Broadcast area Duluth-Superior First air date November 22, 1936 Class B Frequency 610 AM kHz Owner Midwest Communications Branding 610 KDAL | Translator(s) 103.9 W280FB (Duluth) Power 5,000 watts Facility ID 60230 City of license Duluth Area Twin Ports Slogan The News Authority! | |
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Format Talk radio, All-news radio | ||
KDAL (610 AM) is an AM radio station broadcasting out of Duluth, Minnesota with a News/Talk format. KDAL is currently owned and operated by Midwest Communications. Midwest Communications also owns KDKE, WDSM, WDUL, KTCO, and KDAL-FM in Duluth. All the Duluth stations share the same studio location at 715 East Central Entrance, up the hill from downtown.
KDAL broadcasts Minnesota Twins baseball, local news, weather, school closings, and cancellations. It is well heard throughout NE Minnesota and NW Wisconsin.
History
KDAL went on the air as a 100-watt station at 1490 kHz on November 22, 1936. The KDAL call sign came from the founder's name, Dalton A. LeMasurier. LeMasurier was President and General Manager of the station for many years.
On September 5, 1937, power increased to 250 watts and the station joined the CBS Radio network.
KDAL switched dial positions to the current 610 kHz on October 24, 1941, increasing power to 1000 watts. The switchover was dramatically made from a plane flying over the city. In 1947, a new transmitter and tower were constructed at 63rd Avenue West and the harborfront. The facilities remain to this day. KDAL got another power increase again to 5,000 watts on August 7, 1947, as a new transmitter and tower were constructed. This enabled KDAL to serve an even wider area. The event was celebrated with a "Kilowatt Karnival" in the Duluth National Guard Armory.
In the 1948-1949 season, CBS raided NBC and grabbed some of their biggest stars. Radio's highest rated program, "The Jack Benny Program", moved to CBS and KDAL in January, 1949. "Amos 'n' Andy", "George Burns & Gracie Allen", "Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy" and Bing Crosby also made the switch. CBS was suddenly the number one network and KDAL finally made some headway against NBC's WEBC.
KDAL made the jump to television as KDAL TV-3 in 1953. Both stations have remained with CBS up to the date of this writing in 2009. KDAL TV became KDLH in the late 1970s.
KDAL featured a full service AC format during the 1980s and 1990s.