KCMP

KCMP (89.3 FM, 89.3 The Current) is a radio station owned by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) that broadcasts a AAA music format including a significant rotation of songs by local artists. Licensed to serve Northfield, Minnesota, the station's studios are located at the MPR Broadcast Center on Cedar Street in downtown St. Paul, while its transmitter is located atop the Vermillion Highlands near Coates. KCMP is rebroadcast on KMSE in Rochester at 88.7 MHz, KZIO in Duluth at 104.3 MHz and 94.1 MHz, and on translators around the state. The station broadcasts worldwide via Internet radio streams in the MP3 and Windows Media Audio formats, and is carried on The HD2 of KPCC 89.3 FM in Pasadena, California.

Format

The modern "third service" for MPR (the organization already operates "news and information" and classical music networks) programs a wide range of music. The KCMP "anti-format" was announced in December 2004, along with the station's new program director Steve Nelson and music director Thorn Skroch. KCMP is modeled on noncommercial alternative stations established earlier, including KEXP (Seattle), KCRW (Los Angeles), the pioneering WXPN (Philadelphia), and the short-lived Twin Cities station REV-105, where some of The Current's on-air talent established themselves.

Broadcast reach

The Current is heard on 89.3 FM in the Twin Cities metro area, reaching into western Wisconsin. The associated station KMSE in Rochester broadcasts on 88.7 FM. In addition, it is carried on an MPR-managed station, KPCC in Pasadena, California via an HD Radio subchannel. Additional translators have been periodically added in other cities. KZIO in Two Harbors, Minnesota, which via translators also serves the Twin Ports of Duluth and Superior, was purchased by MPR on May 15, 2017 and began broadcasting The Current in the first week of June 2017.