June’s History Friday: Kraus-Anderson Brings Television to Minnesota

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By Brenden Nickles, Senior Office Assistant

Earlier this year, KSTP-TV celebrated its 75th Anniversary.

On April 27^th, 1948, television arrived not just in the Twin Cities but also in the entire state of Minnesota when KSTP-TV Channel 5 broadcasted on the air for the first time.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Kraus-Anderson served as the general contractor for the KSTP building on 3415 University Avenue (right on the Minneapolis-St. Paul city border), as well as its original transmitter tower.

The day before construction began, the Minneapolis Tribune reported, “The 3,000 television receiver owners in the Twin Cities area, about a 45-mile radius from the 260,000-pound KSTP tower, will be able to dial in on both afternoon and evening shows, including all Minneapolis Millers’ home baseball games, except those played on Sundays and holidays.”

Though a notable milestone for Minnesota, this was also an important milestone for Kraus-Anderson, as this project was the company’s introduction to the city of St. Paul and its workforce. A year later, Kraus-Anderson officially moved into St. Paul with the acquisition of Romer Construction.

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Today, the building not only houses KSTP-TV but its fellow Hubbard Broadcasting sister stations KSTC-TV Channel 45, KSTP-AM 1500 (SKOR North), KSTP-FM 94.5 (KS95), and KTMY-FM 107.1 (myTalk 107.1). The tower served as KSTP-TV’s main transmitter until 1971 when the station (along with every other Twin Cities television station) began to transmit from Shoreview. Today, the tower serves as the transmitter site for the Twin Cities’ NOAA Weather Radio station, KEC65.

For a video of the construction of the KSTP building, click HERE.

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