South Dakota Public Broadcasting

South Dakota Public Broadcasting (SDPB) is a state network of non-commercial educational television and radio stations serving the U.S. state of South Dakota. The stations are operated by the South Dakota Bureau of Information and Telecommunication, an agency of the state government which holds the licenses for all of the PBS and NPR member stations licensed in South Dakota except KRSD in Sioux Falls, which is owned and run by Minnesota Public Radio, and KAUR in Sioux Falls, which is owned by Augustana University and operated by MPR. SDPB's studios and offices are located in the Al Neuharth Media Center on the campus of the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.

South Dakota Public Broadcasting
Channels
BrandingSDPB (general)
PBS South Dakota (secondary)
Programming
AffiliationsTelevision: PBS (1970–present)
Radio: NPR, APM, PRX
Ownership
Owner
  • South Dakota Bureau of Information and Telecommunication
  • (South Dakota Board of Directors for Educational Telecommunications)
History
First air date
May 29, 1922 (1922-05-29) (radio)
July 5, 1961 (1961-07-05) (television)
NET (1961–1970)
Call sign meaning
See below
Technical information
Facility IDSee below
ERPSee below
HAATSee below
Transmitter coordinatesSee below
Links
Websitewww.sdpb.org

History

Educational broadcasting in South Dakota began in 1919 with experimental broadcasts at USD's College of Engineering. USD was granted a full license in 1922, and went on the air that May 29 as WEAJ. It became KUSD in 1925. By 1952, the station settled at 690 AM at 1,000 watts, operating only during daylight hours to protect CBF in Montreal. In 1967, it acquired an FM sister station, KUSD-FM at 89.7. Also in 1967, South Dakota State University in Brookings signed on KESD-FM. The three stations merged in 1982 as South Dakota Public Radio.

On July 5, 1961, KUSD-TV signed on the air as the state's first educational television station. Seven more stations signed on from 1967 to 1975, extending its reach to parts of Minnesota and Iowa.

South Dakota Public Radio merged with the State Board of Directors for Educational Television, which operated the television network, in 1985 to form South Dakota Public Broadcasting under the ownership of the Bureau of Information and Telecommunication. Between 1985 and 1991, five other stations joined the radio network. One of them was KCSD, which signed on in 1985 as part of a partnership between Sioux Falls College (now the University of Sioux Falls) and the ETV Board in an effort to improve the network's reception in South Dakota's largest city. Until 2013, KCSD's license was held by the University of Sioux Falls and operated by the state network under a management agreement.[1] The network bought KCSD outright in 2013.

In 1992, a Chevrolet Suburban was taken on a joyride through the Vermillion Golf Course, where KUSD (AM)'s towers were located. The Suburban crashed into one of the AM station's towers and knocked it down.[2] While a judge ordered the suspect to pay $48,000,[3] the insurance settlement was not large enough to restore full operations, and KUSD (AM) went off the air for good in 1994.

KUSD-TV's signal had long been spotty in parts of Sioux Falls, even though the channel 2 analog signal traveled a very long distance under normal conditions. Some parts of the area didn't get a clear signal from KUSD-TV until cable gained more penetration in the 1980s. To solve this problem, KCSD-TV signed on in 1995, significantly improving coverage in the state's largest city.[4]

As of February 2017, SDPR now broadcasts the main network over the fifth digital subchannel of the SDPB Television stations, and classical music (which airs on the radio stations' second HD channel) on the television stations' sixth digital subchannel.

Radio stations

South Dakota Public Radio airs a mix of news and talk from NPR, Public Radio International (PRI), American Public Media (APM), the BBC World Service and other sources. Stations in the lineup include:

Call sign Frequency City of license Facility ID ERP
(W)		 Height
(m (ft))
KESD88.3 FMBrookings, South Dakota58359 50,000190 m (620 ft)
KPSD-FM97.1 FMFaith, South Dakota62385 100,000465 m (1,526 ft)
KQSD-FM91.9 FMLowry, South Dakota58325 100,000270 m (890 ft)
KZSD-FM102.5 FMMartin, South Dakota59466 100,000230 m (750 ft)
KDSD-FM90.9 FMPierpont, South Dakota58324 70,000323.1 m (1,060 ft)
KBHE-FM89.3 FMRapid City, South Dakota58327 9,800125 m (410 ft)
KTSD-FM91.1 FMReliance, South Dakota58326 100,000451 m (1,480 ft)
KCSD90.9 FMSioux Falls, South Dakota60485 6,00080 m (260 ft)
KYSD91.9 FMSpearfish, South Dakota174496 6,000−28.6 m (−94 ft)
KUSD[lower-alpha 1]89.7 FMVermillion, South Dakota58426 32,000202 m (663 ft)
KJSD90.3 FMWatertown, South Dakota171810 10,500175.2 m (575 ft)

