Did you know that North Minneapolis is home to two FM radio stations? KMOJ 88.9 and KBEM 88.5 both serve the Northside and beyond.
KMOJ started very humbly in 1976. Initially it had support from the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, and the Center for Communication and Development (CCD). The CCD was awarded a broadcasting license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in March 1976 and a community radio station was born. It was originally WMOJ, a very low-power AM station at 1200 kHz that reached only a few blocks from its studios and transmitter in the Sumner-Olson and Glenwood-Lyndale public housing developments. Then in September 1978 the station moved to FM becoming KMOJ at 89.7 FM with 10 watts of power and its transmitter/antenna atop a high-rise building near its studios at 810 5th Ave N. The call letters KMOJ were inspired by the Swahili word UMOJA which means unity. In 1984 KMOJ moved to a newly built facility across the street at 501 Bryant Ave N. At that time it also changed its frequency to 89.9 and increased its power to 1,000 watts although the transmitter remained on the high-rise.
From its inception, it has served the African American community with music, public service announcements and discussions of issues that affected the community. KMOJ has grown, and shifted from targeting the African American community to all Communities of Color. It is now universally recognized as “The People’s Station” to signify its broad audience and empowerment to the greater community.
Since 2010, KMOJ’s studios have been located in rental space in the Five Points Building on West Broadway and Penn with 6,200 watts and its transmitter is located in Arden Hills. Because the Metropolitan Council is expected to use eminent domain to demolish the building to make way for the Blue Line light rail extension, on October 15 KMOJ formally announced plans to build a new “forever home” for the station. The new building will be on the currently vacant lot on the southwest corner of Oliver and Lowry. It also kicked off a capital campaign to raise $17 million to build this new home that will be more than just a radio station, but also a meeting place.
KBEM was spawned by a broadcasting education program that was established at Minneapolis Vocational High School in the mid-1960s. The station signed on in 1970, carrying a widely varied checkerboard of programming. In 1983, it moved to new facilities in North High School as part of the District’s desegregation initiative. Jazz music became the main programming focus in the mid-1980s and it built a loyal audience, eventually adding Jazz88 to its name. While jazz is still its mainstay, it also has programs that feature bluegrass, Celtic and other music genres. KBEM is not just any radio station, it’s a radio station that teaches radio broadcasting to Minneapolis high school students using a jazz platform. They work side-by-side with the full-time staff to learn how a radio station operates, and curriculum teaches general professional and academic skills and media literacy through project-based work on and off the air.
While the majority of students involved with the radio curriculum and school-year “Jazz With Class” program attend North High School, students from all around the city participate as reporters for the “School News” segment, and as summer employees through the Step-Up program. KBEM also has a partnership with MNDot and reports traffic conditions and also broadcasts BBC news.
Today, Jazz88 is financially self-sufficient through listener donations, grants, partnerships and business support, taking no cash subsidy from the school district. The station moved out of North High temporarily while the new Career and Technical Center was being built onto the North High building, but KBEM is back at the North High campus at 15th and James Ave N!
While both of these radio stations now reach larger audiences through internet technology, they remain Northside assets serving the residents here. They both, not unlike this newspaper, rely on community financial support to keep operating and serving our area. Both stations have websites and FaceBook pages to check out. You also might want to check out this TPT documentary KMOJ:Heart and Soul from 1991: youtube.com/watch?v=2GH0vD3By-g.