New Christian radio station to broadcast from Woodbury

A new noncommercial radio station that hopes to be on the air within the next six months will rely heavily on members of the community to shape the content it programs and even serve as the talent on-air.

Call it radio's version of cable TV's public access, but don't expect low quality, said WAJC-FM General Manager Jill Martin Rische, a Forest Lake resident. "We are going for professional sound."

With the moniker "Radio With a Mission," the 1,200- to 2,000-watt station will be operated by the Religious Information Network and will have Christian programming as its foundation.

But the station, which will broadcast at 88.1 FM from a Woodbury studio, will air a blend of talk and music designed to give people a voice and a place to share their expertise with others.

"We hope to have people design and develop their own programs," said Martin Rische, who noted that shows could cover myriad topics ranging from managing personal finance to auto repair, gardening and beauty tips. "We have a large pool of talent in the Twin Cities and we'd like to tap into that."

The station also plans to take its microphones to high school and youth sporting competitions as well as to art shows, concerts and community events. WAJC-FM plans to broadcast 24 hours a day.

Nothing will go out over the airwaves until the station finishes raising enough money to cover startup costs. Those include installing an antenna, which will most likely go up in Inver Grove Heights, Martin Rische said. The station has raised about $50,000 so far, about half of what is needed, she said.

Martin Rische and her husband, Kevin, who is helping with the efforts, will have a booth at Woodbury Days and plan to hold a meeting Sept. 7 at Central Park in Woodbury to discuss their vision and the rare opportunity to start a commercial-free station in a major metropolitan area.

"It doesn't happen often," she said. "This is like walking on a beach in South Africa and picking up a diamond."

According to the Federal Communications Commission, the governmental agency responsible for regulating radio usage in the United States, WAJC would be the first full-service station to go on the air in the Twin Cities market since WMCN-FM debuted in 1979, said Krista Witanowski, an FCC spokeswoman.

The newest station in the Twin Cities is KUOM-FM, an 8-watt educational station that primarily serves as a translator for KUOM-AM, a University of Minnesota station.

The license granted to WAJC last year by the FCC stipulates that the station must be operating by April 2013 or it must surrender the license.

WAJC takes its first two letters -- WA -- to honor Martin Rische's father, Walter Martin, who was known as "The Bible Answer Man." The last two letters honor Jesus Christ.

Programming won't be narrowly focused, Martin Rische said. With a mosque expected to come to Woodbury soon and a growing Wiccan population in the area, she wants to use the airwaves to allow listeners to learn about different belief systems. She also is inviting people and businesses to host shows on topics of their choice to go along with offerings such as band interviews and spots on artists, athletes and merchants.

Anybody can get involved, she said, and the station will provide training on topics such as lining up guests and how to host a show. The station will produce the shows.

"It will be quality programming," Martin Rische said. "There is a lot of excitement about this."

Tim Harlow • 651-925-5039 Twitter: @timstrib