Northwestern Media

Northwestern Media
Network name	Northwestern Media
Country	United States
Radio network	Northwestern Media
Launch date	February 7, 1949
Website	unwsp.edu/about-us/radio-ministries

Northwestern Media is the Christian radio ministry of the University of Northwestern – St. Paul, an evangelical university in Roseville, Minnesota. Northwestern Media operates three radio networks serving listeners primarily in the Midwestern United States: the Life Network, a Christian adult contemporary music station; the Faith Network, with Christian talk and teaching programs; and Spirit FM, also playing Christian adult contemporary music.

History

Northwestern Schools, as it was then known, entered the broadcasting business with the launch of KTIS-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 in Waterloo, Iowa, and changed its call letters to KNWS.^[3] Growth continued with the October 25, 1955,^[4]^: C-149 launch of KFNW in Fargo, North Dakota, and its 1961 acquisition of KIHO in Sioux Falls, which became KNWC.^[5] Northwestern built FM stations in all three cities in 1965 (Fargo's KFNW-FM^[4]^: C-149 and Waterloo's KNWS-FM^[6]) and 1969 (KNWC-FM in Sioux Falls^[4]^: C-181). Northwestern acquired WRVB-FM in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1973,^[7] changing it to WNWC; the college would buy an AM station there in 1997.

In 1983, KDNI in Duluth, Minnesota,came to air; it was joined by KDNW, 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 became KNWI and KNWM in 2004. KLJC in Kansas City was acquired in 2013 from Calvary Bible College^[9] and renamed it KJNW.

Station sales

In 2010, citing years of low listener support and the fact that it was subsidized by the rest of the network, Northwestern College closed WSMR in Sarasota, Florida, which it had built in 1996; the station was sold to the University 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 now KBMW-FM.

Between April and August 2018, UNW briefly owned two secular stations, KDSN-AM-FM, in Denison, Iowa. UNW had acquired the stations in order to move KDSN-FM to another frequency and facilitate a signal upgrade for KNWI.^[12]

Expansions

Northwestern acquired KLBF near Bismarck, North Dakota, from the Educational 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 donated WNWW, an AM radio station in Hartford, Connecticut, to the university in 2016.^[14]

In 2018, Northwestern Media entered Omaha with its acquisition of KGBI-FM from Salem Media Group for $3.15 million.^[15]

Northwestern Media made two major network acquisitions in 2019. The first came in July when the entire Refuge 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 station WJRF 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 purchase KLMP and KSLT in Rapid 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 in Ashland, Wisconsin, and Grand 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 in Saratoga 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]

Stations

Faith Network

Call sign	Frequency	City of license	ERP Watts	Class	Rebroadcasts
KTIS	900 AM	Minneapolis, Minnesota	50,000-D/500-N	B	KTIS
K206DI	89.1 FM	Mankato, Minnesota	250	D	KTIS
K214DF^{[note 1]}	90.7 FM	Golden Valley-Minneapolis, Minnesota	99	D	KTIS
K264CD	100.7 FM	Des Moines, Iowa	99	D	KTIS
K215DU	90.9 FM	Hutchinson, Minnesota	230	D	KTIS
W248CU	97.5 FM	Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota	250	D	KTIS
K277CC	103.3 FM	Pennock–Willmar, Minnesota	170	D	KTIS
WNWW^{[note 2]}	1290 AM	West Hartford, Connecticut	490-D/11-N	D	KTIS
W231CZ^{["note" 1]}	94.1 FM	Hartford, Connecticut	32	D	WNWW
KNWS	1090 AM	Waterloo, Iowa	1,000-D/0-N	D	KNWS
K226CK	93.1 FM	Waterloo, Iowa	250	D	KNWS
KDNI	90.5 FM	Duluth, Minnesota	2,000	C3	KDNI
K254DS	98.7 FM	Grand Rapids, Minnesota	250	D	KDNI
K207ES	89.3 FM	Hibbing, Minnesota	12	D	KDNI
K220BI	91.9 FM	Grand Marais, Minnesota	34	D	KDNI
KLBF^{[note 2]}	89.1 FM	Lincoln-Bismarck, North Dakota	2,300	C3	KTIS
K205GG	88.9 FM	Grand Rapids, Minnesota	250	D	KLBF
KFNW	1200 AM	West Fargo, North Dakota	50,000-D/13,000-N	B	KFNW
K273DJ	102.5 FM	West Fargo, North Dakota	250	D	KFNW
KNWC	1270 AM	Sioux Falls, South Dakota	5,000-D/2,300-N	B	KNWC
K208EX	89.5 FM	Brandon, South Dakota	230>100(CP)	D	KNWC
K288EV	105.5 FM	Brookings, South Dakota	250	D	KNWC
K288GA	105.5 FM	Sioux Falls, South Dakota	220	D	KNWC
K298CY	107.5 FM	Sioux Falls, South Dakota	250	D	KNWC
WNWC	1190 AM	Sun Prairie-Madison, Wisconsin	4,800-D/21-N	D	WNWC
W284CW	104.7 FM	Madison, Wisconsin	250	D	WNWC
KLMP	88.3 FM	Rapid City, South Dakota	63,000	C	KLMP
KLMP-FM1	88.3 FM	Rapid City, South Dakota	2,300	D	KLMP
KCKP	100.9 FM	Laurie, Missouri	23,500	C3
KCKV	91.9 FM	Kirksville, Missouri	1,000	A
K207AY	89.3 FM	St. Robert, Missouri	99	D	KCKP
K211FV	90.1 FM	Sedalia, Missouri	54	D	KCKP
K285FC	104.9 FM	Jefferson City, Missouri	250	D	KCKP
KURL	93.3 FM	Billings, Montana	60,000	C1

