KLQP in Madison, Minnesota, marks 40 years as independent radio station with a local focus – West Central Tribune

MADISON — It was 40 years ago at 3 p.m. on January 31, 1983 when Maynard Meyer and his business partner Terry Overlander flipped the switch and got KLQP Radio on the air in Madison, Minnesota.

Today it is one of a dwindling number of owner-operated, independent radio stations in Minnesota that are not part of a larger group or chain of stations.

It’s still all about local: Live sports coverage from area high school teams remains the network’s bread and butter, Meyer said.

KLQP continues to broadcast live on-site at all major events, whether it’s an ice fishing derby at Del Clark Lake by Canby, the Madison County Fair, or a high school dance line competition in Dawson.

And the station offers its own talk radio: Meyer hosts two weekday talk shows with local health experts and regularly welcomes local guests to chat about their work or projects.

Most important are the local news and early morning community billboard. Meyer will read the full on-air obituaries of the deceased, ensuring that survivors and local connections are mentioned. He will make a request to find missing cats and dogs – or even car keys. And, of course, he’ll announce the warnings and cancellations when snowstorms whip the prairie into a white patch like mashed potatoes.

“It still works,” Meyer says of his station’s outspoken local focus. “We still have sponsors, people are still listening.”

And people still love it, as Overlander can attest. He said he continues to hear from people who tell him they really like the station and its local programming, even though he is now retired. Overlander sold its stake in the radio station to Meyer a few years ago. He said he would like more time to pursue his passions of cooking, gardening, hunting and fishing.

“Radio and civic activities are Maynard’s hobbies,” Overlander laughed.

Meyer admits that. He is on the board of directors of the Madison City Council and Chamber of Commerce. He is a board member of a local foundation and an arts council. He oversees the operation of the city’s grand cinema, which he helped save years ago. He also continues to moderate many community events.

“I didn’t really cut back. I keep telling myself I have to do it,” says Meyer and laughs.

At the age of 70 he has no retirement provisions. “Retirement, and what to do? I don’t hunt, fish or garden,” he said.

He and Overlander were childhood friends who grew up and attended school in Benson. Overlander’s father was a manager at radio station Benson, and Meyer’s father worked there part-time as an engineer. Meyer began working at the station during high school before going to Moorhead State University and earning a degree in mass communications.

He worked for stations in Sauk Rapids and Morris and helped establish a station in Colorado before returning to Minnesota. He and Overlander founded KLQP with the support of their fathers.

Meyer said he pulled out a street atlas and mapped available frequencies before filing the paperwork with the Federal Communications Commission to assign 92.1 to Madison. Today, according to Meyer, frequencies are far too expensive for most young entrepreneurs.

They started the station during the farm crisis. Rural store fronts were closed. Office manager Kris Küchemeister joined the workforce 39 years ago, against her father’s advice. He told her he didn’t expect the new station to last long.

“We probably succeeded where others would have failed because we had a lot of connections,” Meyer said.

Their radio and Benson upbringing meant he and Overlander knew many business owners and potential advertisers within a 60-mile radius of the station’s 20,000-watt signal.

Meyer also credits his colleagues for the station’s continued success. Paul Raymo switched from part-time to full-time in 2011 and handles the majority of sports and other off-site broadcasting duties in addition to selling advertising. Küchemeister takes care of the office and financial tasks as another full-time employee. The station also has a number of part-time employees who help out with broadcast and station duties.

Meyer’s contributions to the importance of local broadcasting have not gone unnoticed. In 2011 he was inducted into the Minnesota Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

According to Meyer, the station continues to enjoy strong support from companies in its homeland, which include both Madison and Dawson, and beyond. Streaming on the Internet has expanded the broadcaster’s reach, he emphasized. In addition to providing regular coverage of Dawson-Boyd and Lac qui Parle Valley High School sports, the station also broadcasts sports for area communities including Canby, Minneota and Ortonville.

Today, rural communities have fewer locally owned small-town businesses than when the station opened, and that makes it harder for any local media outlet, Meyer said. Some of the corporate chains that have set up shop in small towns have limited local advertising budgets, while others have none, he pointed out.

The radio industry has also seen a growing trend towards chain ownership since KLQP started broadcasting. Among the approximately 300 members of the Minnesota Broadcasters Association, there are about 25 owner-managed, independent or stand-alone FM or FM/AM broadcasters like KLQP, according to Tim Hyde, director of operations and member services for the organization. But he also points out that there are 180 independent multi-broadcast systems like Hubbard Broadcasting that serve the state.

Providing a local voice and content is just as important today, Meyer says, as it was when he started in 1983. Overlander agrees. Communities lose part of their identity when the local voice is lost, he said.

Both know that many of their listeners have their radios tuned to KLQP throughout the day. The local news and mix of country and pop music provide a constant backdrop throughout the day that can be heard in homes and businesses alike.

For those who might giggle that all local news is boring, Meyer admits it. He’s had days when the bake sale at the Methodist church can be the top story.

But he can also look back on a long line of great, groundbreaking stories. He can provide first-hand accounts of everything from the tense foreclosure auctions that were held on the steps of the Lac qui Parle County Courthouse during the farm crisis to the fire that destroyed Madison High School in 1987.

Last June, he and Raymo were videotaping outside as a dual-vortex storm hit the city.

Normally every year KLQP celebrates its anniversary by offering free coffee and donuts at the station. That year, Meyer said he decided they should have “a little bigger deal.”

The party, which took place on Tuesday afternoon – Jan. 31 – included live music and free BBQs at Madison VFW.

“I guess I’m not here for maybe 40[years],” he said.