KBUN (AM)

KBUN
City Bemidji, Minnesota
Branding The Bun
Slogan "Sports Radio AM 1450"
Frequency 1450 AM (kHz)
Translator(s) 94.9 K235BP (Bemidji)
First air date 1946
Format Commercial; Sports Radio
Power 1,000 watts
Class C
Facility ID 51879
Affiliations FAN Radio Network, Minnesota News Network, ESPN Radio
Owner Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc.
(HBI Radio Bemidji, LLC)
Sister stations KBUN-FM, KLLZ-FM, KBHP, KKZY
Website kbunam.com
FAN Radio Network

KBUN, "Sports Radio AM 1450," is a sports radio station in Bemidji, Minnesota, broadcasting with 1,000 watts at 1450 AM. It is owned and operated by Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. The Bemidji studios are located at 502 Beltrami Avenue, downtown Bemidji. The transmitter site is west of town on Jefferson Road.

Statewide news comes from the Minnesota News Network.

KBUN is part of the FAN Radio Network, whose in-house programs also can be heard throughout Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. The flagship station of the FAN Radio Network is KFXN-FM, a sports talk radio station in the twin cities. Other programming comes from ESPN Radio.

KBUN also airs some local sports programming, and is the area home to the Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings broadcasts.

History

KBUN-AM first went on the air on October 30, 1946, as part of a wave of radio and TV stations that launched after electronics rationing during World War II.[1] It was initially owned and operated by Harry F. Pihl and R. W. Bradford as Bemidji Broadcasting Co. (aka, Paul Bunyan Broadcasting Co.) and broadcast with 250 watts at 1450 AM, from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.[2] Affiliated with the Mutual Broadcasting System (MBS),[3] it was purchased on February 24, 1948 by Butler Broadcasting Co. and operated by Edward and Gwenyth Butler from then until 1956.[4] Its studios were located at 419 1/2 Beltrami Avenue, Bemidji. On November 1, 1956, the FCC announced its approval of KBUN's sale to the Ben H. Potter, Jr., family.[5]

Hubbard Broadcasting announced on November 13, 2014 that it would purchase the sixteen Omni Broadcasting stations, including KBUN.[6] The sale was completed on February 27, 2015, at a purchase price of $8 million for the 16 stations and one translator.[7]

It was announced on August 16, 2010 that KBUN get an AM-on-FM translator. Paul Bunyan Broadcasting purchased K235BP at 94.9, from Shine the Light, Inc. for $50,000. The application states K235BP will relay KBUN. It will be the first time the FAN Network is carried anywhere on an FM signal.

References

  1. ↑ Historical Scrapbook and Station Directory (PDF). Minnesota Broadcasters Association. 1990. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  2. ↑ According to a reply to a radio reception report by chief engineer Dick E. Noble: "Our transmitter is a Raytheon, Model RA250, single vertical tower, radiatór, 150 feet high." "Minnesota Radio Reception Reports" (PDF). American Radio History. 1946-11-22. Retrieved 2017-06-24.
  3. ↑ "MBS Tally Goes to 383". The Billboard. December 28, 1946. Retrieved 2017-06-22.
  4. ↑ "Edward Butler Obituary". Bemidji Pioneer Press. 1965-03-04.
  5. ↑ "Telecasting Notes" (PDF). Television Digest. 1956-11-03. Retrieved 2017-06-25.
  6. ↑ "Hubbard Picks up 16 Stations From Omni". Radio Ink. November 13, 2014. Archived from the original on November 13, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Hubbard Closes on 16 MN Stations from Omni". Radio Online. February 27, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2015.

Coordinates: 47°27′56″N 94°54′20″W / 47.46556°N 94.90556°W / 47.46556; -94.90556


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