If you wanted country in Minneapolis/St. Paul during the early 1970s, you’d tune to KTCR. Even though the AM and FM stations were both country, it was not a simulcast. This was due to FCC rules in effect at the time which prohibited simulcasting in cities over 50,000 population. Because both stations were licensed to Minneapolis (population 482,872 at the time), separate programming was required for 690 and 97.1.
KTCR-AM was licensed for daytime only operation, due to their frequency being a Canadian/Mexican clear channel. Their reach was further limited by a power output of just 500 watts. This was due to close proximity with Vermillion, South Dakota’s KUSD-AM, also on 690.
I recorded this on a Spartan/Atlantic portable cassette unit with built-in AM radio. The source tape is an inexpensive Audio Magnetics “bag” cassette.
KTCR_AM_Mike_Knight_Sign_Off_1973