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MPR started 50 years ago with the Cleveland Orchestra

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Today's Morning Edition music is based on something happening this Sunday. That's a day that marks the 50th anniversary of the first broadcast on what would become the Minnesota Public Radio network.

According to MPR founder and longtime president Bill Kling, this is the first thing that listeners heard: The Cleveland Orchestra.

He recalls that it was not the original plan, but there were technical difficulties getting that first station, KSJR, on the air.

That's one of the stories you'll hear on our special anniversary program on Sunday. In addition to the story of how this network started, we'll play selections from our news archive and talk about how past coverage of issues like politics, immigration and the environment inform our current reporting.

Tune in Sunday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.