WCMN-LD

WCMN-LD (channel 13) is a low-power television station licensed to both St. Cloud and Sartell, Minnesota, United States, which primarily broadcasts religious programming. Owned by StarCom, LLC, the station maintains a transmitter on Julep Road (off State Highway 23) in Waite Park, Minnesota.

WCMN-LD

ATSC 3.0 station
St. Cloud–Sartell, Minnesota United States
Channels	Digital: 14 (UHF) Virtual: 13
Programming
Affiliations	Religious Independent
Ownership
Owner	Starcom, LLC
History
Founded	August 28, 1989
First air date	June 9, 1992 (33 years ago) (1992-06-09)
Former call signs	K13VS (1989–1996) WCMN-LP (1996–2022)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 13 (VHF, 1992–2022)
Former affiliations	Silent (2021–2022)
Call sign meaning	Central Minnesota
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	62341
Class	LD
ERP	15 kW
HAAT	95.1 m (312 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	45°32′35″N 94°15′42″W
Links
Public license information	LMS

History

Channel 13 began as K13VS in 1992; it was affiliated with the Main Street TV network and was the first new TV venture in St. Cloud since KXLI channel 41 started in 1982.^[2] While it also aired several local shows, it was hindered by a lack of visibility on cable systems.^[3] By 1994, the station was purchasing time on a local cable channel to make its weekday evening shows, including a local newscast available to cable homes.^[4]

StarCom sold three radio stations to Regent Broadcasting in 2000 so it could purchase and develop channel 13, which had become WCMN-LP in 1996.^[5] It returned to the air on August 20, 2001, airing All News Channel with local inserts.^[6] When ANC folded in 2002, the station switched to America One and then The Sportsman Channel.^[7]

On January 4, 2022, the station filed a license to cover application for digital facilities,^[8] stating that it is broadcasting in the ATSC 3.0 format, making it the first such station in Minnesota. It had operated in analog on VHF channel 13 until the FCC-mandated shutdown of analog LPTV stations on July 13, 2021, and did not construct an ATSC 1.0 facility.^[9] The station was licensed for digital operation effective September 21, 2022, changing its call sign to WCMN-LD.