KFAI

KFAI (90.3 FM Minneapolis and K294AM 106.7 FM West St. Paul) is a community radio station in Minnesota. The station broadcasts a wide variety of music, and also airs programming catering to many of the diverse ethnic groups of the region. KFAI has frequently been honored by local media critics for its shows and musical diversity (for instance, the local alternative weekly City Pages has frequently included it in the annual "Best of the Twin Cities" awards).

The station offers public access services, so they encourage anyone in the community to make their own show and have it broadcast over the air. The station is part of Minnesota's Independent Public Radio network and, despite relatively weak transmitters, is considered by many to be the group's flagship station. The call sign stands for Fresh Air, Inc., the non-profit organization that owns KFAI.

History

The station first went on the air with a 10 watt signal on May 1, 1978, after drawn-out deliberations with the Federal Communications Commission, which was licensing a few low-power FM stations at the time. The first home was in the belfry of the Walker Community Church in South Minneapolis. In 1984, the primary transmitter was moved from the roof of the Seward Co-op to the top of the Foshay Tower in downtown Minneapolis and upgraded to 125 watts. The studios moved from the church two years later, when it moved to the second floor of a Butler Drug store on Lake Street. In 1991, studios were built especially for Fresh Air Radio at Cedar-Riverside near the University of Minnesota, where it remains today. The 170-watt West St. Paul translator station went up in 1994.