St. Mary’s of Winona Donates Radio Stations to Catholic Network

Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota is donating its small Winona radio stations to Catholic broadcaster Real Presence Radio.

The gift includes 4-Watt KSMR/92.5 and 104-Watt translator K232CZ/94.3. Real Presence Radio will lease space for the KSMR transmitter on the St. Mary’s campus and for the K232CS transmitter at the Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts.

KSMR is a rare Class D Educational license, a category which the FCC has not granted in several decades. FCC records indicate KSMR signed on in 1979 and K232CZ signed on in 1997.

KSMR informed the FCC last fall that it went silent on Sept. 4 due to malfunctioning equipment. The station’s website has already been taken down; its Facebook page remains public but hasn’t been updated in nearly two years.

Real Presence Radio owns 16 full-power stations and 10 translator licenses and construction permits, the closest being KQAQ/970 (Austin).