Lakeland PBS

Lakeland PBS^[3] is the collective brand for two PBS member television stations serving northern and central Minnesota: KAWE (channel 9) in Bemidji and KAWB (channel 22) in Brainerd. The stations are owned by Northern Minnesota Public Television, Inc., and maintain studios on Grant Avenue Northeast in northeast Bemidji with a secondary studio and an underwriting office on NW 3rd Street in northwest Brainerd. KAWE's transmitter is located southeast of Blackduck, while KAWB's tower sits near East Gull Lake.

Channels for KAWE

• Digital: 9 (VHF)
• Virtual: 9

Channels for KAWB

• Digital: 28 (UHF)
• Virtual: 22

BrandingLakeland PBS

Affiliations

• 9.1/22.1: PBS
• for others, see § Subchannels

Quick facts Channels for KAWE, Channels for KAWB ...

KAWE and KAWB

KAWE: Bemidji, Minnesota KAWB: Brainerd, Minnesota United States
Channels for KAWE	Digital: 9 (VHF) Virtual: 9
Channels for KAWB	Digital: 28 (UHF) Virtual: 22
Branding	Lakeland PBS
Programming
Affiliations	9.1/22.1: PBS for others, see § Subchannels
Ownership
Owner	Northern Minnesota Public Television, Inc.
History
First air date	KAWE: June 1, 1980 (1980-06-01) KAWB: March 1, 1988 (1988-03-01)
Former channel number	KAWE: Analog: 9 (VHF, 1980–2009) Digital: 18 (UHF, until 2009) KAWB: Analog: 22 (UHF, 1988–2009)
Call sign meaning	KAWE: Derived from the Ojibwe word 'akawe' generally meaning 'first in a line of succession' KAWB: KAWE Brainerd
Technical information[1][2]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	KAWE: 49578 KAWB: 49579
ERP	KAWE: 27.0 kW KAWB: 137.5 kW
HAAT	KAWE: 334.7 m (1,098 ft) KAWB: 227 m (745 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	KAWE: 47°42′3″N 94°29′15″W KAWB: 46°25′21″N 94°27′42″W
Translator	See § Translators
Links
Public license information	KAWE: Public file LMS KAWB: Public file LMS
Website	lptv.org

Close

KAWB operates as a full-time satellite of KAWE, covering areas of central Minnesota that receive a marginal to non-existent over-the-air signal from the main station, although there is significant overlap between their contours otherwise. KAWB is a straight simulcast of KAWE; on-air references to KAWB are limited to Federal Communications Commission (FCC)-mandated hourly station identifications during programming.

The network first took to the air on June 1, 1980, and was formerly known as Lakeland Public Television; it re-branded on January 8, 2018, to better align its brand with PBS. It is the only full-power television broadcasting operation based in north central Minnesota, an area that is served mainly by translators of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul television stations.

Lakeland PBS utilizes KAWB's channel 22 position on DirecTV and Dish Network's Twin Cities local lineups to avert confusion with Fox owned-and-operated station KMSP-TV (channel 9) in Minneapolis.