We heard from 18 new members during the Saturday Morning Barndance. If Pioneer 90.1 is your vital link to new music and unique local programming, please consider becoming a member. Click here to donate. Thank you!

Northern Air is a one-of-a kind collection of programs featuring Minnesota artists, musicians, authors, filmmakers, and historians.

Supported by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, Northern Air brings you programming from Pioneer 90.1’s Ampers partners statewide, as well as music from Minnesota musicians in all genres.

If you would like your work featured on Northern Air, or if you know of a band or artist we should feature, please let us know!

A new studio at Northland Community and Technical College’s East Grand Forks Campus is the centerpiece of Pioneer 90.1’s spring pledge drive. “Pioneers Heading West” is the theme of the drive that runs March 30 through April 6. The independent public radio station’s headquarters will remain in Thief River Falls, where the station first went on the air 40 years ago, but the remote studio in East Grand Forks will open the station to involvement from students and staff on Northland’s East Grand Forks Campus.

Plans are for the station’s morning program hosted by station manager Mark Johnson to be broadcast from Thief River Falls, with the afternoon program originating from East Grand Forks with host Ron West. The rest of the program schedule is made up of student hosts from both campuses, volunteer-hosted programs, and syndicated programming.

The pledge drive kicks off Friday, March 30 with a live concert by the band Little Winter at 2PM. It wraps up Friday, April 6 with a Battle of the Bands at 7PM. Both events are at the Northland Community and Technical College Theater in Thief River Falls. Submissions for the Battle of the Bands are being taken through March 29 at www.radionorthland.org. Bands are asked to submit a description of their band and a performance mp3 to ksrq@northlandcollege.edu.

The on-air fund raiser gives fans of Pioneer 90.1 programs a chance to show their support. “The ratings we get tell us how many total listeners we have, but we get a better picture of how much support individual shows have based on the contributions they receive. You know someone really likes a show when they stop in out of the blue with a check for the station. That happens sometimes,” Johnson said.

During pledge week, the station will go on “shuffle” mode, with listeners able to request any song, no matter the genre. “We’ll go to great lengths to play anything that week. We’re going to have fun with this,” Johnson said. The station will also feature community guests to help with the fundraising. “Anybody with a song to sing or a story to tell should stop by. We’ll put them on the air,” Johnson said.

Listeners can contribute any time with a credit or debit card at www.radionorthland.org/support.

Pioneer 90.1 recently added HD Digital multicasting that allows it to broadcast two additional, over-the-air side channels that can be picked up by a digital receiver and online.  The HD-2 channel, “Northern Air,” carries an original mix of Minnesota music and programming featuring Minnesota culture. Pioneer 90.1 HD-3 is a blend of oldies from the 50s through the 70s.

Pioneer 90.1 is a member of Ampers, a group of 14 diverse public radio stations located in communities across Minnesota.

1. Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye

2. Shadow Days by Mayer, John

3. Set Fire To The Rain by Adele

4. Simple Song by Shins

5. Charlie Brown by Coldplay

6. We Are Young by Fun. from

7. Shake It Out by 

8. Drive By by Train

9. The Walk by Hawthorne, Mayer

10. Happy Pills by Norah Jones

11. Little Talks by Of Monsters And Men

12. Don’t Stop by Foster The People

13. Hold On by Alabama Shakes

14. Free by Graffiti6

15. Gold On The Ceiling by Black Keys

16. Watching You Watch Him by Hutchinson, Eric

17. Down In The Valley by The Head And The Heart

18. We Take Care Of Our Own by Bruce Springsteen

19. Chains Of Love by Adams, Ryan

20. Video Games by Lana Del Rey from Video Games spun at 9:49am

21. Right Down The Line by Raitt, Bonnie

22. Love Interruption by White, Jack

23. Ghost by Michaelson, Ingrid

24. Ships In The Night by Kearney, Mat

25. I Won’t Give Up by Mraz, Jason

26. California by Delta Spirit

27. Untitled (Love Song) by Counting Crows

28. Look Around by Red Hot Chili Peppers

29. Cough Syrup by Young the Giant

30. The Bad In Each Other by Feist

Congratulations to Mucky Peat and the Macrophytes, winners of Pioneer 90.1’s Battle of the Bands.

Northland’s New Media students are working on a half-hour radio special consisting of the band’s music and an interview to be aired on Pioneer 90.1 and archived on radionorthland.org.

Mucky Peat and the Macrophytes will return to Northland Community & Technical College for a headlining performance in May.