The provincial government realized its shortcomings in serving the northern citizens of Saskatchewan, and in 1973, the Department of Northern Saskatchewan (DNS) began producing a new "Northern News" program out of La Ronge. This program was hosted by producer/announcer Barrie Ward, with Indigenous-language content added by Cree and Michif linguists Tom Roberts and Robert Merasty. The new radio program added more northern content and significantly included major Indigenous-language content. The program, however, ended with the provincial government's disbanding of the DNS in 1982.