Finding Aid to the KDSU FM Records
Collection
Identifier: UA 0201
Scope and Contents
The collection contains financial materials for the radio station, program guides, grant applications, and photos.
Dates
- 1964 - 1992
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the NDSU Archives.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyrights to this collection is held by The North Dakota State University Archives.
Biographical / Historical
During the summer and fall of 1922, members of the Engineering Department at North Dakota
Agricultural College (NDAC), built a 50 watt transmitter as an experiment. On December 14, 1922, the
station was granted a federal broadcast license to operate at 834 kc on the AM band and use 250 watts for
an "unlimited time."
The call letters of WPAK were assigned and a regular schedule of broadcasts, programming three times each week during the evening hours, was begun in March 1923. During that year, the station's frequency was moved twice, ending up at 1090 kc with 50 watts of power. Lacking financial resources to increase power and improve programming equal to that being provided by commercial stations, the College allowed the license to expire on November 24, 1926. Since commercial stations in Fargo were developing listening audiences and reaching out into the station, the NDAC entered into an agreement to buy time from WDAY. By 1930, NDAC was presenting programming five times a week. The College edited its "Farm Flashes," sending them throughout the state as well as having them aired on WDAY, and at the same time presented a program entitled "Educational." Radio returned to the campus in 1952 when KDSC was established as a "carrier current" station. Carrier current stations use the electric wiring of a building or facility as a transmitting antenna. The resulting signal is weak and prone to interference. And while it can be received within the building, it does not extend very far outside the building. The KDSC studios were built in a corner of the Speech Department. A program schedule that included popular music, news, sports and campus interviews aired from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. When plans for a new Student Union were drawn, space was set aside for the station. Equipment was built for the new studios, where the station operated until 1964. It was also during this time that the call letters KDSU were first used. Problems with the carrier current station began to emerge in the early 1960s. The station was closed in March 1964 and a committee formed to address two main concerns. The first was how to get equipment so that the station would be picked up outside the dorms. KDSU was still a carrier current station and only some buildings were covered by transmitters. Newer dorms on campus, with their steel frames, could not receive the station. The second concern was to improve programming.
To address the first concern, KDSU returned to the air in 1966, broadcasting at 91.9 MHz on the relatively new FM band with a power of 1,250 watts. The schedule was limited, reflecting the limited staff. Only two full-time staff in the new Educational Broadcasting Department at NDSU supplemented the student staff. Each weekday at 4 p.m., KDSU presented an hour of classical music, followed by an hour of jazz and an hour of instrumental "dinner" music. A variety of programs aired beginning at 7 p.m. with an evening concert from 9 p.m. until the station signed off the air at 11 p.m. The station became a member of the new National Public Radio network in the mid-1970s, increasing its full-time staff to five and gradually expanding its programming to 18 hours a day. Throughout the 1970s, that programming took the "smorgasbord" approach, offering something for every taste. Mornings began with light jazz, continued with folk music and ended with more jazz. The afternoons featured children's drama, classical music and news. Evenings might offer the listener classical music, opera, folk music, blues or jazz, with "Music for a Late Ones," rock and roll by request, until sign off. The station continued to evolve. To reach a larger audience with a more consistent service, KDSU adopted its weekday format of news and jazz in January 1981. Some of the folk and specialty programming was moved to the weekends. The needs of an even larger audience were met with an increase in KDSU's broadcast power in 1982. KDSU moved its antenna from the NDSU campus to the Prairie Public Broadcasting tower in Amenia, ND, allowing the station to increase its broadcast power from 1,250 watts to 100,000 watts.
Over the years, KDSU grew from a broadcast service for the NDSU campus to NDSU's broadcast service to the Fargo-Moorhead community as well as the eastern third of North Dakota. And over the years, several people have played important roles in that growth. C.H. Logan served as KDSU's general manager until 1980. He was replaced by Mark Poindexter in 1980. John Tilton served as program director from 1969 to 1984.
In the later 1990s, the staff included, General Manager Roger Grimm, Budget Supervisor/Membership Coordinator Lynn Brekke, Chief Engineer James Hetland, Development Director Paula Larsen, News Director Richard Mattern, and Arts/News Producer/Reporter Karen Severtsen. Also critical to the operation of the station were part-time students and community contributors to programming. KDSU 91.9 FM broadcast from 5:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. weekdays and 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. weekends, 365 days a year. The station programmed news, jazz, and blues on weekdays, adding new age music, Hispanic, Irish and traditional folk and world music on Saturday and Sunday. Adult alternative and college alternative music aired nightly.
Of all the programming heard on KDSU, approximately 75 percent was locally produced by staff and community contributors. While also available through outside network sources, the station maintained its own film, theater and book reviewers and community commentators. Much of the music programming also relied on the expertise and material provided by individuals from outside the staff. [History excerpted from: http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/kdsu/about.htm (10/4/99)] On February 1, 1999 KDSU and KUND (University of North Dakota’s station) along with five stations of Prairie Public Radio merged under the management of Prairie Public and became North Dakota Public Radio. KDSU ceased function as an independent college radio station.
