January 2015

NEBRASKA:
New low-power FM station KOWN-LP/95.7 (Omaha) is on the air carrying Hip-Hop as "The Boss."

Meanwhile, the FCC has granted Malcolm X Memorial Foundation and North Omaha Loves Jazz Cultural Arts and Humanities Complex construction permits for new low-power FM stations on 101.3. The stations will share time and both use the same transmitter site. (1/28/2015)

WISCONSIN:
The FCC has approved a time sharing agreement involving three low-power FM stations on 101.3 in the Milwaukee area. Inner City Development Project will use the frequency from 12 to 8 a.m., Kettle Moraine Community Radio will use it from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Faith Community Development Corporation will use it from 4 p.m. to Midnight. Kettle Moraine Community Radio's WFAQ-LP is already licensed to Mukwonago on 92.9, but its rural coverage area is far out of Mukwonago. WFAQ-LP's new coverage area will include Mukwonago. The other two stations will be licensed to Milwaukee. (1/28/2015)

WISCONSIN:
Wausau's "Sports Fan 100.5" (WDTX Rothschild) switched from ESPN Radio to NBC Sports Radio on Monday (1/26), saying the move was not its idea. A statement on the station's website says it wanted to continue the same agreement it had with ESPN, but that the network "decided go in another direction." "Sports Fan 100.5" carries a local sports talk show from Noon to 2 and Mike Heller, syndicated from Madison, from 2 to 5. (1/27/2015)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
ABC affiliate KABY/9 (Aberdeen), a satellite of KSFY/13 (Sioux Falls), has gone off the air due to unexpected tower problems. According to a notification of suspension of operations filed with the FCC, KABY went off the air Jan. 11 because its tower did not pass a recent inspection and had to be deconstructed. A notice posted on KSFY's website says, "We are assessing our options to determine when, if and how it may be possible to transmit the KABY signal in the future." The station has a long history in the area, having started in 1958 as NBC/ABC affiliate KXAB-TV before becoming a satellite of KSOO-TV, now KSFY. KABY continues to provide a feed to cable systems, while satellite TV viewers in the Aberdeen area receive KSFY. The stations are owned by Gray TV. (1/27/2015)

NORTH DAKOTA/MINNESOTA:
Gopher Communications, owner of KROX/1260 (Crookston, MN), is buying an FM translator that could potentially be moved to Crookston. It's paying Horizon Christian Fellowship $40,000 for K291BT/106.1 (Grand Forks). K291BT is currently licensed for 99 Watts from Grand Forks. (1/27/2015)

MINNESOTA:
Southern Twin Cities metro translators K218DK/91.5 (Bloomington) and K293BA/106.5 (Elko) have switched to the "Kinship Christian Radio" format of KJLY/104.5 (Blue Earth) following their sale to KJLY owner Minn-Iowa Christian Broadcasting. The translators had previously carried the "Refuge Radio" Christian Hits format originating at WJRF/89.5 (Duluth), and K218DK had been one of WJRF's oldest translators. The duo represents the northernmost reach of the "Kinship" network, which includes eleven other translators and six full-power stations stretching into central Iowa. (1/26/2015)

ILLINOIS/IOWA:
A belated note that WDLM/960 (East Moline-Quad Cities) switched to Spanish-language Christian programming from Radio Moody on Jan. 5. Sister station WDLM-FM/89.3 continues to carry English-language Christian programming from Moody Radio, which made a similar move with its AM station in Chicago three years ago. (1/26/2015)

MANITOBA:
Canadian regulators have denied an application for a new ethnic commercial FM station in Winnipeg. Gill Broadcasting had applied for a 1.8kW/55m (class A) station on 92.9, a frequency left vacant when Red River College/Cre-Comm Radio's CKIC-FM went silent in 2012. The station would have carried a minimum of eleven different languages per week, with Punjabi/Hindi accounting for the largest amount at 70 hours. The CRTC found that the proposed station's format would overlap with Dufferin Communications' CKJS/810, and that the market would be "highly challenged" to sustain a second ethnic station. It also rejected one intervenor's request that the CRTC make call for applications for new radio stations, stating that 92.9 is not the last available frequency in Winnipeg. (1/22/2015)

