Omni Broadcasting was a small-market radio broadcasting company that operated for 25 years from headquarters in
Bemidji, Minnesota
Bemidji ( ) is a city and the county seat of Beltrami County, in northern Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,574 at the 2020 census. According to 2021 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 15,279, making it ...
. Organized in 1988, the company was owned and operated by Louis H. Buron, Jr., and Mary Campbell. They relocated from the
Twin Cities
Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...
to Bemidji, where, in 1989, the company acquired its first two stations, Paul Bunyan Broadcasting Company's
KBUN and
KBHP(FM). The offices and studios were located at 502 Beltrami Avenue in Bemidji.
Hubbard Broadcasting
Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. is an American television and radio broadcasting corporation based in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was founded by Stanley E. Hubbard.
The corporation has broadcast outlets scattered across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, ...
announced on November 13, 2014 that it would purchase the Omni Broadcasting stations.
The sale was completed on February 27, 2015.
Awards
The Omni Broadcasting stations won many industry awards for community service over the company's quarter-century of broadcasting.
KBHP(FM), Bemidji, won the
National Association of Broadcasters
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a trade association and lobby group representing the interests of commercial and non-commercial over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States. The NAB represents more than ...
' Crystal Award five times, in 1994, 1997, 1999, 2007, and 2010.
WJJY-FM, Brainerd, won NAB Crystal Awards in 2001, 2003, and 2007.
In 2008, Omni Broadcasting was a winner of the 10th annual Service to America awards. In partnership with Prevent Child Abuse Minnesota, each December the company's stations broadcast an annual 24-hour "Radiothon to End Child Abuse." In 2007, Omni stations provided free airtime valued at $276,000. The 2007 radiothon raised over $220,000. More than $2 million had been raised since the partnership began in 1989, at the time of the company's recognition for its service in 2008.
In 2011, in recognition of its long-term commitment to community service, KBHP(FM) was awarded the NAB's Crystal Heritage Award, only the second broadcast station to have been thus honored, from the time of the award's inception in 2008.
In October 2007, Omni President Louis H. Buron Jr., was inducted into the Museum of Broadcasting Hall of Fame in Golden Valley, MN.
Death
Lou Buron died on January 23, 2017, at age 73.
Stations
At the time of its sale to Hubbard, Omni Broadcasting owned and operated sixteen stations in four different markets across Minnesota:
Bemidji
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KBUN AM 1450 (
Sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
)
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KKZY
KKZY (95.5 FM) is a radio station based in Bemidji, Minnesota, United States and airs an adult contemporary music format. It is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc.
The Bemidji studios are located at 502 Beltrami Avenue, downtown Bemidji. It shar ...
FM 95.5 (
Adult Contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
)
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KLLZ-FM
KLLZ-FM (99.1 FM, "Z99") is a radio station broadcasting from Bemidji, Minnesota (licensed to Walker, Minnesota), and airs a classic rock format. It has a wide coverage area across northern Minnesota, and enjoys a huge listening audience. KLLZ i ...
FM 99.1 (
Classic rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...
)
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KBHP
KBHP (101.1 FM, "KB101") is an FM radio station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to serve the community of Bemidji, Minnesota, which is located in northwestern Minnesota. KBHP plays country music and is owned and operated ...
FM 101.1 (
Country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
)
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KBUN-FM
KBUN-FM (104.5 FM, "Sports Radio FM 104.5 The Fan") is a sports radio station based in Bemidji, Minnesota, licensed to nearby Blackduck, Minnesota. It is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. The Bemidji studios are located at 502 Beltrami Avenu ...
104.5 (
Sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
)
Brainerd/Baxter
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KVBR
KVBR (1340 AM, "Brainerd Business Radio") is a radio station broadcasting a news talk information format. Licensed to Brainerd, Minnesota, United States, the station serves the Brainerd area. Founded in 1964 by the Persons family, the station is ...
AM 1340 (
Business News/Talk)
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KLIZ AM 1380 (
Sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
)
*
KBLB
KBLB (93.3 FM, "B93.3") is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Nisswa, Minnesota, United States, the station serves the Brainerd area. The station is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. (through licensee HBI Radio Bra ...
FM 93.3 (
Country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
)
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KUAL-FM
KUAL-FM (103.5 MHz; "Cool 103.5") is a radio station licensed to Brainerd, Minnesota, United States. The station is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. and the broadcast license is held by HBI Radio Brainerd/Wadena, LLC.
. KUAL broadcasts an ol ...
103.5 (
Oldies
Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...
)
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WJJY-FM
WJJY-FM (106.7 FM) is a radio station that is located in Baxter, Minnesota, with an adult contemporary format.
WJJY-FM's sister stations include KVBR 1340, KLIZ 1380, KBLB 93.3, KUAL-FM 103.5, and KLIZ-FM 107.5. All of the aforementioned sta ...
106.7 (
Adult Contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
)
*
KLIZ-FM
KLIZ-FM (107.5 FM, "The Power Loon") is a classic rock music formatted radio station serving the Brainerd Lakes area from Brainerd, Minnesota. Its owner is Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc.
KLIZ-FM is a sister station to KVBR 1340 (Business News/Talk ...
107.5 (
Classic rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...
)
Wadena
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KWAD AM 920 (
Classic Country
Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades.
Repertoire
The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...
)
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KNSP
KNSP (1430 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a sports format. Licensed to Staples, Minnesota, United States, the station is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc., through licensee HBI Radio Brainerd/Wadena, LLC.
KNSP's programming is primarily ...
AM 1430 (
Classic Country
Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades.
Repertoire
The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...
)
*
KKWS FM 105.9 (
Country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
)
Alexandria
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KULO FM 94.3 (
Oldies
Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...
)
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KIKV-FM FM 100.7 (
Country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
)
References
{{Hubbard Broadcasting Inc.
Defunct radio broadcasting companies of the United States
Beltrami County, Minnesota
Hubbard Broadcasting