Notes:

  1. Flagship station

South Dakota Public Radio also rebroadcasts on the following translator stations:

Call sign Frequency
(MHz)		 City of license Facility ID
K219CM91.7Aberdeen, South Dakota58385
K201AP88.1Belle Fourche, South Dakota62384
K214BN90.7Edgemont, South Dakota62400
K201AQ88.1Hot Springs, South Dakota62386
K217CE91.3Huron, South Dakota58360
K204GC88.7Lead, South Dakota62445
K215AI90.9Mitchell, South Dakota62102
K242CH96.3Pierre, South Dakota58386
K203BN88.5Pringle, South Dakota62403

In March 2007, South Dakota Public Radio started broadcasting on HD Radio.

Television stations

Television stations included in the state network are:

StationCity of licenseChannelsFirst air dateCall letters' meaningERPHAATFCC
Facility ID		Transmitter coordinatesPublic license information
KUSD-TV Vermillion (Yankton) Digital:
34 (UHF)
Virtual:
2		 July 5, 1961 (1961-07-05) University of South Dakota 236 kW 204 m (669 ft) 61072 43°3′1.4″N 96°47′2.3″W Public file
LMS
KBHE-TV Rapid City Digital:
26 (UHF)
Virtual:
9		 September 13, 1967 (1967-09-13) Black Hills
Educational		 76.3 kW 191.7 m (629 ft) 61068 44°3′6.5″N 103°14′38.9″W Public file
LMS
KESD-TV Brookings (Watertown) Digital:
8 (VHF)
Virtual:
8		 February 4, 1968 (1968-02-04) Educational South Dakota 15 kW 229 m (751 ft) 61067 44°20′16.2″N 97°13′42.1″W Public file
LMS
KTSD-TV Pierre Digital:
10 (VHF)
Virtual:
10		 August 1, 1970 (1970-08-01) Television
South Dakota		 54.7 kW 487.7 m (1,600 ft) 61066 43°58′6.3″N 99°35′41.3″W Public file
LMS
KDSD-TV Aberdeen Digital:
17 (UHF)
Virtual:
16		 January 1, 1972 (1972-01-01) Aberdeen
South Dakota		 19 kW 349 m (1,145 ft) 61064 45°29′54″N 97°40′28.9″W Public file
LMS
KPSD-TV1 Eagle Butte (North Eagle Butte–Faith) Digital:
13 (VHF)
Virtual:
13		 September 16, 1973 (1973-09-16) Public Broadcasting
South Dakota		 27 kW 516 m (1,693 ft) 61071 45°3′13.6″N 102°15′48.6″W Public file
LMS
KQSD-TV Lowry (Selby–Java–Mobridge) Digital:
11 (VHF)
Virtual:
11		 March 9, 1976 (1976-03-09) Quality
South Dakota		 37 kW 312.7 m (1,026 ft) 61063 45°16′37.1″N 99°59′11.2″W Public file
LMS
KZSD-TV Martin Digital:
8 (VHF)
Virtual:
8		 February 9, 1978 (1978-02-09) Zenith
South Dakota		 44.7 kW 266 m (873 ft) 61062 43°25′59.7″N 101°33′19.1″W Public file
LMS
KCSD-TV Sioux Falls Digital:
24 (UHF)
Virtual:
23		 June 13, 1995 (1995-06-13) Clark
South Dakota		 29 kW 75 m (246 ft) 60728 43°34′29.2″N 96°39′19.3″W Public file
LMS

Notes:

  • 1. KPSD-TV used the callsign KLGC during its construction permit from April 25 to August 28, 1973.[5]

Translators

The television programming from SDPB is also rebroadcast on the following low-power translator stations:

City of license Callsign Translating Channel ERP HAAT Facility ID Transmitter coordinates
Belle FourcheK19CG-D KPSD 13190.007 kW3 m (10 ft)5946244°39′23.9″N 103°50′50.7″W
EdgemontK15IZ-D KBHE 9150.03 kW155 m (509 ft)18763943°22′08.9″N 103°44′08.7″W
Pine RidgeK10PS-D KZSD 8100.03 kW−33 m (−108 ft)16867843°00′57.9″N 102°34′20.5″W
PringleK36NX-D KBHE 9364.346 kW385 m (1,263 ft)18764043°44′43.0″N 103°28′52.0″W
SpearfishK04GW-D KPSD 1340.028 kW129 m (423 ft)59455

44°29′33.0″N 103°50′07.0″W

WagnerK08PM-D KUSD 280.03 kW132 m (433 ft)18763843°11′21″N 98°04′17.0″W

Subchannels

The digital signals of SDPB's TV stations are multiplexed:

SDPB multiplex[6]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
x.1 1080i16:9SDPB 1Main SDPB programming / PBS
x.2 480iSDPB 2World
x.3 SDPB 3Create
x.4 SDPB-4PBS Kids
x.5 Audio onlySDPB-5SDPB Radio audio
x.6 SDPB-6SDPB Classical HD2 network audio

Analog-to-digital conversion

During 2009, in the lead-up to the analog-to-digital television transition that would ultimately occur on June 12, SDPB shut down the analog transmitters of its stations on a staggered basis. Listed below are the dates each analog transmitter ceased operations as well as their post-transition channel allocations:[7]

  • KUSD-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 2, on February 17, 2009, the original date on which full-power television stations in the United States were to transition from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009). The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 34. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former VHF analog channel 2.
  • KBHE-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 9, on February 17, 2009. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 26. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former VHF analog channel 9.
  • KCSD-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 23, on February 17, 2009. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 24. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 23.
  • KDSD-TV shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 16, on February 17, 2009. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 17. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 16.
  • KESD-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 8, on February 17, 2009. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 18 to VHF channel 8 for post-transition operations.
  • KPSD-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 13, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 25 to VHF channel 13 for post-transition operations.
  • KQSD-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 11, on February 17, 2009. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 15 to VHF channel 11 for post-transition operations.
  • KTSD-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 10, on February 17, 2009. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 21 to VHF channel 10 for post-transition operations.
  • KZSD-TV shut down its analog signal, over VHF channel 8, on February 17, 2009. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition UHF channel 23 to VHF channel 8 for post-transition operations.

Programming

Although SDPB provides PBS programming, it also produces original programs such as:

  • Dakota Life — a magazine show focusing on South Dakota life.
  • A Falconer's Memoir (2000)
  • Images of the Past — a series about South Dakota's history as documented in photographs, film, and video.
  • Kids' Quest — an educational series for students.
  • Nature Adventures — a series about wildlife in South Dakota.
  • No Cover No Minimum — a series showing live performances of South Dakota music groups and solo acts such as Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Judd Hoos, and Chancey Williams and the Younger Brothers Band.[8]
  • On Call Television — a show which discusses medical topics.
  • South Dakota Focus — a panel discussion show.
  • Statehouse — a show which focuses on the South Dakota State Legislature.

SDPB has also produced educational programs, such as:

  • The Badlands: Nature's Time Capsule — a multimedia project about Badlands National Park.
  • By The People, For The People — a series about government in South Dakota.
  • Dakota Pathways — a series about the history of South Dakota.
  • Draw With Me with Diana Tollefson — a South Dakota educational series about art.
  • Infinite Variety — a series about the geography and environment of South Dakota.
  • Our Statehouse: A Capitol Idea — a multimedia project about the history of the South Dakota Capitol.
  • South Dakota Adventure — a series about the history and culture of South Dakota.

SDPB has also syndicated educational programs, such as:

  • Once Upon a Time — a children's show produced by Nebraska ETV in the 1980s which focused on children's reading.[9]

References
  1. "Dakota Pathways Frequently Asked Questions". Archived from the original on 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
  2. "Accident collapses KUSD radio tower". Argus-Leader. December 22, 1992. p. 2B. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  3. "Student to pay for toppling tower". Argus-Leader. May 19, 1993. p. 2B. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  4. "Transmitter to help public TV reception". Argus-Leader. June 12, 1995. p. 1D. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  5. "FCC History Cards for KPSD-TV".
  6. "RabbitEars TV Query for KUSD". Archived from the original on 2014-08-11. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
  7. "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
  8. "No Cover No Minimum". South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Archived from the original on 2015-05-01. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
  9. "Once Upon a Time intro - YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2016-04-15. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
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