Life Network

Call sign	Frequency	City of license	ERP Watts	Class	Rebroadcasts
KTIS-FM	98.5 FM	Minneapolis, Minnesota	100,000	C0	KTIS-FM
K224DB	92.7 FM	Willmar, Minnesota	170	D	KTIS-FM
K232EK	94.3 FM	Rochester, Minnesota	115	D	KTIS-FM
K235BH	94.9 FM	Mankato, Minnesota	250	D	KTIS-FM
K270DZ	101.9 FM	New Ulm, Minnesota	250	D	KTIS-FM
K299AL	107.7 FM	Albert Lea, Minnesota	250	D	KTIS-FM
KNWI	107.1 FM	Osceola-Des Moines, Iowa	100,000	C1	KNWI
KNWM^{[note 3]}	96.1 FM	Madrid-Ames, Iowa	6,000	A	KNWI
KNWS-FM	101.9 FM	Waterloo, Iowa	100,000	C	KNWS-FM
K242BX	96.3 FM	Marshalltown, Iowa	250	D	KNWS-FM
K245AZ	96.9 FM	Dubuque, Iowa	170	D	KNWS-FM
K261DH^{["note" 1]}	100.1 FM	Iowa City, Iowa	47	D	KNWS-FM
KDNW	97.3 FM	Duluth, Minnesota	72,000	C1	KDNW
KRFG^{[note 4]}	102.9 FM	Nashwauk-Hibbing, Minnesota	25,000	C3	KDNW
WJRF^{[note 4]}	89.5 FM	Duluth, Minnesota	1,650>40,000(CP)	A>C1(CP)	KDNW^[29]
KDGR^{[note 4]}	88.1 FM	Grand Rapids, Minnesota	5,000	A	KDNW
W230AN	93.9 FM	Hayward, Wisconsin	250	D	KDNW
W220EB	91.9 FM	Ashland, Wisconsin	38	D	KDNW
W268AT	101.5 FM	Spooner, Wisconsin	19	D	KDNW
K288BF	105.5 FM	Grand Marais, Minnesota	122	D	KDNW
KJNW	88.5 FM	Kansas City, Missouri	100,000	C1	KJNW
KSJI^{[note 5]}	91.1 FM	Saint Joseph, Missouri	14,000	C3	KJNW
KGBI-FM	100.7 FM	Omaha, Nebraska	100,000	C0	KGBI-FM
KFNW-FM	97.9 FM	Fargo, North Dakota	100,000	C	KFNW-FM
K230AS	93.9 FM	Fergus Falls, Minnesota	250	D	KFNW-FM
KNWC-FM	96.5 FM	Sioux Falls, South Dakota	100,000	C	KNWC-FM
KRGM^{[note 6]}	89.9 FM	Marshall-Redwood Falls, Minnesota	4,250	C3	KNWC-FM
K208FJ	89.5 FM	Fairmont, Minnesota	250	D	KNWC-FM
K210CG	89.9 FM	Spirit Lake, Iowa	250	D	KNWC-FM
K220HY	91.9 FM	Spencer, Iowa	250	D	KNWC-FM
K257CH^[30]	99.3 FM	Estherville, Iowa	80	D	KNWC-FM
K220IT	91.9 FM	Watertown, South Dakota	50	D	KNWC-FM
K229BK	93.7 FM	North Sioux City, South Dakota	250	D	KNWC-FM
K231AR	94.1 FM	Mitchell, South Dakota	250	D	KNWC-FM
WNWC-FM	102.5 FM	Madison, Wisconsin	50,000	B	WNWC-FM
W237CO	95.3 FM	Richland Center, Wisconsin	10	D	WNWC-FM
KSLT	107.1 FM	Spearfish, South Dakota	100,000	C	KSLT
KSLT-FM1	107.1 FM	Rapid City, South Dakota	2,400	D	KSLT
KSLP^{[note 7]}	90.3 FM	Fort Pierre, South Dakota	2,000	A	KSLT
KSLS^{[note 8]}	90.7 FM	Dickinson, North Dakota	3,400	A	KSLT
K292DN	106.3 FM	Newcastle, Wyoming	31	D	KSLT

