Clean Water Land & LegacyMinnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund

The MN Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund receives 19.75 percent of the sales tax revenue resulting from the Legacy amendment to support arts, arts education and arts access, and to preserve Minnesota’s history and cultural heritage.  Based on curr

KMOJ Sex Trafficking; The New Slavery and Breaking Free

This one-hour, two-part radio documentary is a follow up to the exploration of the impact commercial sexual exploitation has on our entire community, as well as efforts to end this form of modern-day slavery. Sex trafficking serves a market built on exploitation, violence, and brutality. This program zeros in a breaking free from “the life”; through strategies and resources being developed to help youth become free of this exploitation and oppression.  We will learn how various partners, including law enforcement and lawmakers, along with inspiring survivors and dedicated activists, are all coming together with a unified goal: to stop sex trafficking in our community.

KMOJ’s Dancing with the DJs

KMOJ will feature up and coming DJs who will show off their talents during the 12 days of the Minnesota State Fair.  Fairgoers will have a chance to show off their favorite dance moves as our Urban DJs spin music reflecting their personal music styles which will include R&B, Hip-Hop, Salsa, and much more! Three to four different DJs will be featured each of the days of the Fair.

  • Increased exposure for local DJs to the greater community
  • Create increased awareness of a unique form of artistry that can enhance careers like it did for Herbie Hancock through unorthodox use of vinyl on turntables and demonstrating that even high school students can pursue and thrive in similar career paths
  • Many students attend the Minnesota State Fair so this project will increase student exposure to these artists
  • An increase in the number of local artists who have their work showcased through public broadcasting

The Ice: Expanding the Reach of Minnesota’s 1st Urban Hip-Hop Format

This new HD Channel, found at KMOJ-FM 89.9 HD2, is Minnesota’s first Urban Hip-Hop format. The Ice presents and develops culturally specific public affairs programming in keeping with its community radio FCC license. To increase the reach of The Ice and awareness of the New radio station aimed at the 18-24 marketplace. This project will expand the new station’s reach by creating a dedicated website for The Ice as well as creating a live stream.

KMOJ is creating and researching the issues around Housing in the greater Twin Cities area as well as Minnesota.  There are laws protecting tenants from predatory landlords, however, KMOJ has found that many tenants are not aware of their rights. Also, even though KMOJ serves the Twin Cities marketplace, there are starkly different housing ordinances between the two communities. In our preliminary research, KMOJ has also  learned there are people who work full-time jobs, and are homeless because of the lack of affordable housing. KMOJ will bring these and other facts to life in a series of specials as we take a 360-look at housing the Twin Cities.

“Housing First”

In this program KMOJ Host Freddie Bell shines a light on how housing challenges affect people in our
communities. Homeownership is the pathway to true equality and prosperity. But racial covenants on
property titles in the early 20th century created structural barriers to safe housing and wealth building.
The program explores how these restrictions served as powerful obstacles for people of color seeking
safe and affordable housing. And we look at what is now being done to mediate the effects of these
historical inequities, and current efforts to create more affordable housing in the twin cities, as well as
what is being done to end homelessness in our communities. Check out the podcasts and LISTEN ON DEMAND

The program features: Daniel Bergin, a filmmaker and longtime producer with Twin Cities PBS, speaking
about his film “Jim Crow of the North”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWQfDbbQv9E

Researchers from Mapping Prejudice speaking about their project which visualizing the hidden histories
of race and privilege in the urban landscape. https://www.mappingprejudice.org/

We hear from Laronda Lake about her path out of homelessness. We hear from Lorrhonda Byrd, MHHA,
Program Coordinator at The Link Minnesota. http://www.thelinkmn.org/

Neeraj Mehta, Director of Learning for the McKnight Foundation, shares key insights about housing
policies and their impact on residents. And we hear from Seanne Thomas, with ABC REALTY, LLC, and the
East Side Development Corporation.

KMOJ’s “Housing First” programming was made possible by funding from the Minnesota Arts and
Culture Heritage Fund.