NORTH DAKOTA:
The FCC has upheld its decision to grant a construction permit for a new FM station in the Jamestown market to Christopher Falletti, throwing out a petition to deny from Two Rivers Broadcasting, which had competed with Falletti in a 2012 auction for the new station on 92.3 licensed to Medina. Two Rivers is owned by Janice Ingstad, whose companies own six stations in the Jamestown/Valley City area. Falletti's original application specified use of a tower owned by Ingstad, but Two Rivers says Falleti never had reasonable assurance that he would actually be able to use the tower. Falletti later amended his application to specify a different tower. The FCC says its rules do allow winning bidders for new stations to make curative amendments to their applications, meaning Falleti's original application was not fatally flawed. Falletti has until July 6 to build the new station, which will use 60kW/98m (class C1). It does not yet have a callsign. (1/22/2015)

ONTARIO:
CBC/Radio-Canada is seeking permission for a large downgrade to its CBC Radio One station in Dryden. CBQH/100.9 currently uses 100kW/120m (class C1) and would drop to 1.3kW/105m (A). It would also relocate its transmitter from a site east of town to a TBayTel tower in town also used by Radio-Canada station CKSB-6-FM/102.7 and commercial station CKDR-FM/92.7. The downgrade would remove about 3,000 people from CBQH's total coverage area, representing about 20 percent of the current potential audience. CBC says the existing tower is deteriorating but did not explain why it's also seeking a downgrade, though it cited budget challenges as the reason for recent downgrades in Fort Frances. In recent years it has also cut staff in Thunder Bay and shut down the vast majority of its TV transmitters, including the one that had served Dryden. (1/22/2015)

MICHIGAN:
New low-power FM station WNOA-LP/103.9 (Marquette) is on the air carrying Catholic programming. The 100-Watt station is owned by Claves Regni Ministries, doing business as Northern Apostle Radio. (1/22/2015)

MINNESOTA:
In what is starting to seem like a daily occurrence, plans for a new national DTV subchannel network have been announced. FOX Television Stations will launch the new Buzzr network in all 17 of its markets, which include Minneapolis, this summer. Buzzr will carry classic game shows, a genre virtually ignored by the dozens of existing subchannel networks. FOX's owned and operated stations in Minneapolis are KMSP (RF 9) and WFTC (RF 29), which carry FOX on 9.1 and 9.9, MyNetworkTV on 9.2, Movies! on 9.3, and Bounce on 9.4. (1/20/2015)

WISCONSIN:
A new FCC filing clears up recent changes at a pair of north-central Wisconsin radio stations. Control of Barracuda Broadcasting/Quicksilver Broadcasting, licensee of WMZK/104.1 (Merrill-Wausau) and WJMT/730 (Merrill), has returned to its previous owners after a judge vacated a ruling appointing a receiver for the company. The court had appointed John Wirth to act as receiver on Nov. 25 and the FCC approved the transfer of control in December, but Wirth was removed as receiver in a Jan. 5 order. That means David Winters again has control of the companies. WMZK reverted to its previous "Z104" Classic Rock format days after the court order, dropping an eight-month old "Magic 104" Hot Adult Contemporary format that had been implemented by Michael Enfelt's Radio One Communications, LLC when it was operating the stations through a time brokerage agreement. (1/20/2015)

IOWA:
FOX affiliate KYOU-TV/15 (Ottumwa) has added Grit on channel 15.2, with a slide saying sister subchannel network Escape is coming soon to 15.3.

Meanwhile, KWKB (Iowa City-Cedar Rapids) has dropped channel 20.2 after the market's Antenna TV affiliation moved to KCRG-DT/9.3 (Cedar Rapids). KWKB carries CW on its main channel. (1/20/2015)

MINNESOTA:
Justice Network launches nationally on Tuesday evening with affiliates including channel 11.3 of KARE (Minneapolis). The new subchannel carries "true crime" programs with an initial lineup consisting almost entirely of shows which previously aired on the truTV cable channel. KARE carries NBC on 11.1 and WeatherNation TV on 11.2. (1/20/2015)

NORTH DAKOTA:
Movies! Network is coming to former CBS affiliate KRDK-TV/4 (Valley City-Fargo), according to a press release reported by TVNewsCheck on Monday. It's not immediately clear whether KRDK will carry Movies! on its primary channel or a subchannel. As reported last week, the station formerly known as KXJB recently returned to the air as KRDK carrying infomercials on channel 4.1. Reception reports have indicated that the station is also broadcasting several subchannels with no programming at the moment. Ravi Kapur's Major Market Broadcasting bought the station from Parker Broadcasting last year as Gray TV moved KXJB's longtime CBS affiliation to KVLY-TV/11.2 (Fargo). (1/19/2015)

