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On Sunday we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the first broadcast on KSJR 90.1 from here on the third floor of Wimmer Hall. The first words uttered by engineer Dan Rieder were, “Heed my words, Earth People. You have 10 minutes to live.” The first concert aired was a pre-recorded concert by the Cleveland Orchestra. What began as Minnesota Education Radio became Minnesota Public Radio on January 1, 1975.

This is a version of the story of how Bill Kling was selected to lead the creation of what has become the largest network of public radio stations in the United States. It was written by our first intern, Ellen Newkirk.

“The Saint John’s University monks chose Bill Kling to help start their public radio station, Minnesota Education Radio because of his “bright mind” – literally. SJU graduate Marty Mahowald shares the story of Bill Kling’s selection as the station’s leader as told by his professor at Saint John’s in the 1970s, Fr. Gunther Rolfson. According to Fr. Gunther, in the 1960s, Saint John’s had a mandatory lights-out policy at 10pm when the faculty residents would flip a switch that turned off all power on each floor of the residence halls. However, one evening, during walk around campus , Fr. Gunther noticed a light illuminating from a single room in Benet Hall.

The next day, Fr. Gunther used a master key to enter the room and found a system rigged to keep the power on after the switch was flipped each night. The room belonged to Bill Kling. Eventually, the monks decided Kling’s innovative and determined spirit was just what they needed for their new endeavor. According to Mahowald, “Fr. Gunther said that they knew that starting a new campus radio station would present struggles, budget challenges and many other issues to deal with and it would take someone with a lot of moxy to lead it through to success.” It turned out to be a very successful decision; Kling served as president of Minnesota Public Radio until 2010 and created one of the greatest public radio station networks in the country. “ Ellen Newkirk, CSB, Class of 2013.

The APHC show this week is a live broadcast from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California with special guests Ryan Adams, Kacey Musgraves, composer Justin Hurwitz, and comedian Kevin Nealon. There will be a new Song of the Week from Chris Thile and the band (pianist Rich Dworsky, singer Aoife O’Donovan, Mike Elizondo on bass, guitarist Julian Lage, drummer Ted Poor, and Gabe Witcher on fiddle) will perform for your entertainment. The Royal Academy of Radio Actors, Serena Brook, Tim Russell, and Fred Newman will perform a few skits and another crop of musician birthdays will be celebrated with song.
Join the gang on the public radio end of the dial this Saturday at 5:00 p.m. Central Time.

“I remember hiring a pretty good classical music announcer by the name of Garrison Keillor.” Bill Kling