View source for Telefarm Towers Shoreview

'''Telefarm Towers Shoreview''' is a transmission site for [[FM radio]] and [[television]] [[broadcasting]] in [[Shoreview, Minnesota]] consisting of two [[guy-wire|guyed]] towers.  The towers, commonly called simply the ''Shoreview Towers'' by locals, are owned by '''Telefarm, Inc.''', which is a company jointly owned by the [[Minneapolis-St. Paul|Twin Cities]] stations [[WCCO-TV|WCCO]] channel 4, [[KSTP-TV|KSTP]] channel 5, and [[KARE]] channel 11.  The towers are used for both analog and [[digital television]] broadcasts, plus the transmission of [[KSTC-TV|KSTC]] channel 45 (owned by the same company as KSTP) and [[WUCW]] channel 23.  Some area radio stations also use the facility.  The towers were initially built in the 1970s, and were replacements for a single "candelabra" style tower which collapsed just prior to completion in 1971, killing six workers on the tower and one on the ground.

The towers were upgraded at the turn of the century to allow the addition of digital TV transmitters to meet [[Federal Communications Commission]] requirements.  Because each antenna assembly weighs many [[ton]]s, the towers had to be strengthened.  Work took a bit longer than expected, and KSTP notably used its original broadcast tower along [[University Avenue (Minneapolis-St. Paul)|University Avenue]] in [[St. Paul, Minnesota]] for digital transmission for about a year starting in late 1999 before the construction was finished.

Upgrades to the first tower were completed in 2000.  It now rises 437.7 meters (1436 ft) from the ground.  Its geographical coordinates are {{coord|45|03|44.0|N|93|08|22.0|W|}}.

Work on the second tower, which rises 438.3 m (1438 ft), was finished in 2001.  It is located at {{coord|45|03|45.0|N|93|08|22.0|W|}}.

==See also==
*[[KMSP TV Tower]] &ndash; another major tower in Shoreview
*[[List of masts]]

==References==
*(November 8, 1999). [http://www.contelec.com/11-08-99-2.php KSTP-TV to flip the switch for DTV.] (press release)
*(January 30, 1998). [http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/1998/02/02/focus2.html TV, radio towers prep for digital overload.] Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal.

{{ntnes}}
[[Category:Guyed masts]]
[[Category:Towers in Minnesota]]