NEBRASKA:
The FCC has approved another duopoly in the Lincoln-Tri Cities market, allowing Pappas Liquidating Trust to buy FOX affiliate KFXL-TV/51.1 (Lincoln) from Stanley Trapp for $300,000. Pappas also owns ABC affiliate KHGI/13 (Kearney), which carries KFXL-branded FOX programming on channel 13.2, and has been operating KFXL through a local marketing agreement. Though the Lincoln-Tri Cities market is several ownership groups short of the federal minimum for duopolies, the FCC apparently agreed (no statement or letter was released) with Pappas' argument that the sale should be allowed because the two stations' coverage areas do not overlap. Gray TV, owner CBS affiliate KOLN/10 (Lincoln), was previously allowed to create a duopoly in the market through a failing station waiver and eventually converted the station it bought, KSNB/4 (Superior), into an NBC affiliate. KFXL does not carry KHGI's main channel of ABC programming. Lincoln has a separately-owned ABC affiliate, Citadel's KLKN/8, an unusual situation resulting from the market's large geographic size. The other commercial station in the market is Legacy Broadcasting's KNHL/5 (Hastings), a former NBC affiliate which is now silent. (1/19/2015)

IOWA:
A retransmission consent dispute has taken ABC affiliate KCRG-TV/9 (Cedar Rapids) off DirecTV. The station says the original agreement expired Dec. 31, and the outage began on Thursday afternoon (1/15) after two extensions. (1/15/2015)

NORTH DAKOTA:
Reception reports indicate KRDK-TV/4.1 (Valley City-Fargo), formerly KXJB, is back on the air and showing infomercials. Ravi Kapur's Major Market Broadcasting bought the station from Parker Broadcasting last year as Gray TV moved KXJB's longtime CBS affiliation to KVLY-TV/11.2 (Fargo). (1/15/2015)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
KZKK/105.1 (Huron) has gone silent as it prepares to move out of town. Riverfront Broadcasting, which owns stations in Huron and Pierre, bought KZKK from Dakota Communications and obtained a construction permit to move to 92.1, dropping from 6kW to 2kW. It then asked the FCC for special temporary authority to remain silent, stating that KZKK went off the air Dec. 23 after Riverfront completed construction of the 92.1 facility. The filing states that Riverfront plans to apply for a new transmitter site and community of license once the FCC grants a license to cover the frequency change. The Country format that Dakota Communications had run on KZKK had been moved there in 2009 from the former KZNC/99.1 (Huron), which was moved to the Watertown market. Dakota Communications still operates Country-formatted KOKK/1210 (Huron), Classic Rocker KJRV/93.3 (Wessington Springs-Huron), and Hot Adult Contemporary "Tiger 95.3" (KIJV/1340 Huron and translator K237EL/95.3 Huron). (1/15/2015)

WISCONSIN:
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that new subchannel Decades will be carried on channel 58.4 of WDJT (Milwaukee) when the network begins its soft launch Thursday with a binge-watching marathon of its entire classic TV library. The new network, a partnership of CBS and Weigel Broadcasting, will offer a different theme each day with a different schedule of TV shows and movies when it formally launches in May. 58.4 had previously carried Weigel's experimental TouchVision service, which continues to air nationally for an hour in the morning on Weigel's Heroes & Icons Network, seen on channel 49.3 of WMLW (Racine-Milwaukee). Weigel owns both WMLW and WDJT, which carry a combined eight channels including CBS. (1/14/2015)

WISCONSIN:
Live Well Network will live longer, at least in Green Bay. WBAY-TV announced Tuesday that ABC, which runs LWN, has decided to keep the network on the air for "another couple of months," and that WBAY will contine to carry LWN on channel 2.3. Just four days earlier, WBAY had announced that new subchannel network Decades would replace LWN on Friday, Jan. 16. Decades' formal launch isn't until May, but the network is having a soft-launch on Jan. 16 with binge-watching marathons of every show in its library. WBAY also carries ABC on 2.1 and weather programming on 2.2. As previously reported, the Milwaukee and Minneapolis LWN affiliates are among those which have already switched to other networks. (1/14/2015)