The call letters of WPAK were assigned and a regular schedule of broadcasts, programming three times each week during the evening hours, was begun in March 1923. During that year, the station's frequency was moved twice, ending up at 1090 kc with 50 watts of power. Lacking financial resources to increase power and improve programming equal to that being provided by commercial stations, the College allowed the license to expire on November 24, 1926. Since commercial stations in Fargo were developing listening audiences and reaching out into the station, the NDAC entered into an agreement to buy time from WDAY. By 1930, NDAC was presenting programming five times a week. The College edited its "Farm Flashes," sending them throughout the state as well as having them aired on WDAY, and at the same time presented a program entitled "Educational." Radio returned to the campus in 1952 when KDSC was established as a "carrier current" station. Carrier current stations use the electric wiring of a building or facility as a transmitting antenna. The resulting signal is weak and prone to interference. And while it can be received within the building, it does not extend very far outside the building. The KDSC studios were built in a corner of the Speech Department. A program schedule that included popular music, news, sports and campus interviews aired from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. When plans for a new Student Union were drawn, space was set aside for the station. Equipment was built for the new studios, where the station operated until 1964. It was also during this time that the call letters KDSU were first used. Problems with the carrier current station began to emerge in the early 1960s. The station was closed in March 1964 and a committee formed to address two main concerns. The first was how to get equipment so that the station would be picked up outside the dorms. KDSU was still a carrier current station and only some buildings were covered by transmitters. Newer dorms on campus, with their steel frames, could not receive the station. The second concern was to improve programming.
To address the first concern, KDSU returned to the air in 1966, broadcasting at 91.9 MHz on the relatively new FM band with a power of 1,250 watts. The schedule was limited, reflecting the limited staff. Only two full-time staff in the new Educational Broadcasting Department at NDSU supplemented the student staff. Each weekday at 4 p.m., KDSU presented an hour of classical music, followed by an hour of jazz and an hour of instrumental "dinner" music. A variety of programs aired beginning at 7 p.m. with an evening concert from 9 p.m. until the station signed off the air at 11 p.m. The station became a member of the new National Public Radio network in the mid-1970s, increasing its full-time staff to five and gradually expanding its programming to 18 hours a day. Throughout the 1970s, that programming took the "smorgasbord" approach, offering something for every taste. Mornings began with light jazz, continued with folk music and ended with more jazz. The afternoons featured children's drama, classical music and news. Evenings might offer the listener classical music, opera, folk music, blues or jazz, with "Music for a Late Ones," rock and roll by request, until sign off. The station continued to evolve. To reach a larger audience with a more consistent service, KDSU adopted its weekday format of news and jazz in January 1981. Some of the folk and specialty programming was moved to the weekends. The needs of an even larger audience were met with an increase in KDSU's broadcast power in 1982. KDSU moved its antenna from the NDSU campus to the Prairie Public Broadcasting tower in Amenia, ND, allowing the station to increase its broadcast power from 1,250 watts to 100,000 watts.
Over the years, KDSU grew from a broadcast service for the NDSU campus to NDSU's broadcast service to the Fargo-Moorhead community as well as the eastern third of North Dakota. And over the years, several people have played important roles in that growth. C.H. Logan served as KDSU's general manager until 1980. He was replaced by Mark Poindexter in 1980. John Tilton served as program director from 1969 to 1984.
In the later 1990s, the staff included, General Manager Roger Grimm, Budget Supervisor/Membership Coordinator Lynn Brekke, Chief Engineer James Hetland, Development Director Paula Larsen, News Director Richard Mattern, and Arts/News Producer/Reporter Karen Severtsen. Also critical to the operation of the station were part-time students and community contributors to programming. KDSU 91.9 FM broadcast from 5:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. weekdays and 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. weekends, 365 days a year. The station programmed news, jazz, and blues on weekdays, adding new age music, Hispanic, Irish and traditional folk and world music on Saturday and Sunday. Adult alternative and college alternative music aired nightly.
Of all the programming heard on KDSU, approximately 75 percent was locally produced by staff and community contributors. While also available through outside network sources, the station maintained its own film, theater and book reviewers and community commentators. Much of the music programming also relied on the expertise and material provided by individuals from outside the staff. [History excerpted from: http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/kdsu/about.htm (10/4/99)] On February 1, 1999 KDSU and KUND (University of North Dakota’s station) along with five stations of Prairie Public Radio merged under the management of Prairie Public and became North Dakota Public Radio. KDSU ceased function as an independent college radio station.
Extent
2 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Transferred by Unknown (UA Acc. 494).
Legal Status
The NDSU Archives owns the property rights to this collection.
- Title
- Finding Aid to the KDSU FM Records
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the University Archives Repository
Contact:
West Building
3551 7th Avenue N
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu
West Building
3551 7th Avenue N
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu