Prairie Public Radio

Public radio network serving North Dakota, United States

Prairie PublicType| Public radio network

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Country|

United States

Headquarters| Fargo, North Dakota
Programming
Affiliations| National Public Radio, American Public Media, Public Radio International, Public Radio Exchange
Ownership
Owner| Prairie Public Broadcasting, North Dakota State University (KDSU)

Sister stations

| Prairie Public Television (PBS)

Key people

| Bill Thomas, Director of Radio[1]
History
Launch date| February 1, 1999 (1999-02-01)

Former names

| Prairie Public Radio, North Dakota Public Radio
Coverage
Availability| North Dakota, northwestern Minnesota, eastern Montana
Links
Webcast| Listen
Website| PrairiePublic.org/radio

Prairie Public's radio service is a network of ten radio frequencies in North Dakota. It is a service of Prairie Public Broadcasting based in Fargo.

Prairie Public maintains active studios in Fargo and Bismarck. It is a member station of National Public Radio (NPR) and provides NPR news and programming, local and regional news, and two distinct music formats: the News and Classical network, and the adult album alternative formatted Roots, Rock, and Jazz network.

## Programming

[edit]

Prairie Public produces and broadcasts Main Street, a weekday interview show hosted by Ashley Thornberg and Craig Blumenshine,[2][3] Dakota Datebook, Into the Music with Mike Olson, Prebys on Classics, and Why?, hosted by UND philosophy professor Dr. Jack Weinstein.[4] Prairie Public is also the distributor for Listening to America with Clay Jenkinson.

Prairie Public offers news programming on weekday mornings and afternoons from its newsrooms in Bismarck and Fargo. It also airs news from NPR.

Prairie Public is a member station of National Public Radio, airing programs such as All Things Considered, and also carries programming from Public Radio International (such as The World) and American Public Media, as well as from Public Radio Exchange (such as This American Life).

Prairie Public's radio network offers two programming services. The primary News and Classical network originating from KCND in Bismarck is carried on most stations, and split into eastern and western schedules. The adult album alternative formatted Roots, Rock, and Jazz network originating from KFJM in Grand Forks has gradually expanded its programming to additional stations since its launch in 2002. KDSU in Fargo carries a combination of both networks, airing Roots, Rock and Jazz programming when the rest of the main network airs classical music.

### News and Classical network (FM1)

[edit]

Most news and classical programming is produced at the Bismarck studio.

The primary network of Prairie Public airs classical music, news, talk, and weekend specialty shows, including jazz.

### Roots, Rock, and Jazz network (FM2)

[edit]

KFJM originates Prairie Public's second music format, a mixture of adult album alternative, blues, folk, and jazz. The network is rebroadcast full-time on KPPR Williston and the HD-2 channel of Prairie Public's other full-power News and Classical stations. KDSU of Fargo broadcasts the network midday weekdays and overnights.[5]

## Stations

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Prairie Public has 10 full power stations and 5 low-power translators broadcasting across North Dakota, northwest Minnesota, and eastern Montana.

### News and Classical stations

[edit]

Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info

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KCND | 90.5 FM | Bismarck, North Dakota | 53317 | 50000 | 371 m (1,217 ft) | C1 | 46°35′22.8″N 100°48′3.5″W﻿ / ﻿46.589667°N 100.800972°W﻿ / 46.589667; -100.800972﻿ (KCND) | LMS
KPPD  | 91.7 FM | Devils Lake, North Dakota | 165891 | 24000 | 214.3 m (703 ft) | C2 | 48°3′47.8″N 99°20′10.2″W﻿ / ﻿48.063278°N 99.336167°W﻿ / 48.063278; -99.336167﻿ (KPPD) | LMS
KDPR  | 89.9 FM | Dickinson, North Dakota | 53326 | 12500 | 150 m (492 ft) | C2 | 46°43′34″N 102°54′57.6″W﻿ / ﻿46.72611°N 102.916000°W﻿ / 46.72611; -102.916000﻿ (KDPR) | LMS
KDSU | 91.9 FM | Fargo, North Dakota | 49213 | 100000 | 302 m (991 ft) | C | 47°0′47.9″N 97°11′38.3″W﻿ / ﻿47.013306°N 97.193972°W﻿ / 47.013306; -97.193972﻿ (KDSU) | LMS
KUND-FM | 89.3 FM | Grand Forks, North Dakota | 69127 | 50000 | 89 m (292 ft) | C2 | 48°11′39.7″N 97°11′29.7″W﻿ / ﻿48.194361°N 97.191583°W﻿ / 48.194361; -97.191583﻿ (KUND-FM) | LMS
KPRJ  | 91.5 FM | Jamestown, North Dakota | 53314 | 18500 | 108 m (354 ft) | B1 | 46°46′35.9″N 98°31′21.3″W﻿ / ﻿46.776639°N 98.522583°W﻿ / 46.776639; -98.522583﻿ (KPRJ) | LMS
KMPR  | 88.9 FM | Minot, North Dakota | 53319 | 50000 | 283 m (928 ft) | C1 | 48°3′3″N 101°23′25.6″W﻿ / ﻿48.05083°N 101.390444°W﻿ / 48.05083; -101.390444﻿ (KMPR) | LMS
KPPW  | 88.7 FM | Williston, North Dakota | 174363 | 50000 | 237.4 m (779 ft) | C1 | 48°8′30.1″N 103°53′35.7″W﻿ / ﻿48.141694°N 103.893250°W﻿ / 48.141694; -103.893250﻿ (KPPW) | LMS
Broadcast translators for KDPR  Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info

