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The station began with physics experiments in 1918 when five students and a professor built a small radio transmitter at St. Olaf College. Using a wire antenna strung between the campus chapel and another tall building, signals from these experiments were picked up as far away as New Zealand. Eventually, the college gained the call sign 9YAJ for the experimental station. Later, in 1922Events January 7 Dali Eireann ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64-57 votes. January 10 Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dail Eireann January 11 First successful insulin treatment of diabetes. January 12 British government releases Irish prisoners, the college was granted the WCAL call sign. They would broadcast two programs per week during the school year at 770kHz in the AM band. One notable achievement by the station in the next few years was the broadcast of William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare born April 1564; baptised April 26, 1564; died April 23, 1616 ( O. May 3, 1616 ( N. has a reputation as the greatest writer the English language has ever known. Indeed, the English Renaissance has often been called "the age of Shakespe's playA play (noun) is a common literary form, usually consisting chiefly of dialog between characters, and usually intended for performance rather than reading. However, many scholars study plays in this more academic manner, particularly classical plays such As You Like ItAs You Like It is a pastoral comedy written by William Shakespeare, in 1599 or early 1600. As You Like It was listed in the Stationers' Register, the period equivalent of copyright, in August 1600. No printed copy of it is known prior to the publication o, apparently the first time a play had been broadcast on radio.

In 1924Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s Years: 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 See also 1924 in aviation 1924 in film 1924 in literature 1924 in mu, a financial crunch meant that the station might be forced to close down. The St. Olaf senior class and a local newspaper campaigned for donations, and money came in from across MinnesotaMinnesota ( In Detail) (Full size) State nickname: North Star State Other U. States Capital Saint Paul Largest City Minneapolis Governor Tim Pawlenty Area Total Land Water % water Ranked 12th225,365 km²206,375 km²18,990 km²8. 4% Population Total ( 2000) D and several nearby states. This made WCAL the first listener-supported station in the United StatesThe United States of America also referred to as the United States U. America ¹ or the States is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares land borders with Canada in.

The station first experimented with FM broadcasts in 1948, but didn't begin regular broadcasts until the 89.3 MHz signal was allocated in 1968. A few years later in 1971, WCAL became one of 90 founding members of National Public Radio organized by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

24-hour broadcasts finally came to WCAL in 1984, and a new 100 kilowatt transmitter went online in 1991, meaning that that the station could be picked up all acros the Minneapolis-St. Paul region (Northfield is on the southern edge of the area).

WCAL has focused on classical music programming and related musical genres. The "Christmas at St. Olaf" program is one of several annual events that have been broadcast by the station. Over the years, the station has regularly broadcast religious services, and expanded them into a number of different languages. Another first that WCAL takes credit for is the first play-by-play broadcast of a sporting event. The station eventually became affiliated with AMPERS, one of the public radio networks in Minnesota.

In 2004, St. Olaf College decided to sell the station in order to enhance the institution's endowment. At least two offers were received, including one from California-based EMF Broadcasting , a non-commercial religious broadcaster, but St. Olaf chose to sell to Minnesota Public Radio instead. This drew outcry from fans of WCAL, prompting the formation of a group known as SaveWCAL, which attempted to block the sale to Minnesota Public Radio. They petitioned the Federal Communications Commission, which declined to stop the sale. Since MPR didn't have the $10.5 million needed to cover the purchase on hand, the organization has had to seek financing. SaveWCAL succeeded in slowing down the flow of money to MPR, so a final decision on where the money will come from won't happen until December 2004 .

WCAL's sale agreement was finalized on Friday, November 19, 2004. The station ceased broadcasting from its Northfield studios at 10 PM on Sunday, November 21, 2004, and began simulcasting Minnesota Public Radio's classical music stream. The two-day delay allowed for final broadcasts of Sunday religious services.

A number of WCAL employees were hired by MPR, and some changes are being made to MPR's classical music service to appeal to former WCAL listeners. MPR has not yet given specifics on what its plans are for the new format for WCAL, set to begin at the start of 2005.