KNOW (91.1 FM) is the flagship radio station of Minnesota Public Radio's "news and information" network, primarily broadcasting a talk radio format to the Minneapolis-St. Paul market. The frequency had previously gone under the call sign KSJN, but the purchase of a commercial station at 99.5 MHz in 1991 allowed MPR to broadcast distinct talk radio and classical music services.

WLOL 1330 AM was purchased by MPR in 1980 and carried the KSJN call sign until 1989 when the KNOW letters became available. The AM signal was later spun off into a for-profit subsidiary to help fund the public broadcaster, and was eventually sold off. As of 2005 it goes under the original WLOL name.

In the 1970s, KSJN 91.1 FM and WLOL 99.5 cooperated in an experimental use of quadraphonic stereo, with each station carrying two channels of audio. However, this "quadcast" had some undesirable "ping-pong" effects, much like early stereo broadcasts using the same method did. Somewhat ironically, KNOW currently broadcasts primarily in monaural as its schedule is not music-focused.

Austin, Texas

The callsign KNOW was also used by a major adult contemporary radio station in Austin, Texas, located at 1490 kHz. The station signed off in 1989 after operating for 50 years. The Spanish station KFON assumed the frequency in 1993.

See also

• KCMP, MPR's eclectic music station
• KSJN, MPR's classical music station

External links

• Minnesota Public Radio
• MPR: KNOW 91.1/KSJN 99.5/KCMP 89.3 Minneapolis/St. Paul

References

• Mark Durenberger (1999). Early quad-casts and other fun. The Broadcast Archive: War Stories.