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K218FO  | 91.5 FM | Beach, North Dakota | 53341 | 19 | 32 m (105 ft) | D | 46°54′33″N 104°0′25.7″W﻿ / ﻿46.90917°N 104.007139°W﻿ / 46.90917; -104.007139﻿ (K218FO) | LMS
K220FJ  | 91.9 FM | Bowman, North Dakota | 90955 | 8 | 24 m (79 ft) | D | 46°11′6″N 103°23′38.7″W﻿ / ﻿46.18500°N 103.394083°W﻿ / 46.18500; -103.394083﻿ (K220FJ) | LMS
K220FG  | 91.9 FM | Hettinger, North Dakota | 53338 | 9 | 36 m (118 ft) | D | 46°0′9″N 102°37′51.6″W﻿ / ﻿46.00250°N 102.631000°W﻿ / 46.00250; -102.631000﻿ (K220FG) | LMS
Broadcast translator for KPPW  Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info

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K220FE  | 91.9 FM | Plentywood, Montana | 53337 | 8 | −27 m (−89 ft) | D | 48°46′23.1″N 104°33′36.8″W﻿ / ﻿48.773083°N 104.560222°W﻿ / 48.773083; -104.560222﻿ (K220FE) | LMS

### Roots, Rock and Jazz stations

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Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info

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KFJM | 90.7 FM | Grand Forks, North Dakota | 69406 | 4000 | 34 m (112 ft) | A | 47°54′16.9″N 97°6′54.2″W﻿ / ﻿47.904694°N 97.115056°W﻿ / 47.904694; -97.115056﻿ (KFJM) | LMS
KPPR  | 89.5 FM | Williston, North Dakota | 53327 | 10500 | 150 m (492 ft) | C3 | 48°8′30.1″N 103°53′35.7″W﻿ / ﻿48.141694°N 103.893250°W﻿ / 48.141694; -103.893250﻿ (KPPR) | LMS

### HD Radio

[edit]

Prairie Public's full power stations broadcast HD Radio signals, adding full-digital simulcasts of their analog channel, plus the Roots, Rock, and Jazz network on subchannel "HD-2" of the News and Classical stations.

### Cable systems

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Shaw Cable's Winnipeg system carried Prairie Public's News and Classical service at 107.9 FM (via KUND-FM), until Shaw discontinued FM distribution in 2012.[6]

Prairie Public's News and Classical network is carried on Bell MTS Fibe TV across Manitoba, on channel 733.[7][8]

## History

[edit]

Prairie Public was established on February 1, 1999 as the North Dakota Public Radio network. It consisted of three partners — Prairie Public Broadcasting, the North Dakota State University, and the University of North Dakota[9] — with the goal of providing a full public radio service to all of North Dakota.

At the time of North Dakota Public Radio's formation, the University of North Dakota operated three stations in Grand Forks: KUND (AM), KUND-FM (89.3 FM) which dated to 1976, and KFJM (90.7 FM) which started in 1995. KUND (AM) had been established, as KFJM, in 1923 as one of the first college radio stations in the United States. It left the network after it was sold in 2004. North Dakota State University's station, KDSU (91.9 FM) in Fargo dated to 1966. These stations were early members of NPR, but this left western North Dakota without public radio. Prairie Public Television had broadened its mission to include radio in the late 1970s, and in 1981 KCND in Bismarck signed on as the first public radio station in the western part of the state, under the on-air name of Prairie Public Radio. Between 1981 and 1993, four more stations signed on.

On September 26, 2006, North Dakota Public Radio was renamed Prairie Public, chosen to achieve brand consistency with Prairie Public Broadcasting's television and other operations.[10]

In 2009, KPPD signed on as a full-power station for the Devils Lake region, and HD Radio was rolled out to all Prairie Public full-power stations. In 2012, KPPW signed on as the new full-power News and Classical network station for Williston, with KPPR moving to the Roots, Rock, and Jazz network.[11]

In September 2018, KFJM and KUND-FM were sold by the University of North Dakota to Prairie Public Broadcasting.[12]

## See also

[edit]

