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Telefarm Towers

Radio and television broadcasting site in Minnesota

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (October 2021)

Telefarm Towers
Both masts from the ground.
Location within Minnesota
General information
Type	TV & Radio transmission towers
Location	Shoreview, Ramsey County, Minnesota, U.S.
Coordinates	North mast: 45°03′0″N 93°08′22.0″W / 45.05000°N 93.139444°W / 45.05000; -93.139444, South mast: 45°03′44.0″N 93°08′22.0″W
Owner	Telefarm, Inc.
Height	North Mast: (1,394 feet (425 m)), South Mast: (1,361 feet (415 m))

The Telefarm Towers is a transmission site for FM radio and television broadcastinginShoreview, Minnesota consisting of two guyed towers.

The towers, called Shoreview Towers by local residents, are owned by Telefarm, Inc., a joint ventureofTwin Cities broadcasters CBS Television Stations (WCCO channel 4), Hubbard Broadcasting (KSTP channel 5, KSTC channel 5.2, KSTP-FM 94.5 FM, and KTMY 107.1 FM), and Tegna (KARE channel 11) for the transmission of digital television and FM radio throughout the Greater Twin Cities.

Along with Sinclair Broadcast Group's WUCW (channel 23), Minnesota Public Radio flagship station KNOW-FM (91.1 MHz) are additional tenants on the tower.

History[edit]

The towers were built in the 1970s for analog television, and were replacements for a single "candelabra" style tower that collapsed prior to completion in 1971, killing six workers on the tower and one on the ground.^[1]

The towers were upgraded at the turn of the century to support digital TV transmitters to meet Federal Communications Commission requirements. Because each antenna assembly weighs many tons, the towers had to be strengthened. Work took longer than expected, and KSTP notably used its original broadcast tower along University AvenueinSaint Paul, Minnesota for digital transmission for about a year starting in late 1999 before construction was finished.

Digital television upgrades to the South facility were completed in 2000 and the North facility was finished in 2001.^[2][3]

During the summer of 2019, an antenna section on the north tower was removed. Television station KSTC moved to RF channel 30, from its previous channel of 45. This was due to the spectrum reallocation of the late 2010s. This move was completed by early September.^[4] On October 4, 2021, the new transmitter was installed on the north tower.

FM[edit]

Television[edit]

See also[edit]

• KMSP Tower – another major tower in Shoreview
• List of tallest structures

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• "Listing 1023882". Antenna Structure Registration database. U.S. Federal Communications Commission. (Tower 1)
• "Listing 1023883". Antenna Structure Registration database. U.S. Federal Communications Commission. (Tower 2)