broadcast area | Minneapolis-St. Paul |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1030kHz |
| Branding | WCTS FM 97.9 / AM 1030 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Christian talk and teaching |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Central Baptist Theological Seminary of Minneapolis |
| History | |
First air date | November 30, 1963 or May 18, 1964 |
Former call signs | WGHB, WRCR, WJSW, WMIN |
Call sign meaning | CentralTheologicalSeminary |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 12114 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 50,000watts (days) 4,000 watts (nights) |
| Translator(s) | 97.9 K250BY (Plymouth) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | WCTSradio.com |
WCTS (1030kHz, "The Bible Station") is anon-commercialAMradio stationlicensed toMaplewood, Minnesota, and serving theTwin Cities. It broadcasts aChristian talk and teachingradio format and is owned by theCentral Baptist Theological Seminary of Minneapolis, hence thecall letters. Theradio studios and offices are inPlymouth.
By day, WCTS transmits 50,000watts, the maximum for AM stations. Because1030 AM is aclear channel frequency reserved forWBZ inBoston, WCTS reduces power to 4,000watts at night and uses adirectional antenna at all times, with a five-tower array at night. Thetransmitter is on Woodbury Drive at Glacial Valley Road inWoodbury.[2] Programming is also heard on 250 wattFM translatorK250BY at 97.9MHz in Plymouth.[3]
The history of WCTS (1030 AM) comprises two stations: one at100.3FM and the other at the current 1030 AM.
The station that is now WCTS started with a 250-wattdaytime-only signal at 1010 AM. The station'ssign-on date asWGHB is unclear; the Broadcasting Yearbook of 1964 lists the date as November 30, 1963, while the publication's 1965 edition lists the date as May 18, 1964.WRCR is shown as the call sign by 1965. By 1968, the station carried the call lettersWJSW, broadcastingpolka music and other formats.
WhenWMIN dropped its longtime call letters in 1972, WJSW grabbed them and became the newWMIN. By this time, it was airing afull service,Middle of the Road (MOR) format. For many years, the station's transmitter site was located on South Century Drive in Maplewood, the city of license, where the studios were co-located.
In the mid-1980s, the station moved to 1030 AM, along with a significant boost in daytime power. It continued its MOR format and briefly simulcastKARE-TV's evening news. WMIN playedcountry music from 1986 to 1988 and then flipped to anoldies format, which evolved intoadult standards a year later.
WCTS signed on in 1965 on 100.3 FM, with a format consisting mostly ofconservativeevangelists andBible teachings by the FourthBaptist Church in north Minneapolis.
Colfax Communications, a startup company based in Minneapolis, purchased the FM station in early 1993 and in turn bought 1030 AM to sell back to the seminary so the seminary would continue to have a broadcast voice. Colfax took the FM station off the air for a few months and signed on again asWBOB on May 13, launching acountry music format under the "Bob 100" moniker.
WMIN becameWCTS on February 5, 1993, and seminary programming remains to this day. The WMIN call letters were immediately picked up by aHudson, Wisconsin-based station at740 AM and used there until 2008, when that station changed its call letters to WDGY.
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | Class | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K250BY | 97.9 FM | Plymouth, Minnesota | 202408 | 250 | D | LMS |
WCTS intends to move its translator to theIDS Center in downtown Minneapolis, following a feud withKPPS-LP, which withdrew its application for the channel. The move to the IDS will improve the translator's coverage of the metro area.[4]
44°52′01″N92°54′02″W / 44.86694°N 92.90056°W /44.86694; -92.90056
