Christian radio station to expand into Winnebago
Apr. 18—By Renee Berg
MANKATO — Kinship Radio is expanding its reach in Minnesota and Iowa and will build six new stations in the coming two years with one of them in Winnebago.
With flagship Christian radio station KJLY serving its listeners in Blue Earth, Kinship plans to construct a Spanish-speaking radio station with the call letters KJLW. It will be on 89.1 FM.
The cost to build the Winnebago station is $111,000, said Jennifer Hayden, executive director of Kinship Radio, which recently relocated and is now in Mankato. Kinship and its parent organization, Minn-Iowa Christian Broadcasting, is raising $350,000 for the six new stations.
Along with the new radio station in Winnebago, the other new full-power radio stations will be in Marshall, Redwood Falls and Hutchinson as well as in Hampton and Osage, Iowa.
To help fund construction of the new radio stations, Kinship will hold a "Spring Up" fundraising campaign Wednesday and Thursday across the entire Kinship Radio Network.
Kinship Radio is listener supported and has operated without debt for nearly 40 years.
"Being able to reach our Hispanic neighbors with the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ in their own language is a need in this region, and to be able to meet that need through the ministry of Kinship Radio is a true blessing," Kinship Radio Program Director Beth Crosby stated in a news release.
Kinship Radio has been serving southern Minnesota and northern Iowa since its first radio station, KJLY, went on the air in 1983 in Blue Earth.
The radio network has grown to operate eight full power stations and 14 translator frequencies in Minnesota and Iowa. In addition to their 22 frequencies, Kinship Radio also can be heard online at kinshipradio.org and on the Kinship Radio app.