* Prairie Public Television

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "About Prairie Radio: Executive Staff and Board". www.prairiepublic.org.
2. ^ "Prairie Public Pressroom". www.prairiepublic.org. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
3. ^ "Main Street". news.prairiepublic.org. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
4. ^ "Why? Philosophical Discussions About Everyday life". news.prairiepublic.org. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
5. ^ "Non-Commercial Radio Stations". www.gumbopages.com. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
6. ^ "FM Discontinuation". Shaw.ca. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
7. ^ MTS Ultimate TV Quick Guide (November 2016)
8. ^ "Channel Listing for Bell MTS Fibe TV | Bell MTS". www.bellmts.ca. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
9. ^ "Community Advisory Board Profile: North Dakota Public Radio (srg.org)
10. ^ "Prairie Public Broadcasting » 2000s". www.prairiepublic.org. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
11. ^ Kinney, Jim (August 30, 2023). "New England Public Media will move classical music off main stations, focusing on news and talk". masslive. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
12. ^ "Station Sales Week Of 9/14: UND Exits Radio" by Lance Venta, September 14, 2018 (radioinsight.com)

## External links

[edit]

* Listen live: News and Classical | Roots, Rock, and Jazz | KDSU
* Prairie Public radio website
* Roots, Rock, and Jazz network website

* v
* t
* e

NPR member stations in the state of North Dakota

Prairie Public stations|

* Bismarck KCND
* Devils Lake KPPD
* Dickinson KDPR
* Fargo KDSU
* Grand Forks KFJM
* Grand Forks KUND-FM
* Jamestown KPRJ
* Minot KMPR
* Williston KPPR
* Williston KPPW

Other stations|

* Belcourt KEYA

See also
List of radio stations in North Dakota
List of NPR stations

See also
adult contemporary
classic hits
college
country
news/talk
NPR
oldies
religious
rock
sports
top 40
urban
other radio stations in North Dakota

* v
* t
* e

Broadcast radio networks in the United States

National|

* ABC Audio
* Compass
* Premiere
* Salem
* United Stations
* Westwood One
* Uforia Audio Network
* Spanish

State|

* Georgia News Network
* Louisiana Radio Network
* Michigan Talk Network
* North Carolina News Network
* Ohio News Network
* The Point
* Supertalk Mississippi
* Texas State Network
* WV Metro News

Specialty|

* AURN
* Bloomberg Radio
* CRN Digital
* Evolution
* Metropolitan Opera
* Music of Your Life
* Pride Radio
* Radio America
* Radio One
* Republic Broadcasting Network
* USA Radio Network
* WestStar TalkRadio Network
* WFMT Radio Network
* World Classical Network

Religious|

* 3ABN
* Air1
* AFR
* BBN
* BRN
* Calvary
* Covenant
* CSN International
* Effect
* ESNE
* EWTN Radio
* Family Life Network
* Family Life Radio
* Family Radio
* Fundamental
* Go Mix!
* GNN
* Gospel Opportunities
* Guadalupe
* K-Love
* King of Kings Radio
* The Life FM
* LifeTalk
* Mars Hill
* Moody
* Northwestern
* Pilgrim
* Radio 74
* Radio Nueva Vida
* Real Presence Radio
* Rejoice Broadcast Network
* Relevant Radio
* RenewFM
* RevFM
* Salem Radio Network
* Smile FM
* Sounds of the Spirit
* Spirit FM
* VCY America
* WAY-FM Network
* Word FM
* Your Network of Praise

Sports|

* BetQL
* ESPN
* Fox
* Futbol de Primera
* Infinity
* Sports Byline USA
* Sports USA
* TUDN

News|

* ABC
* BIN
* CBS
* Fox
* NBC
* USA

Public radio|

| National|

* APM
* NPR
* Pacifica
* PRX

|

State|

* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Georgia
* Hawaii
* Iowa
* Kentucky
* Maine
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Hampshire
* North Dakota
* Oregon
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
* South Dakota
* Utah
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* West Virginia
* Wisconsin
* Wyoming

Regional|

* Alabama
* Boise State
* CMU
* High Plains
* Indiana
* Interlochen
* Jefferson
* Michigan Public
* Montana
* New England
* New Jersey
* North Carolina
* North Country
* Northeast
* Northern
* Northwest
* Radio IQ
* Radio Kansas
* Red River
* Yellowstone

Defunct or
moribund|

* ABC (original)
* Air America
* Amalgamated Broadcasting System
* America's Radio News
* American Network
* Arkansas Radio Network
* Biz Radio Network
* NBC Blue/Blue Network
* Children's radio networks
* Cumulus Media Networks
* Dial Global (Local/Waitt)
* Radio Disney
* Enterprise
* ESPN Deportes
* GCN
* God's Country
* I.E. America
* Jones
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* Liberty Broadcasting System
* Michigan Farm Radio Network
* Michigan Radio Network
* Michigan Regional
* Mutual
* Mutual Reports Network/Mutual Black Network
* Mutual Progressive Network/Mutual Lifestyle Radio
* Mutual Spanish Network (Mutual Cadena Hispánica)
* NBC Red/NBC
* NBC Sports Radio
* NBC Talknet
* NBG Radio Network
* National Black Network
* National Negro Network
* Nova M
* National Radio Network
* PRI
* Progressive Broadcasting System
* Radio AAHS
* RKO
* Satellite Music Network
* Sports Fan Radio Network
* SportsMap
* Talk Radio Network
* The Source
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* UPI
* Univision America
* Washington News Desk
* Westinghouse
* Westwood One (original)
* Westwood One News
* WOR
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* Yankee Network

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