Call in your pledge at (218) 683-8587, or mail pledges to: PolkaCast Pledge Drive, 1101 Hwy One East, Thief River Falls, MN 56701.

To pledge by credit or debit card, follow this link to the Northland Community & Technical College Foundation’s site. Select KSRQ Pioneer 90.1 Listener Support under “donation intent.”

Pioneer PolkaCast is a non-commercial station. We rely on listener support to continue our operation. About 13 percent of our budget is covered by Northland’s general fund.

Proceeds from the pledge drive help PolkaCast cover operating expenses like tower rent, electricity, web streaming, equipment repair, and engineering.

We are extremely grateful to the businesses and listeners who care enough about the station to support it with a contribution.

Welcome to Pioneer 90.1’s new PolkaCast!

With the help of longtime hosts Ron & Elsie Shereck and Cathy Erickson, we’ve established a tradition of bringing you the best of old-time, polka, and classic country from all across the state of Minnesota.

Now, when The Barndance and Cathy’s Variety Show go off the air, the goodtime music doesn’t stop!

If you are a polka or old-time musician, send us your CD to be played on the PolkaCast.

And if you’d like to host a show, please give us a call at 218-683-8588 or email ksrq@northlandcollege.edu!

Listen 24-7 here online, look for the Pioneer PolkaCast on TuneIn Radio, and check back for updates on our soon-to-be-released app for your mobile device!

The Pioneer PolkaCast is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Two polka and old-time programs on Pioneer 90.1 radio will join forces this Saturday (12/7) to ring in the Christmas season at Northland Community & Technical College.

Ron and Elsie Shereck, hosts of the Saturday Morning Barndance, welcome the Cathy Erickson Band to their live broadcast and Christmas party, held at the Gunderson Commons at Northland’s Thief River Falls campus, Saturday, December 7 from 8AM to noon.

Erickson is the host of “Cathy’s Variety Show,” Monday nights on 90.1 FM, the college’s listener-supported public radio station.

Dancers at 2012 Saturday Morning Barndance Christmas Party

This is the fifth year that the Barndance Christmas Party has been broadcast from the commons area. Prior to 2009, it was a smaller event, with a live band playing to a few audience members gathered in Northland’s Broadcasting department.

 Station manager Mark Johnson said that the December tradition attracts one of the largest audiences of the year for Pioneer 90.1. He said in-person attendance usually averages around 200 people. Many more listen online, over the air, and watch a live video feed at the station’s website, www.radionorthland.org.

This year’s Christmas party will also be the official launch of the Pioneer Polkacast, a new online radio station that streams Minnesota-made polka and old-time music continuously at www.radionorthland.org/polkacast.

The music featured on the 24-7 PolkaCast stream is from the collections of the Sherecks and Erickson. “They have hundreds of CDs by Minnesota musicians that they have collected over the years. We’re very fortunate that they wanted to share this music with us, “ Johnson said.

The station plans to replay the Saturday Morning Barndance and Cathy’s Variety Show later in the week on the Polkacast.

Saturday’s Christmas Party is open to the public. A freewill donation will be accepted at the door to help Pioneer 90.1 continue its Old Time and Polka programming.