IOWA:
It turns out Sioux City will lose a channel due to the national end to Live Well Network. Former LWN affiliate KCAU writes on its Facebook page, "KCAU, at this current time, has no plans to put new programming on our 9.2 channel." 9.2 had carried LWN prior to November, when it began a simulcast if competing NBC affiliate KTIV/4 due to KTIV's transmission problems. The Nexstar station carries ABC on 9.1 and had carried weather programming on 9.2 prior to switching to LWN in 2012. (1/13/2015)

WISCONSIN:
WTMJ-TV (Milwaukee) has switched channel 4.3 to classic TV network Cozi TV, replacing the soon-to-be silent Live Well Network. WTMJ carries NBC on 4.1 and weather programming on 4.2.

In another recent development, WIWN/68.1 (Fond du Lac), which transmits from Milwaukee, has dropped WeatherNation TV following its sale to Milwaukee Media, LLC. It's now carrying Sonlife Broadcasting Network on 68.1 and infomercials on 68.2. (1/13/2015)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
Gray TV is buying a low-power TV station in Rapid City, a move sure to spark speculation about the company's plans in the market. Gray, which operates two big-four affiliations in many small markets, bought FOX 7 (KEVN) last year and is now buying K23KK-D (Rapid City) from DTV America. The deal calls for a purchase price of $100 and a closing simultaneous with DTV America's purchase of a low-power station from Gray in West Virginia. The paperwork also says K23KK-D will apply for a facility change. It's currently licensed for 3kW with a directional antenna pattern and has a construction permit for 3kW non-directional, though the Black Hills limit the signal to the west. Gray also runs the ABC affiliate in Sioux Falls, the NBC and FOX affiliates in Bismarck, the CBS and NBC affiliates in both Fargo and Lincoln, and the CBS, FOX, and NBC affiliates in North Platte. (1/12/2015)

NEBRASKA/IOWA (UPDATED):
Gray TV NBC affiliate WOWT/6 (Omaha) has returned to Cox Cable after a retransmission consent dispute took the station off Cox for about four days. Cox is the major cable provider for Omaha, Council Bluffs, and suburban areas. The dispute also affected Gray stations in Topeka and Wichita. (1/7/2015, updated 1/12)

MINNESOTA:
St. Cloud State University has signed on new low-power FM station KVEX-LP/97.5 (St. Cloud), which is carrying a student-run `90s Alternative format called "Radio X." SCSU also runs longtime Alternative outlet KVSC/88.1 (St. Cloud), which is simulcasting "Radio X" on its HD2 channel. KVSC-HD2 had already been running Alternative Classics. (1/12/2015)

WISCONSIN:
WMZK/104.1 (Merrill-Wausau) has reverted to its previous "Z104" slogan with a Classic Rock format, dropping a "Magic 104" Hot Adult Contemporary format after eight months. The change to Hot AC had come after Michael Enfelt's Radio One Communications, LLC began operating WMZK and WJMT/730 (Merrill) through a time brokerage agreement during the process of purchasing the stations from Barracuda Broadcasting/Quicksilver Broadcasting, but it's not immediately clear who's operating the stations now. In November, a judge appointed John Wirth to act as a receiver for Barracuda/Quicksilver. (1/12/2015)

IOWA:
NBC affiliate KTIV/4 (Sioux City) says it's back at full power after a November transmission line failure. KTIV had been transmitting from a temporary antenna at a lower spot on its tower while new transmission line was installed. KTIV's main NBC channel has also been simulcast on channel 9.2 of competitor KCAU, which will end Monday. (9.2 had previously carried Live Well Network, which is leaving the air nationally -- there's no word yet what will appear next on 9.2.) KTIV also carries CW+ on 4.2 and MeTV on 4.3. (1/10/2015)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
The FCC has finalized a $8,000 fine against Duhamel Broadcasting Enterprises for alleged lighting violations at the KOTA/1380 (Rapid City) tower site. The FCC had proposed a $10,000 fine last year but agreed to reduce the amount based on Duhamel's history of compliance. Duhamel said it had intentionally turned the lights off on its center tower in 2005 based on an informal opinion from a Federal Aviation Administration representative that it would be OK to turn off the lights, but the FCC says the FAA officially denied KOTA's request in 2005 and again after the FCC issued a Notice of Violation in 2013. (1/10/2015)

