Walk through the Lake Superior breeze into the doors: You’ll be greeted by Pepperoni (the studio dog-in-residence) and a closet full of vinyl records. Rooms are filled with impressive recording gear and local artwork; a digital mixer and tape player broadcast to the small community—and far beyond.
WTIP North Shore Community Radio sits in an old canoe outfitter building in Grand Marais, Minnesota. Population: 1,500 (-ish). One of those people is Katie Belanger, the station’s development director.
“Our mission is to connect, reflect, and build community on the North Shore,” Belanger says. It’s also a definitive spot for news, resources, and emergency information. “We like to see ourselves as the mouthpiece of what’s happening in the community.”
And there’s a lot happening: Grand Marais is known as an artsy town with undeniable natural beauty. It’s a major tourism hub that brings out creativity in both visiting and Grand Marais folks, who are often multi-dimensional. Local janitors are also prolific musicians. Your engineer neighbor also bakes or knits.
“I think there’s something really special about a community that fosters art and music and outdoor activities and elevates that to a level of importance,” Belanger says.
WTIP is the oldest community radio station broadcasting on Minnesota’s North Shore, the 150+ mile Lake Superior coastline that runs northeast from Duluth to Canada.
It was formed in 1998 by folks gathered around a kitchen table, then moved to a closet (promotion!) in an arts building attached to a local school. Now, the station reaches Canada and across the lake to parts of Wisconsin and Michigan.
KATIE BELANGER, WTIP NORTH SHORE COMMUNITY RADIO“There is something about radio and a community of this size. It holds people accountable in a way that I don’t think exists in a lot of our other modern spaces . . . It forces people to be authentic in a way that’s actually refreshing because people end up being who they really are.”
Local artists fill the airwaves through arts and culture programming. WTIP broadcasts an impressive number of music shows each week—highlighting local events or simply inviting folks to come in and share their top three songs.
“We’re putting a spotlight on [local art],” says WTIP music director Will Moore, who heads all those programs. “If you are an artist or doing any sort of event up here, we want to cover that.”
He went to an open mic night recently, just across the street from the station. Moore says a person from St. Paul, Minnesota, was skiing in the area and stopped in for a visit.
“And he gets up there with this guitar they just had, and he was incredible. I’m like, ‘Dude, how long are you in town? Like, do you want to come on my show?’ And he came on, and it was great,” Moore says.
Instances like this highlight what WTIP staff say is a general lack of ego in the city. It’s reflected in their programming, despite recent funding cuts (by 25%) with the Corporation of Public Broadcasting’s dissolution.
Still, the station puts local art and music on its shoulders, perhaps because the community does the same for WTIP. Local kids participate in end-of-the-school-year programming. Visiting parents of staff members mic up for shows. Art is simply part of the people of Grand Marais.
The station hums with small-town connectiveness, joyful talent, and the Midwestern energy that says, Yeah, we’re kinda rad here.
“There’s always cool people making cool things everywhere,” Moore says. “It doesn’t just have to be like New York and LA. It can be in the middle of the woods.”