City | St. Cloud, Minnesota |
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Branding | KVSC 88.1FM |
Slogan | Your Sound Alternative |
Frequency | 88.1 MHz (also on HD Radio) HD-2: KVEX simulcast HD-3 and 4: Talk programming |
Format | College; Freeform/Eclectic |
ERP | 16,500 watts |
HAAT | 136 meters |
Class | C2 |
Callsign meaning | The Voice of St. Cloud |
Owner | St. Cloud State University |
Sister stations | KVEX-LP |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | kvsc.org |
KVSC 88.1 FM in Saint Cloud, Minnesota is part of Minnesota's Independent Public Radio network. It is operated by St. Cloud State University and broadcasts a freeform radio format. KVSC-FM is an non-commercial educational public broadcasting radio station that is a student-run college radio station and operates 365 days per year, nearly 24 hours a day.
KVSC-FM has a power of 16,500 watts with a listening radius of about 70 miles. The station's frequency is 88.1 MHz, "farthest left on your FM dial." Its transmitter is located near Highway 15 and Interstate 94 south of St. Cloud proper.
KVSC-FM offers a blend of progressive rock, jazz, folk, reggae, world, blues, Minnesota music, and much more. KVSC has a wide variety of news programming which includes coverage of university, local & statewide events, and live broadcasts of St. Cloud State University sporting events. The station carries an HD-subchannel, KVSC 88.1-2 that rebroadcasts sister station Radio X. It also has another subchannel, 88.1-4 that carries talk programming.
KVSC first began operations as a 10 watt, Class D broadcast facility on May 10, 1967, broadcasting at 88.5 megahertz. For ten years prior to this, students interested in radio broadcasting had no live-air broadcasting opportunities. The students would pre-produce all their programming in the university studios, which would then be aired on WJON (AM1240) radio. This meant that all programs produced would have to fit in with WJON's format or they would not get on the air. It was soon decided that St. Cloud State University had a need for its own radio broadcast facility, and thus KVSC was developed.
The call letters were selected to signify that the station would serve as the Voice of Saint Cloud. The station was run exclusively by volunteers from the University student population and was financed by the student activity fees and the Mass Communications department. The music format was predominantly classical music, with a smaller percentage of folk and rock music sprinkled in. The overall operation was small and required minimal funding, outside of the need for equipment acquisition and repair.