MANITOBA:
Manitoba has one less TV news operation after Citytv Winnipeg (CHMI/13 Portage la Prairie) canceled "Breakfast Television." Beginning Jan. 12, Citytv will partially simulcast 92.1 CITI-FM's "Wheeler In The Morning with Philly and Rena" from 6 to 9 a.m. Metro News reports that 14 people have been laid off and Citytv will no longer cover news events, but some Citytv employees have been retained to conduct interviews and host entertainment segments when the radio station is playing music. "Breakfast Television," which competed with local morning shows on CTV's CKY-TV/7 and Global's CKND/9, had been Citytv Winnipeg's only news production for years. (1/7/2015)

MINNESOTA:
KSTP-TV (St. Paul), a primary ABC affiliate, will begin carrying Heroes & Icons TV on channel 5.7 on Monday, Jan. 12. H&I replaces Live Well Network, which is leaving the air nationally. Sister station KSTC-TV carries H&I's companion network, Me-TV, on channel 5.3, as well as an independent lineup on 5.2, Antenna TV on 5.4, and This TV on 5.6. (1/6/2015)

MINNESOTA:
After more than four days of stunting, KTWN-FM/96.3 (Edina-Minneapolis) has debuted an Alternative format as "Go 96-3 FM." An introductory message at the format's 3 p.m. Monday debut promised that the new format would be local, diverse, and modern. "Go 96-3" competes primarily with iHeartMedia's "Alt 93.3" (KQQL-HD2 and W227BF) and Minnesota Public Radio's "The Current" (KCMP/89.3). The station had ditched its former "K-Twin" Adult Alternative/Classic Hits format on New Year's Day and stunted with a computerized voice reading random song lyrics and movie quotes. KTWN-FM, which will continue to carry Twins baseball, is a standalone station owned by the Pohlad family's Northern Lights Broadcasting. It has a weaker signal than the major Twin Cities FM stations, broadcasting with 19kW/77m (class C3) from New Hope. (1/5/2015)

MINNESOTA:
Christian broadcaster VCY America has applied to increase the daytime power of WQRM/850 (Duluth) to 50kW, but the station would remain daytime-only and would have to reduce its power to 14kW during critical hours (the hours after sunrise and before sunset). WQRM would keep its existing non-directional antenna site along the St. Louis River in the Gary-New Duluth neighborhood. The power boost would not add any large cities to WQRM's main coverage area, but it would improve fringe coverage of the Iron Range and other rural areas surrounding the Twin Ports. (1/5/2015)

MINNESOTA:
The University of Northwestern-St. Paul has signed on new translator K232EK/94.3 (Rochester), relaying the Contemporary Christian format of KTIS-FM/98.5 (Minneapolis). The 115-Watt translator broadcasts from a tower east of Rochester. (1/3/2015)

DTV SUBCHANNEL CHANGES:
A number of stations added or switched subchannels around the start of the year, many as part of a deal for Sinclair Broadcast Group stations to add Grit TV. The following changes are noted via reception reports or listings:

SOUTH DAKOTA:
KKLS/920 (Rapid City) and its FM translator, K284BA/104.7, emerged from the Christmas holiday with an `80s and `90s "Smash Hits" format. The change follows the station's sale to Homeslice Media Group, which bought KKLS and KBHB/810 (Sturgis) last year from Schurz Communications when Schurz needed to divest stations due to its purchase of a TV station in the market. Prior to the sale, KKLS had run a Classic Hits format as "The Hills," simulcast on K248BT/97.5 (Rapid City). Schurz retained K248BT and turned into a translator of another station. More recently, KKLS and K284BA had been running an Adult Contemporary format before going all-Christmas in November. (1/1/2015)

MINNESOTA:
96.3 "K-Twin" (KTWN-FM Edina-Minneapolis) has ditched its Adult Alternative/Classic Hits format and is stunting with a computerized voice reading random song lyrics and movie quotes. The voice promises that a new local radio station will debut Monday at 3 p.m. KTWN-FM, which also carries Twins baseball, is a standalone station owned by the Pohlad family's Northern Lights Broadcasting. It has a weaker signal than the major Twin Cities FM stations, broadcasting with 19kW/77m (class C3) from New Hope. The "K-Twin" identity has been in use for three years, but ratings have remained low despite playlist tweaks and a few key staffers recently exited the station. (1/1/2015)