Northfield radio station turns to listeners to help save its broadcast tower
Time, and Minnesota weather, have taken a toll on the most important piece of broadcast equipment for Northfield's KYMN radio station: its tower.
For 56 years, KYMN has been the area's only radio source for hometown news and high school sports broadcasts.
Branded as "The One," it's also known for a deep, eclectic playlist.
"Just this morning, we've played Dolly Parton, R.E.M. and a couple of reggae songs, I don't even know," said co-owner Rich Larson.
Larson and his wife Annie purchased the station last year.
"When I was working for Jeff Johnson, the previous owner, I used to tease him, 'You're a unicorn. No one owns one, single independent radio station except for you.' Now I'm the unicorn," he said.
It isn't easy to operate a small, local radio station in 2025.
"You do not get into small town radio to become a wealthy person. It's a struggle every day," he said.
Things have been going well enough, but KYMN ran into some trouble late last year.
"One of the tension cables that holds the tower up snapped," he said.
That's when he learned that every one of the original cables needs to be replaced, sooner rather than later.
"It probably needs to happen before thunderstorm season because it's a 300-foot metal rod in the middle of an open field. It gets hit by lightning on a regular basis," he said.
It's an expensive upgrade to stay on the air.
"It costs a lot of money, and that kind of money is just not in a small-town radio station's budget," he said.
He decided to turn to the community for help.
"It's not at all easy to ask for money like this. While I'm still really uncomfortable with it, I feel a little bit better knowing that we serve the community and it's just a little bit of asking for some back. That's all," he said.
A $35,000 online fundraiser has been started to save the KYMN Tower. Local businesses are also stepping up to host fundraisers.
"With this community and a little bit of elbow grease, we can do a lot of really neat things, specifically for Northfield and the Northfield area," he said.
Along with a variety of local news, sports and music programs, KYMN also airs Minnesota Twins games.
