Northfield residents turn up the volume for rare, independently owned radio station

NORTHFIELD – For nearly six decades, KYMN Radio has weathered industry shifts — from the transition to FM to the rise of the internet and the emergence of streaming services. But Minnesota’s winters have proven to be a different kind of challenge.

After a brutal cold spell earlier this season, the station found that one of the tension wires supporting its 300-foot broadcast tower had snapped. The discovery left the tower —and KYMN’s future — hanging in the balance.

“I knew going into this that at some point I was going to have to put some significant work into the tower, because that’s the most important piece of equipment we have,” said Rich Larson, a longtime employee who purchased the station in 2024. “But I didn’t expect it this quickly.”

To stay on the air, KYMN has started using its airwaves to do something it normally doesn’t — put out a signal for help.

The station recently launched a crowdsourcing campaign with the goal of raising $30,000 to replace all of the tower’s tension wires — ideally before thunderstorm season rolls in this spring.

The response so far has been overwhelming, Larson said. Through donations of silent auction items and contributions from hundreds of community members, KYMN is now about two-thirds of that way toward its goal of preserving its tower.

“Businesses came out of the woodwork,” he said. “The bike shop down the street gave us a comprehensive bike tune-up. The bookstore down the street called and said, ‘We can give you a two-night stay at the Airbnb above us.’ That was the first sign that maybe we might actually be okay.”

Founded in 1968 by broadcasters Stan Stydnicki and Wayne Eddy, KYMN Radio began as a 1,000-watt daytime AM station.

Unlike many other stations that merged over the years, KYMN has remained independently owned — a rarity in an industry increasingly dominated by corporate consolidation.

Former owner Jeff Johnson said the station’s ability to maintain its independence stemmed largely from the fact that it didn’t launch an FM counterpart, branded as “The One,” until 2017.

This continued legacy of local ownership, he said, has allowed KYMN to uphold its original mission and community-focused programming.

“We’re full service. News, weather, sports; you know, a hometown radio station,” said Johnson, who started as a part-time DJ at the station in 1987. “We really haven’t changed the mission at all in nearly 60 years.”

KYMN is known as much for its eclectic playlist — on Thursday that included playing tracks from Jack White, Boz Scaggs and Minneapolis punk rockers The Suburbs — as for its reputation for reliable local journalism.

While the city’s newspaper has struggled in recent years, KYMN reporters still can be found at City Council meetings or high school sporting events. The station, with about 10 staffers and many more volunteers, also regularly features academics and thinkers from the city’s two colleges, St. Olaf and Carleton.

“There’s kind of nobody else doing it, showing up to the meetings, bringing guests in,” Johnson said. “It’s kind of becoming a lost art.”

Since Larson has taken over the station, the goal has been to double down on the local programming. KYMN now features more than a dozen locally produced show on topics ranging from sports to the arts.

Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Gordon Moore has a show on KYMN; so, too, does Mrs. Moxie, a drag queen who takes up issues affecting the LGBTQ community. The station has also added two Spanish-language programs.

Laura Meyers, co-owner of nearby Imminent Brewing, said it’s that mix of programming that gives her the pulse of what’s happening in the community.

“I might hear about some organization that needs some support and wonder if there is something that I can do,” said Meyers, whose business recently hosted a fundraiser for KYMN. “Or there’s a new business coming into town, maybe I can get to know those people. Maybe there’s a way to collaborate. And I think that’s true for a lot of people in this community.”

For Larson, who said he views himself as a more of steward than owner of the station, the response from the community has gone beyond providing financial support for the tower. It also has served as a reminder of the role the station has in keeping a tight-knit community connected.

Northfield, he said, has always guarded against becoming an outer ring suburb of the Twin Cities — it’s even woven in the city’s comprehensive plan.

As long as that independent streak continues, he added, a station like KYMN can continue to exist in Northfield for generations to come.

“It’s been passed along, and we will pass it to someone else and leave it in better shape than we got it,” Larson said. “But this is a community resource and an important one and we are here to take care of it.”