 | |
 KMNV's tower near Interstate 94 in St. Paul | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Minneapolis-St. Paul |
| Frequency | 1400kHz |
| Branding | La Raza |
| Programming | |
| Language | Spanish |
| Format | Regional Mexican |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KMNQ | |
| History | |
First air date | 1936 |
Former call signs |
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| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 99 |
| Class | C |
| Power | 1,000 watts |
| Translator | 95.7 K239CJ (St. Paul) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | laraza1400 |
KMNV (1400kHz "La Raza") is acommercialAM radio stationlicensed toSt. Paul, Minnesota, and serving theTwin Citiesradio market. It is owned by Santamaria Broadcasting and broadcasts aSpanish-languageradio format featuringRegional Mexican music with some weekday comedy shows. KMNV's radio studios and offices are in Richfield.[2]
KMNV is powered at 1,000 wattsnon-directional. Thetransmitter is near theMississippi River in St. Paul. Programming is also heard onFM translatorK239CJ at 95.7MHz in St. Paul.
The stationsigned on the air in the summer of 1936, when St. Paul furniture retailer Edward Hoffman began broadcasting at 1370 kHz. WMIN was reassigned to the 1400 kHz frequency in 1941 when theNorth American Regional Broadcasting Agreement treaty (NARBA) was negotiated to reduce interference between American radio stations and those from other countries. Notedjazz announcerLeigh Kamman started his career in broadcasting at the station around this time.
For many years, the station's transmitter and single tower have enjoyed an enviable location in the center of the metro area. Since at least the late 1970s/early 1980s, the station's technical plant has been located within a block of the city limits separating Minneapolis and St. Paul just east of the Mississippi River at 611 West Frontenac Place in St. Paul. It is plainly visible to travelers on Interstate Highway 94. The studios, at least in the 1970s and 1980s, were also located at this address.[3]
WMIN set up asister station,WMIN-FM at 99.5 MHz in 1945, which operated until being purchased by the owners of AM stationWLOL and took the WLOL-FM call letters in 1956. WMIN eventually signed on another FM sister station, at102.1 MHz.
In addition to FM, WMIN went into television, applying for a TV license in 1952 for Channel 11.WTCN radio had also applied for this frequency, so the stations arranged to divide the broadcast day between them. The television stations soon merged as WTCN-TV, today'sKARE.
In 1954, thecall sign for 1400 AM briefly changed to WMNS, reflecting a change to afull service format of adult popular music, news and sports. The format remained, but the station returned to being WMIN later that year. AsWDGY,WLOL andKDWB enjoyed success playingTop 40 music in the late 1950s, WMIN joined the fray.
In July 1962, WMIN adopted anall-news format, adopting the KTWN call letters the following November. They were changed back to WMIN the following August. In 1967, after playing somecountry music shows for three years, the station took on the country format full-time.
The station changed its call sign again in 1972 to KEEY, to match that of itsFM sister station. KEEY-FM was a popularbeautiful music station in the Twin Cities. The AM station would eventually air a beautiful music format identical to its FM counterpart by 1981.
In 1984, the two stations were split up as KEEY-FM became the sister station ofWDGY and the AM station struck out on its own. The call letters were changed to KLBB in February 1982, with a staff consisting of many former employees ofWCCO Radio. KLBB playedadult standards andmiddle of the road music (MOR) with personality disc jockeys.[4]
Cargill Communications purchased KLBB in 1993, along with KBCW (1470 AM), WTCX-FM (105.1 FM) and WLOL-FM (105.3) for the basis of a proposedalternative rock station, soon to become known as "REV105". The new owners were uncomfortable with dropping the much-loved MOR format of KLBB, so they kept it, updated the music, imaging, promotion and logo of the station, and simulcast KLBB's programming on1470 AM inBrooklyn Park to improve signal coverage to the north and west. The WLOL call letters (well known in the market from their original homes on1330 AM and99.5 FM) were retained by the company and moved from 105.3 FM to 1470.[5]
KLBB, along with WLOL, eventually separated once again from their FM sisters. James and Susan Cargill, who had also acquired a third FM station at 105.7, sold all three of the FM stations that made up REV105 toABC Radio, owners ofKQRS-FM andKEGE. In 1999, the Cargills donated both KLBB and WLOL (soon to be renamed KLBP) toMinnesota Public Radio, where the two frequencies became part of the for-profit Minnesota News Network (MNN). The stations continued the adult standards/MOR format.In 2004, MPR sold off MNN and the statewide network's flagship AM station,WMNN, but retained KLBB and KLBP for the time being.[6]
By now, the "Club 14" simulcast was carrying a mix of local personalities and the "Music Of Your Life" radio network. The two stations were operated asThe KLBB Company, a for-profit subsidiary of theGreenspring Company, which, like MPR, were under the umbrella of theAmerican Public Media Group.[7]
MPR announced on May 25, 2005, that it had reached an agreement to sell both KLBB and KLBP toDavidson Media Group, a New York City-based broadcaster specializing in multi-cultural, community focused formats. Thereafter, KLBB flipped to aSpanish-language format, while the format on KLBP remained MOR until July 17, 2006, when it switched to anurban gospel sound with the KZTG (later KRJJ) call letters. The sale of both stations was approved by the FCC on July 25, 2005, with Davidson taking control on September 7.
KLBB finally transitioned to its long-promised Spanish-language format on November 4, 2005, leaving the adult standards/big band format on sister station KLBP and bringing to an end the long-time Club 14 simulcast. The KMNV call letters were introduced to AM 1400 on December 16, 2005, just months after its switch to Regional Mexican, while the KLBB call letters moved to sister station AM 1470. The station also airs Spanish language broadcasts of theMinnesota Twins baseball team.
Davidson Media sold KMNV and sister stationKMNQ to Santamaria Broadcasting, Inc. effective May 5, 2016, at a purchase price of $1.2 million. KMNV and KMNQ added anFM translator on 95.7 FM in early 2017. It broadcasts from the KMNV tower. For a while, the station split its programming from KMNQ. KMNQ went on to broadcast a variety format with no imaging, before going off air for nearly a year. KMNQ returned to simulcasting KMNV when it returned to air.[8]
Following 1470's switch to gospel music, the KLBB call letters and much of its programming were picked up byStillwater-basedWMGT (1220 AM) on July 25, 2006.
The formerWMIN call sign was located for many years at1030 AM, then at 740 AM in the Twin Cities until the call sign was picked up by AM 1010 inSauk Rapids, Minnesota.KEEY-FM continues with those call letters at 102.1 FM, with a country format.
In 2020, duringprotests over themurder of George Floyd, the station was knocked off the air on May 27 due to area power outages. During the overnight hours of May 28 to 29, the building it shared with the El Nuevo Rodeo restaurant and other business in a formerOdd Fellows Hall at 27th Avenue South and East Lake Street in Minneapolis, was burned down in anarson related to rioting in the area. A week later, it returned to the air with the assistance ofKFAI, utilizing its studio facilities.[9][10]
44°57′29″N93°12′24″W / 44.95797°N 93.206767°W /44.95797; -93.206767
