By David Olson, InForum
Ken Bartz, who died July 19 at the age of 73, never found his dream job.
He made it himself.
A little over ten years ago, after decades of working as an engineer constructing and troubleshooting radio stations for others, Bartz launched a radio station of his own — Ken's FM, which lived at 89.1 on the FM dial.
On the station's website, Bartz described his operation as an independent, locally owned public radio station covering Fargo-Moorhead and the lakes region of west central Minnesota.
Officially known as KNNZ, Ken's FM and its 100,000 watts of broadcasting power followed an adult modern rock format with local music throughout the day and feature stories at the top of the hour.
It also broadcast local weather updates and live broadcasts of local music events.
Ken's FM projected an underground radio vibe, which was doubly fitting as Bartz operated the station out of a studio located in the basement of his north Fargo home.
The station's radio signal was broadcast via a tower located near Barnesville, Minn., which Bartz monitored remotely.
In a 2015 interview, Bartz told The Forum that as a boy he used paper route money to order a transistor radio from the Montgomery Ward catalog.
At night, the native of Beach, N.D., listened to far-away AM super stations like KOMA in Oklahoma City and WLS in Chicago and dreamed of owning his own rock 'n' roll radio station.
As an adult, Bartz gravitated toward the world of broadcasting, working as a radio engineer and DJ for many years.
He became well known for a radio show he produced in the 1990s called Manchester Avenue, which became popular among lovers of British pop and alternative music in general.
Bartz said in 2015 that after creating Ken's FM, the public radio station relied on sponsorships, public donations and his own income as a broadcast engineer to stay on the air.
Ultimately, Bartz also came to depend on local artists who found a friendly ear and venue at Ken's FM and in return gave their time and energy to help Bartz cope with the demands of operating a radio station.
Adam Bursack was one of them.
Bursack was a boy when he discovered Manchester Avenue and he says the show's musical offerings inspired him in a way mainstream music did not.
When Bursack started his own band, Venus in Furs, he said Bartz discovered the group through word of mouth and gave it air time on Ken's FM.
Bursack became a regular guest on Bartz's broadcasts and eventually started his own show — Adam's Archive — which aired Sunday nights on Ken's FM starting in 2018.
With Bartz's passing, Bursack said Ken's FM is now off the air and he isn't sure what will happen to the station.
"It was really his (Bartz's) dream to have that station and I know it is something he told many of us he wanted to continue after he was gone.
"I certainly hope it can in some form," said Bursack, who noted that Bartz helped dozens of local bands and musicians get their start.
Trevour Meyer, now an artist living in Detroit Lakes, Minn., said he, too, discovered Manchester Avenue in his youth.
Not long after Bartz started Ken's FM around 2013, Meyer said he was randomly checking out the FM dial one day when he came upon a station playing a song by an obscure British band.
Intrigued, Meyer did a little checking and was delighted to discover Ken's FM was essentially the alter ego of the man who produced Manchester Avenue all those years ago.
Meyer and Bartz became friends and Meyer said he began helping Bartz with many aspects of Ken's FM, including things like promotion.
"It's been a huge loss," Meyer said of Bartz's death. "There's still a lot of grieving going on," he added.
In his 2015 interview with The Forum, Bartz had advice for anyone pursuing a passion, no matter how long or difficult the journey might seem.
"Don't ever give up on it," Bartz said.
Korsmo Funeral Home in Moorhead is in charge of arrangements for Bartz.
Details regarding services were not available at the time this story was published.
