Dan Smith’s Endurance Broadcasting will shut down Full Service Standards 1220 KLBB Stillwater MN on March 31.
The St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports that the station, which serves the eastern half of the Minneapolis/St. Paul market sold its 3.6 acre tower site to a nonprofit that plans on building senior housing on the site.
Smith told the paper that, “I don’t want to do it, but it’s so difficult running an AM radio station on the fringe of a large metro. It’s been a real challenge.” He also stated he was unsuccessful in selling the license/IP.
KLBB served as the flagship station for St. Paul Saints baseball and as the Twin Cities affiliate for the NFL’s Green Bay Packers. The Saints told the Pioneer-Press that they intend to announce a new flagship station within the next two weeks.
Eric Jon Magnuson
This station is also the effective successor to the “Club 14” format of St. Paul-licensed 1400–later to simulcast on Brooklyn Park-licensed 1470. When those stations dropped Standards, the branding (and maybe even the staff/programming) went over to the then-WMGT–which had already been running a similar format (as, I think, “Mighty 1220”).