On May 29, 1922, South Dakota Public Broadcasting began radio programming for the first time. The University of South Dakota held the broadcast license with the original call letters WEAJ, beginning in 1923. The radio state call letters were changed to KUSD in 1925.
This station was one of the oldest educational radio stations in the United States. Then student, E.O. Lawrence, who later won a Nobel Prize in Physics, and USD Dean Lewis Akeley were largely responsible for putting this historic station on the air.
Through the 1970's and 1980's, what we know as the South Dakota Public Radio Network built out nine radio stations and ten radio translators across the state. But as it was from the 1920’s, the primary objective of the radio service is to provide programs of a general educational, informational, and cultural nature.
KUSD television went on air in 1961, the first educational television station in the state. It is now the flagship station for The SDPB network. There was a relocation of the transmitter and a major power increase for KUSD-TV. And two more stations were created KBHE in Rapid City, and KESD near Brookings.
A managing Board of Directors was created to oversee growth of the network. The mandate to Martin Busch, the first Executive Director, and Jim Prusha, the chief engineer, was to construct a system such that every school across the state would have access to in-school instructional television programs.
Additional TV stations completed the network in the 1970’s. In October 2010, SDPB dedicated the Vermillion TV Studio in honor of Martin Busch who also hosted the long-time radio series, "The Bookshop".
But it was on May 29, 1922, SDPB began radio programming for the first time on radio.
Production help is provided by Doctor Brad Tennant, Professor of History at Presentation College.
