Fairmont Catholic Radio Station to Expand Range

By DANIEL OLSON, Fairmont Sentinel

The following article was first published by the Fairmont Sentinel on October 3, 2024, under the headline "Local radio station to expand range." It is reprinted here with permission.

FAIRMONT - A groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday signaled the start of a large expansion project for Fairmont’s KYEJ.

The radio station, which currently occupies frequency 90.1, started in 2015. Executive Director [Deacon] Steven Landsteiner said the Catholic station broadcasts programming from Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN).

“We are fully licensed to do local programming, but we are not set up resource-wise to do that,” he said. “It’s mostly talk radio, call-in shows, that format. There are also devotionals like Mass and the rosary. There’s news as well, from a Catholic perspective.”

Landsteiner said EWTN had put out feelers for people to start a radio station, for which EWTN would provide the programming free of charge. He passed the idea to an interested individual, but after they dropped out he and his wife made the jump themselves.

Currently, the station only has 175 watts with which to operate. This, combined with a 65-foot tower, means their reach is limited to Martin County. With this project, they are looking to send these figures sky-high.

“We are putting up a 190-foot tower,” Landsteiner said. “We are putting a 16 by 20 feet building as our new radio shack. KYEJ will go from 175 to 6,000 watts. The first phase will bring us to 1,000 watts this fall, and the rest will happen fall of next year.”

When the project is fully completed, their 6,000watt station will broadcast KYEJ to a five-county area, which Landsteiner said will reach around 70,000 people. The 1,000-watt station will then host a new Spanish broadcast of EWTN, which will have the callsign KRYX and be findable on 91.9.

Landsteiner said getting to this point, expanding less than 10 years after their inception, has been nothing short of a wild ride.

“When we started, we didn’t know anything about broadcast radio,” he said. “It has been a long radio curve, and this new opportunity to increase power has been even more hoops to jump through and licenses to acquire.”

By expanding their reach, Landsteiner said he wants to ensure the good word is spread to as many people as possible.

“We feel good about it because we found we have been called by God,” he said. “We are raising funds for the completion, and our mission is to have a unifying voice of the gospel to reach as many people as possible. The gospel is a powerful testimony in God’s word to combat what we see as a world going in the wrong direction. To be a project spreading the good news feels good.”

In doing so, the response from the community has been everything Landsteiner had hoped for.

“Our Catholic listeners are excited as our monthly contributors,” he said. “Others who are not Catholic have reached out as well, as we try to break down misconceptions and spread a unifying message.”

For more information, call 507-848-3968. Donations can be sent to Fairmont Area Catholic Radio C/O Deacon Steve Landsteiner, 1117 170th Ave Fairmont, MN 56031.

Since the first printing of this article, the base of the radio tower has been completed. Installation of the tower and antenna are expected by mid-November.