KMSU (89.7 FM, "The Maverick") is a radio station operated by Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minnesota, United States, that carries a mixed news, talk, and music format. A repeater station, KMSK (91.3 FM), serves the city of Austin; a translator station, K220AR (91.9 FM), serves the city of Albert Lea. It is part of Minnesota's AMPERS network. History Radio activity at MSU Mankato began with an educational broadcasting program called the Radio Workshop for communications students at what was then Mankato State Teachers College. Until 1959, radio shows were broadcast on local commercial station KYSM. On December 14, 1961, the then-Mankato State College filed to build a 10-watt noncommercial radio station in Mankato, approved for 90.5 MHz on May 17, 1962. The station first began broadcasting on January 7, 1963. The studios were located on the fourth floor of the administration building, with the transmitter and antenna on the fourth floor of the D-wing of Crawford Center. It broadcast for eight hours a day, airing classical music and taped educational programs, and was staffed by students who could earn a credit hour for working 12 hours a week at the station. It was said that "on a good day", the station reached St. Peter, away. Broadcasting time slowly extended until KMSU was on the air 18 hours a day by 1973. KMSU became the second-oldest college radio station in the state (and the oldest in the state system), behind KUOM at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. The station moved in 1980 from the administration building to the Centennial Student Union. The late 1970s brought the first threat to the station's existence. A change in policy by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) left 10-watt noncommercial educational stations like KMSU vulnerable and unprotected against future improvements, which encouraged many of them to increase power and invest in equipment and facilities. On January 20, 1982, KMSU became a 3,000-watt station on its present frequency of 89.7 MHz, with a $25,000 federal grant helping to defray the costs of the upgrade. In July 1983, KMSU aligned with National Public Radio, a change in its orientation, and achieved authorization from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which required studio renovations and the first full-time station staff in its history; it also began preparing to build translators, including the one at Albert Lea, to extend public radio service. The expanding station moved out of the