Lakeland PBS

KAWE and KAWB
Channels for KAWE
Channels for KAWB
BrandingLakeland PBS
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
OwnerNorthern 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
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
TranslatorSee § Translators
Links
Public license information
Websitelptv.org

Lakeland PBS 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.

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.