KKWE

KKWE (89.9 FM) is a radio station licensed to serve White Earth, Minnesota and surrounding area. The station is owned by the White Earth Land Recovery Project, a Native American-run nonprofit organization. It airs a variety of music and talk programming, much of which is native-oriented.

KKWE
CityWhite Earth, Minnesota
Broadcast areaNorthwestern Minnesota
Frequency89.9 MHz
Branding89.9 Niijii Radio
Slogan"Independent News for an Independent Nation"
Programming
FormatVariety
AffiliationsPacifica, NV1 AMPERS
Ownership
OwnerWELRP
History
First air date
November 11, 2011
Call sign meaning
K K White Earth
Niijii: Ojibwe for friend
Technical information
Facility ID174165
ClassC1
ERP60,000 watts
HAAT97 meters
Transmitter coordinates
46°53′57″N 95°31′14″W
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websiteniijiiradio.com

Though KKWE is licensed[1] to serve White Earth, its signal reaches many other communities, including much of the White Earth native reservation as well as populous cities like Detroit Lakes and Park Rapids. Its studios are located in the town of Callaway, which is north of Detroit Lakes on Highway 59 (hence references to "59" in program names and other functions).

The station was assigned the KKWE call letters by the Federal Communications Commission on May 19, 2010, and was granted its License to Cover on November 16, 2011. Program testing initially commenced in early October 2011 with an automated "soft oldies" type format. The station's current format, and the Niijii Radio brand, were launched at 11:11 AM on November 11, 2011 (11/11/11).[2]

In addition to locally produced programs, KKWE carries programming from Pacifica such as Democracy Now; as well as Native Voice One programs, such as Native America Calling and National Native News.

Exit from, and return to, the airwaves

After reportedly suffering a variety of hardships[3] (transmitter failure & burglary/vandalism at the studio) KKWE went dark sometime in late summer 2012. WELRP made public their hopes to resolve the outstanding issues and put the station back on the air in the near future.

According to the station's website, KKWE was able to return to the air on the morning of November 11, 2012, with further details to be announced at a later date.

KKWE is a community radio station funded through memberships, grants, and underwriting support. A large amount of in kind support comes from numerous volunteers.

See also

References

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