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KSJU
Frequency96.5 MHz
Programming
FormatVariety
Ownership
OwnerSaint John's University
History
First air date
  • 1954 (carrier current)
  • September 1977 (1977-09) (FM)
Last air date
1988 (1988) (FM)
Former frequencies
89.1 MHz (1977–1984)
Call sign meaning
"Saint John's University"
Technical information
Facility ID62125
ClassD
ERP10 watts
Transmitter coordinates
45°34′57″N 94°22′54″W / 45.58250°N 94.38167°W / 45.58250; -94.38167

KSJU was a college radio station at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota. Broadcasting as a carrier current AM radio station from 1954 to 1977 and on FM from 1977 to 1988, it was forced to drop its FM broadcasts due to the sign-on of new radio stations that held priority over its 10-watt facility. Today, the station operates online as "KJNB".

History

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Carrier current

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Student radio at St. John's began in 1954[1] with the establishment of KSJU as a carrier-current radio station. In 1961, the station's music format eschewed rock and roll, opting for "adult college listening" and music for "study hours".[1] The station's operations began to involve students from the College of St. Benedict in 1965 when five girls organized a group to incorporate the associated women's college into the production and broadcast of programming and the provision of news stories from St. Benedict into KSJU newscasts.[2] 1970 brought KSJU a direct connection to the United Press International teletype.[3]

On the FM dial, frequency changes and cable FM

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St. John's applied for a construction permit for a new FM station in 1975.[4] After receiving the permit in 1976, the station began transmitting on 89.1 FM for the 1977–78 school year, with a transmitter on Nequette Hill near the St. John's campus. The move to FM brought with it a doubling of KSJU's hours of operation.[5] It marked the return of St. Johns to the FM dial, after having spun off public radio station KSJR-FM, which became the core of today's Minnesota Public Radio. (MPR celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1992 by broadcasting from the university's studios.[6]) In April 1979, the station held a 70-hour marathon to raise the money necessary to convert to stereo broadcasting.[7]

KSJU was a class D station for its entire existence as an FM broadcast station. Broadcasting with 10 watts, this made it a secondary service to other "full-service" radio stations. In the summer of 1984, KSJU relocated from 89.1 to 96.5 MHz, a move forced by the recent opening of applications for the 88.9 frequency, which became KNSR. The frequency change cost $7,000; simultaneously, the station was displaced from its auditorium studios by renovations, settling in Mary Hall.[8]

The station operated on 96.5 MHz for four years before another radio station bumped it off the dial: the new station KKSR in Sartell, operating on 96.7 MHz. Though the university said it would look into the process of obtaining a new radio station license, this never occurred, with St. John's deciding to let the license lapse; instead, in an arrangement intended to be temporary, KSJU was placed as a cable FM channel on the local cable system, beginning December 1, 1988.[9] The arrangement, however, carried a major drawback: the station was no longer listenable at St. Benedict and remained so for years,[10] even though CSB students paid activity fees that supported its operations.[11] In 1993, KSJU became "KJNB" ("Johnnies and Blazers"), reflecting its return to St. Benedict and in preparation for an attempt to return to the air with MPR backing.[12] In 2000, another effort was made to return to the FM dial when the university filed for a low-power FM station. Low-power station applications were not initially required to protect stations on third-adjacent FM channels, but a law change in December 2000—after the original filing—required them to do so. After a remedial window, applicants for 484 proposed stations, including SJU, failed to modify their applications to address this deficiency, resulting in the dismissal of their applications in March 2003.[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b Marrin, Jim (March 10, 1961). "KSJU Reschedules". The Record. p. 2. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  2. ^ "Bennies DeeJay Co-Ed KSJU". The Torch. February 5, 1965. p. 4. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  3. ^ Scallen, Anny (March 11, 1971). "Behind the Mike at KSJU". The Torch. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  4. ^ Boeke, Trish (March 6, 1975). "KSJU FM gets off to slow start". Vitae. p. 2. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  5. ^ Budzien, Bill (September 23, 1977). "KSJU-FM finally here". The Record. p. 3. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  6. ^ Kennedy, Neil. "Former KSJU DJ celebrates 25 years of MPR". The Independent. p. 10. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  7. ^ "Stereo broadcasts". St. Cloud Times. September 23, 1979. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  8. ^ Remer, Joe. "KSJU gets tune up". The Record. p. 3. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  9. ^ McKinney, Matt (December 1, 1988). "KSJU returns today". p. 1. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  10. ^ Corey, Jeremy (September 19, 1991). "KSJU staff sets sights on airwaves". The Record. pp. 12, 14. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  11. ^ "KSJU deserves senate support". The Record. April 9, 1992. p. 10. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  12. ^ Gardinier, Tricia (February 16, 1993). "Highlights of J-Term '93". The Independent. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  13. ^ Federal Communications Commission (March 17, 2003). "Low Power FM New Station Applications Dismissed for Failure to Comply with Third-adjacent Channel Protection Requirements" (PDF). Retrieved September 11, 2019.
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