KSMQ-TV

Austin–Rochester–Albert Lea, Minnesota Mason City, Iowa United States
Channels	Digital: 20 (UHF) Virtual: 15
Branding	KSMQ
Programming
Affiliations	15.1: PBS for others, see § Subchannels
Ownership
Owner	KSMQ Public Service Media, Inc.
History
First air date	December 1971 (52 years ago) (1971-12)[1]
Former call signs	KAVT-TV (1971–1984)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 15 (UHF, 1971–2009)
Call sign meaning	Southern Minnesota Quality
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	28510
ERP	319.2 kW
HAAT	302.7 m (993 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	43°38′34″N 92°31′36″W / 43.64278°N 92.52667°W / 43.64278; -92.52667
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	www.ksmq.org

KSMQ-TV (channel 15) is a PBS member television station in Austin, Minnesota, United States. The station is locally owned by KSMQ Public Service Media, Inc. KSMQ-TV's studios are located on West Oakland Avenue in Austin, and its transmitter is located in rural east-central Mower County, northwest of Ostrander.

History

The station signed on the air in December 1971^[1] as KAVT-TV, broadcasting on analog UHF channel 15 from a transmitter located near Austin. It was owned by the Austin school board. The station changed to the current KSMQ callsign in 1984. The school board sold the station to KSMQ Public Media, a community group, in 2004.

While much of the station's programming comes from PBS (it has been a member station since its inception), the station features additional programming supplied by numerous sources, including the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) and American Public Television (APT). In the mid-2000s, the station signed on its digital signal on UHF channel 20 from the Ostrander tower shared by Fox affiliate KXLT-TV (channel 47).

KSMQ produces a wide variety of local content, including a weekly arts program, Off 90; On Q, a weekly public affairs program; and the agricultural education program Farm Connections. Additionally, since 2012, the station has produced documentaries focused on topics of regional concern, including immigration and school bullying. During election years, KSMQ produces and broadcasts panel discussions featuring every state legislative district in its viewing area. KSMQ is the recipient of five regional Emmy Awards for excellence in its locally produced programs. On May 2, 2015, KSMQ was presented with the Commanders' Award for Public Service by the U.S. Army. The Commanders' Medal, the fourth-highest Army decoration bestowed to civilians, was given to KSMQ Public Television for its continuing educational and marketing efforts supporting its 2013 World War II documentary The Typist.

During the early morning of September 5, 2012, KSMQ's STL tower collapsed due to straight-line winds as severe thunderstorms moved through the Austin area, partially falling onto a building that housed the station's power equipment. There were no injuries.^[3] The station set up alternate transmitter facilities the following evening by installing a microwave dish atop its studios and manually redirecting it at its transmitter near Grand Meadow.^[4] While insurance covered the costs of constructing a new broadcast tower, the station subsequently set up a fund for the construction due to a minimum $7,000 deductible that the station owed.^[4] In December 2013, the station recouped a portion of its loss from an insurance settlement.

KSMQ has been digital-only since May 1, 2009.^[5]

Subchannels

The station's signal is multiplexed: