KCMP
adult album alternative public radio station in Northfield, Minnesota, United States
KCMP (89.3 FM, 89.3 the Current) is a radio station owned by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) that broadcasts an adult album alternative (AAA) music format including a significant rotation of songs by local artists. Licensed to Northfield, Minnesota, and covering the Minneapolis-St. Paul market, 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. The Current is also broadcast on stations in Rochester, Duluth-Superior, Pasadena-Los Angeles, translators around Minnesota, and online.
The Current, which has been broadcasting its AAA format since 2005, debuted after MPR purchased WCAL-FM, the radio station of St. Olaf College in Northfield, in 2004. WCAL-FM went on the air in 1968 as an extension of WCAL, a station that shared time with KUOM at the University of Minnesota Minneapolis. WCAL's origin dated to 1918 with service continuing until 1991.
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 public source identifies “KCMP” as adult album alternative public radio station in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around KCMP, adult and album.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “KCMP”, the useful work is to connect “adult album alternative public radio station in Northfield, Minnesota, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6326982. VIAF identifies the subject as 300354182. The Library of Congress control number is n2013026104. Authority coordinates are 44.689, -93.073. 3 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2005, 2004, 1968 and 1918.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “KCMP”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow KCMP primary sources, KCMP archive and KCMP research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “KCMP”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “KCMP” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.