Independent Public Radio (IPR) is a public radio network in Minnesota. It is the second-largest public radio organization in the state, after Minnesota Public Radio (MPR). Known as AMPERS (Association of Minnesota Public Educational Radio Stations) until 2004, the network helps member stations coordinate fundraising and allows them to share a certain amount of programming. A number of IPR's 12 members are college radio stations. The network headquarters is located at 525 Park Street, Suite 310, St. Paul, MN.
AMPERS was founded in 1972. Each station focuses on broadcasting music that is reflective of the local community significantly more than most other stations in the region. For example, KFAI offers far more public access programming than any other broadcaster in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. This is quite different from MPR, which only has two main audio streams, plus a third service on KCMP in the Twin Cities and KMSE in Rochester. KCMP had previously been operated by St. Olaf College until 2004, and was one of the most powerful stations in the AMPERS network.
| Call (nickname) | Primary format | Frequency | Location | School or organization |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KAXE | News/information/music | 91.7 FM | Grand Rapids | Northern Community Radio |
| KBEM-FM (Jazz 88) | Jazz/Traffic | 88.5 FM | Minneapolis-St. Paul | Minneapolis Public Schools |
| KFAI | Eclectic | 90.3 FM | Minneapolis | Fresh Air, Inc. |
| 106.7 FM | St. Paul | |||
| KMOJ | Urban | 89.9 FM | Minneapolis-St. Paul | Center for Communication and Development |
| KMSU/KMSK (The Maverick) |
News/information/music | 89.7 FM | Mankato | Minnesota State University, Mankato |
| 91.3 FM | Austin | |||
| 91.9 FM | Fairmont | |||
| 91.9 FM | Albert Lea | |||
| KQAL | Eclectic | 89.5 FM | Winona | Winona State University |
| KSRQ (Pioneer 90.1) | Alternative | 90.1 FM | Thief River Falls | Northland Community and Technical College |
| KUMD-FM | Adult Album Alternative | 103.3 FM | Duluth | University of Minnesota Duluth |
| KUMM (U90) | College rock | 89.7 FM | Morris | University of Minnesota Morris |
| KUOM (Radio K) | College rock | 770 kHz AM | Minneapolis-St. Paul | University of Minnesota Twin Cities |
| 106.5 FM | St. Louis Park | |||
| KVSC | Alternative | 88.1 FM | St. Cloud | St. Cloud State University |
| WTIP | Adult Album Alternative | 90.7 FM | Grand Marais | Cook County Community Radio Corp. |
Famous quotes containing the words independent, public and/or radio:
“For myself I found that the occupation of a day-laborer was the most independent of any, especially as it required only thirty or forty days in a year to support one. The laborer’s day ends with the going down of the sun, and he is then free to devote himself to his chosen pursuit, independent of his labor; but his employer, who speculates from month to month, has no respite from one end of the year to the other.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Lead bullets flattened by human teeth have been found on the camp site. Soldiers who had been caught stealing food from nearby farms customarily chewed on a bullet as the lash was laid on their bare backs.”
—For the State of New Jersey, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“There was a girl who was running the traffic desk, and there was a woman who was on the overnight for radio as a producer, and my desk assistant was a woman. So when the world came to an end, we took over.”
—Marya McLaughlin, U.S. television newswoman. As quoted in Women in Television News, ch. 3, by Judith S. Gelfman (1976)