Spirit FM

Call sign	Frequency	City of license	ERP W	Height m (ft)	Class
KCVY	89.9 FM	Cabool, Missouri	10,500	151 m (495 ft)	C3
KCVO-FM	91.7 FM	Camdenton, Missouri	10,000	133 m (436 ft)	C3
KCKE	90.3 FM	Chillicothe, Missouri	32,000	82 m (269 ft)	C2
KCKF	91.9 FM	Cuba, Missouri	5,000	76 m (249 ft)	A
KCVZ	92.1 FM	Dixon, Missouri	6,000	100 m (330 ft)	A
KVSR	90.7 FM	Kirksville, Missouri	50,000	143 m (469 ft)	C1
KCVQ	89.7 FM	Knob Noster, Missouri	7,700	70 m (230 ft)	C3
KCKH	95.9 FM	Mansfield, Missouri	8,900	165 m (541 ft)	C3
KCKZ	103.5 FM	Moberly, Missouri	50,000	102 m (335 ft)	C2
KCVJ	100.3 FM	Osceola, Missouri	6,000	86 m (282 ft)	A
KCVK	107.7 FM	Otterville, Missouri	3,700	125 m (410 ft)	A
KCVX	91.7 FM	Salem, Missouri	30,000	64 m (210 ft)	C2

Sound of Life

Call sign	Frequency	City of license	Class	ERP W	Height m (ft)	Transmitter coordinates	Call sign meaning	Former call signs
WFGB	89.7 FM	Kingston, New York	B	3,100	453 m (1,486 ft)	42°4′35.3″N 74°6′24.5″W
WLJH	90.7 FM	Glens Falls, New York	A	40	404 m (1,325 ft)	43°25′12.3″N 73°45′35.4″W		WARD (3/21-8/15/1997)
WGKR	105.3 FM	Grand Gorge, New York	A	60	414 m (1,358 ft)	42°23′55.2″N 74°35′21.5″W
WHVP	91.1 FM	Hudson, New York	A	220	318 m (1,043 ft)	42°18′28.3″N 73°29′33.4″W	Hudson Valley	WQFA (11/15/1991-6/1/1992)
WGWR	88.1 FM	Liberty, New York	A	38	246 m (807 ft)	41°48′4.2″N 74°47′3.5″W
WLJP	89.3 FM	Monroe, New York	A	1,600	283 m (928 ft)	41°22′44.2″N 74°8′12.1″W
WPGL	90.7 FM	Pattersonville, New York	A	27	221 m (725 ft)	42°50′53.4″N 74°4′13.3″W		WLGZ (2/26-12/20/1993)
WRPJ	88.9 FM	Port Jervis, New York	A	500	180 m (590 ft)	41°25′36.3″N 74°34′52.5″W	Radio Port Jervis
W235AY	94.9 FM	Albany, New York	D	250	274.3 m (900 ft)	42°38′13.3″N 73°59′49.5″W
W229BH	93.7 FM	Newburgh, New York	D	10	288.5 m (947 ft)	41°29′32″N 73°58′38″W
W206AW	89.1 FM	Pawling, New York	D	250	212 m (696 ft)	41°42′50.3″N 73°32′5.4″W

New Life Media Network

Call sign	Frequency	City of license	ERP Watts	Class	Rebroadcasts
WCIC	91.5 FM	Pekin-Peoria, Illinois	47,000	B	WCIC
WSCT^{[note 9]}	90.1 FM	Springfield, Illinois	3,800	A	WCIC
WPRC^{[note 9]}	88.7 FM	Sheffield, Illinois	8,500	B1	WCIC
W212AN	90.3 FM	Jacksonville, Illinois	55	D	WSCT
W219DV	91.7 FM	Jacksonville, Illinois	38	D	WSCT
W255AI	98.9 FM	Bloomington, Illinois	55	D	WCIC
W263AO	100.5 FM	Galesburg, Illinois	19	D	WCIC
K247BW	97.3 FM	Bettendorf, Iowa	40	D	WPRC
WBGL	91.7 FM	Champaign, Illinois	20,000	B	WBGL
WCFL^{[note 10]}	104.7 FM	Morris, Illinois	50,000	B	WBGL
WIBI^{[note 10]}	91.1 FM	Carlinville, Illinois	50,000	B	WBGL
WNLD^{[note 10]}	88.1 FM	Decatur, Illinois	1,000	A	WBGL
WZGL^{[note 10]}	88.1 FM	Charleston, Illinois	2,100	A	WBGL
WCRT-FM^{[note 10]}	88.5 FM	Terre Haute, Indiana	1,050	A	WBGL
WCBW-FM^{[note 10]}	89.7 FM	East St. Louis, Illinois	250	A	WBGL
WBMV^{[note 10]}	89.7 FM	Mount Vernon, Illinois	10,500	B1	WBGL
WVNL^{[note 10]}	91.7 FM	Vandalia, Illinois	100	A	WBGL
WIMB^{[note 10]}	89.1 FM	Murphysboro, Illinois	3,500	A	WBGL
W211AD	90.1 FM	Granite City, Illinois	60	D	WIBI
W230BS	93.9 FM	Effingham, Illinois	38	D	WBMV
K295FB	106.9 FM	Cape Girardeau, Missouri	92	D	WBMV

Notes

^ emf

References

^ "KTIS, Religious Station, Launched". Star-Tribune. February 8, 1949. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
^ "Students Finance New Station KTIS". Minneapolis Star. February 8, 1949. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
^ "School Group to Assume Control of KBOK Apr. 1". The Courier. March 17, 1953. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
^ "Radio". 1976 Broadcasting Yearbook. 1976. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
^ "Station KIHO Is Now KNWC". Argus-Leader. April 19, 1961. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
^ "Waterloo's KNWS Begins FM Operation". Cedar Rapids Gazette. June 17, 1965. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
^ "College Buys Radio Station". Wisconsin State Journal. January 30, 1973. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
^ Sprau, Dave (June 26, 2003). "ESPN radio affiliate closes". Iowa State Daily. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
^ Venta, Lance (January 29, 2013). "Northwestern College Buys KLJC Kansas City". RadioInsight. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
^ "Noncommercial WSMR-FM Sarasota FL going secular". RBR. August 4, 2010. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
^ Venta, Lance (March 5, 2013). "The Bone Fargo Goes Dark". RadioInsight. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
^ Venta, Lance. "Station Sales Week Of 9/7: KDSN Gets Divested Soon After Its Acquisition". RadioInsight. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
^ "KLBF/89.1 (Lincoln-Bismarck) has returned to the air...". Northpine. October 2, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
^ "K-LOVE Transfers Ownership of WCCC-AM in Hartford to Faith Radio". NRB Today. April 14, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
^ "Salem Media Announces Sale of KGBI-FM in Omaha". BusinessWire. May 22, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
^ "Refuge Media Group Donates Stations To University of Northwestern-St. Paul.". Inside Radio. July 19, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
^ Ellis, Jon (September 3, 2019). ""Life," "Faith" Networks Expand on Former Refuge Stations". Northpine. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
^ Jacobson, Adam (August 6, 2019). "Faith Radio Finds New Life With 13 New Stations, Plus Translators". RBR. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
^ "U. of Northwestern Buys 13 Stations From Illinois Bible Institute.". Inside Radio. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
^ Ellis, Jon. "Bethesda Sells 2 of its 3 Rapid City Stations to Northwestern". Northpine. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
^ Ellis, Jon. "Northwestern Closes Purchase of Two Rapid City Stations, Third to be Sold". Northpine. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
^ Ellis, Jon. "Running List: FCC Grants New Non-Commercial FM Stations". Northpine. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
^ Ellis, Jon. "Running List: FCC Monitor: Quad Cities FM Translator to Relay iHeart Station". Northpine. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
^ Deal Digest, InsideRadio. "Deal Digest - September 1, 2022". InsideRadio. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
^ Venta, Lance (March 15, 2023). "Northwestern Media Expands Across Missouri With Spirit-FM Purchase". RadioInsight
^ "Sound of Life To Donate Stations To Northwestern Media", RadioInsight. March 5, 2024. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
^ "Northwestern Media Gains 9 Stations Donated By Sound Of Life.". Inside Radio. March 6, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
^ Venta, Lance (April 19, 2025). "FCC Report 4/20: Mekaddesh Group Requests Cancellation Of Seven Licenses". RadioInsight. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
^ "FCC Grants Upgrade for Duluth Station.". Upper Midwest Broadcasting at NorthPine.com. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
^ 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. Retrieved February 26, 2020.

^ Translator owned by the Educational Media Foundation
^ Full-power simulcast of KTIS AM
^ Full-power simulcast of KNWI
^ Full-power simulcast of KDNW
^ Former affiliate of Spirit FM (KCVO)
^ Full-power simulcast of KNWC-FM
^ Full-power simulcast of KSLT
^ Full-power simulcast of KSLT
^ Full-power simulcast of WCIC
^ Full-power simulcast of WBGL