KSRQ CPB Diversity Statement

As a licensee of Northland Community & Technical College — a member of Minnesota State — KSRQ follows state diversity and inclusion guidelines as an equal opportunity employer.

The Minnesota State Board of Trustees serves as KSRQ’s Board of Directors. The Board’s Equal Opportunity and Nondiscrimination in Employment and Education policy states that:

“No person shall be discriminated against in the terms and conditions of employment, personnel practices, or access to and participation in, programs, services, and activities with regard to race, sex, color, creed, religion, age, national origin, disability, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. In addition, discrimination in employment based on familial status or membership or activity in a local commission as defined by law is prohibited.

Harassment on the basis of race, sex, color, creed, religion, age, national origin, disability, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or familial status is prohibited. Harassment may occur in a variety of relationships, including faculty and student, supervisor and employee, student and student, staff and student, employee and employee, and other relationships with persons having business at, or visiting the educational or working environment.

This policy is directed at verbal or physical conduct that constitutes discrimination /harassment under state and federal law and is not directed at the content of speech. In cases in which verbal statements and other forms of expression are involved, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities will give due consideration to an individual’s constitutionally protected right to free speech and academic freedom. However, discrimination and harassment are not within the protections of academic freedom or free speech.

The system office, colleges, and universities shall maintain and encourage full freedom, within the law, of expression, inquiry, teaching and research. Academic freedom comes with a responsibility that all members of our education community benefit from it without intimidation, exploitation or coercion.

This policy shall apply to all individuals affiliated with Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, including but not limited to, its students, employees, applicants, volunteers, agents, and Board of Trustees, and is intended to protect the rights and privacy of both the complainant and respondent and other involved individuals, as well as to prevent retaliation or reprisal. Individuals who violate this policy shall be subject to disciplinary or other corrective action.”

The full policies and procedures can be viewed at: http://www.minnstate.edu/board/policy/index.html

KSRQ’s local Community Advisory Board is made aware of the station’s nondiscrimination and equal opportunity policy at the board’s meetings. The board gives input on how KSRQ’s programming, and community and volunteer outreach meets the spirit of the policy.

KSRQ offers programs demonstrating its commitment to language and cultural diversity including:

Beat Latino: celebrates in every hour a different facet of the extraordinary diversity of the Latin & Latino musical universe – from traditional, roots music to the most cutting-edge avant garde. Presented in Spanish and English so that those who enjoy the music will also enjoy the information.

Minnesota Native News: Produced by Ampers, the weekly program covers ideas and events relevant to Minnesota’s Native American communities.

KSRQ offers employment and volunteer opportunities to individuals who are blind and legally blind. One of the station’s volunteer programmers is of Native American heritage. The station is also the recipient of volunteer efforts from senior citizens who create programming that preserves the cultural heritage of jazz and polka music. Station volunteers range in age from high school to 65+.

Through KSRQ’s state Legacy grant, female artists were paid to perform at Thief River Falls’ RiverFest event, including Post Monroe (a female duo). Many independent female artists and artists of color are represented on KSRQ’s daytime mix of alternative and Americana music. A majority of these artists do not receive airplay on other radio stations in our region.

Some other examples of recent KSRQ programming promoting diversity include:

On Minnesota Native News, state legislator Mary Kunesh-Podein, who is Dakota, discussed legislation she introduced to create a task force to address the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.

On Community Voices, Maria Arguenta talked about artistic expressions for Latino students in the Crookston public schools through an exhibition called “Fresh Voices” in East Grand Forks, MN.

KSRQ’s commitment to diversity in its on-air programming and outreach is ongoing.

The station is working with other non-profit organizations in its listening area in an effort to build additional remote studios. One of the goals of this effort is to make it possible for volunteers from all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds to participate in community radio without driving a long distance to our Thief River Falls, MN studios.