February 2011

MICHIGAN:
West Central Michigan Media Ministries is buying the construction permit for WUMI/90.3 (Newberry) from Korkee, Inc. for $2,500. The buyer owns one station in the lower peninsula and has a CP for another. The WUMI CP expires this May 16, but the buyer will be able to ask for an 18-month extension from the FCC. The current CP calls for 70kW/62m from the WNBY/1450 tower. (2/18/2011)

WISCONSIN:
Midwest Communications is buying the construction permit for a new station on 98.9 licensed to Two Rivers from Tri-County Radio for $200,000. Tri-County won the CP in an FCC auction last year with a $49,000 bid, more than a decade after it and three other groups applied for the frequency. The current CP calls for 6kW/68m (class A) from a tower just south of Manitowoc, with the main coverage area reaching to the northern edge of Sheboygan. Midwest also owns four stations in the Sheboygan market and eight stations in the Appleton and Green Bay markets. (2/14/2011)

WISCONSIN:
Sturgeon Bay SDA Church is donating the construction permit for WQQA/91.7 (Forestville) to Radio 74 Internationale. There is no written agreement and no money will be exchanged. The CP is for 4kW/72m from a tower near Algoma. (2/14/2011)

IOWA:
Northwestern College is buying K245AZ/96.9 (Dubuque) from Horizon Christian Fellowship for $10,000. Nortwestern plans to use the translator to relay KNWS-FM/101.9 (Waterloo). (2/14/2011)

MANITOBA:
Golden West Broadcasting has applied to increase the power of its "Ignite 107" (CFEQ-FM/107.1 Winnipeg) from 920W to a full 100kW. The station would move its transmitter from downtown Winnipeg to the CBC tower in Starbuck and increase antenna height from 92m to 223m (class A to C1). CFEQ says the target audience of its licensed format, Christian alternative rock, is extremely narrow and says its current signal is unable to provide consistent or adequate service to its target audience. Golden West says the economic losses have mounted since it bought CFEQ in 2008, and says the station cannot successfully operate under the current technical parameters for the long-term. Here's a comparison of the current and proposed coverage areas. (2/14/2011)

IOWA:
Educational Media Foundation is buying KXGM-FM/89.1 (Hiawatha-Cedar Rapids) and plans to flip the station to its Air-1 Christian Hits network, according to the station's website. EMF will pay Extreme Grace Media $265,000 for KXGM-FM and its translators in Iowa City, Waterloo, Waverly, Marshalltown, Dyersville, and Mount Vernon. The deal does not include KXGM/850 (Waterloo), which went silent in late 2009 after losing its transmitter site and could lose its license if it can't return to the air this month. (2/9/2011)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
Two AM-on-FM translators are coming to northeastern South Dakota. Armada Media is buying translator K296FW/107.1 (Aberdeen) to use as a translator of "ESPN 1420" (KGIM Aberdeen), and K255BP/98.9 (Milbank) to use as a translator of Classic Hits KMSD/1510 (Milbank). It'll pay Horizon Christian Fellowship $9,000 for K296FW and $6,000 for K255BP. Both are licensed for 250 Watts, the maximum allowed for translators, but are currently off the air. (2/7/2011)

NEBRASKA:
Home Field Communications, LLC is buying KOLB/93.7 (Firth), which has the potential to be upgraded to serve the Lincoln market. The buyer will pay VSS Catholic Communications $250,000 for the station. Home Field Communications is headed by James Keck of Lincoln, who owns 40 percent of the company; Ronald Romero of Lincoln owns the other 60 percent. VSS originally intended KOLB to be its Lincoln-area signal but no longer needed it after buying the former KBZR/102.7 (Lincoln) and converting it to KVSS/102.7 (Papillion-Omaha), which also serves Lincoln. KOLB currently transmits from near Firth with 310 Watts but has a construction permit to move its transmitter closer to Lincoln with 6kW, giving it rimshot coverage of the capital city.

Meanwhile, VSS says it's halfway through fundraising for projects in central and northeastern Nebraska. It needs a total of $280,000 to sign on a new station at 88.3 in Hartington, and $160,000 to upgrade KBTK/91.5 (Grand Island) to reach Hastings and Kearney. To make way for the latter upgrade, VSS paid the University of Nebraska $10,000 to move KLPR/91.3 (Kearney) to 91.1 late last year. (2/7/2011)

WISCONSIN:
The FCC has granted Results Broadcasting a construction permit for a new AM station in Shawano. The new station will broadcast on 1460, sharing the WTCH/960 tower site, using 1kW day and 620W night with the same directional antenna pattern day and night. Results Broadcasting owns WTCH, WOWN/99.3, and WTCH translator W243CM/96.5, as well as AM-FM combos in Clintonville and Antigo. (2/6/2011)

NORTH DAKOTA:
What was slated to be a new Jamestown-area commercial FM station may turn out to be a Valley City-area station instead. Michael Greene has applied to move the construction permit for a new station on 99.1 about 70 miles east, changing from the current 100kW/153m CP tower site near Medina to a tower near Valley City using 90kW/67m. The CP, which does not yet have a callsign, would change its community of license from Gackle to Tower City. The application says Greene has been unable to secure a tower site that can provide city-grade service to Gackle. (2/3/2011)

NEBRASKA:
All Access reports the new 107.7 (Hay Springs-Chadron) will carry a Rock format with the pending callsign of KBPY. Kathleen R. Brown's Chadrad Communications, which also owns KCSR/610 (Chadron), bought the construction permit from Big Cat Broadcasting last year for $85,000. The current CP is for 100kW/150m (class C1) from a tower south of Chadron, but the station has applied for 50kW/144m (class C2) from a tower near Hay Springs. (2/2/2011)

MICHIGAN:
Darby Advertising has applied to move the construction permit for WUPN/94.7 (Paradise) into the Sault Ste. Marie market. The station would move to 95.1 and use 25kW/73m (class C3) from a tower along Whitefish Bay midway between Paradise and Sault Ste. Marie. The current CP calls for 25kW/2m from a tower near Whitefish Point.

The proposed facility is short-spaced with a vacant allotment for a new class C (100kW/600m) station on 95.5 in Sault Ste. Marie, ON, but WUPN contends the application should be approved because any interference to the possible future Canadian station would be in a small area on the U.S. side of the border. WUPN would also use a directional antenna to protect a vacant class C allotment on 95.1 in Chapleau, ON.

Darby Advertising is headed by Kent Smith and also owns a station in the lower peninsula. Smith also owns Newberry Radio, LLC, which operates four stations owned by Radioactive, LLC elsewhere in the upper peninsula. Smith's father, David Smith, is the licensee of WMJT/96.7 (McMillan-Newberry). Four of the stations carry broad Classic Hits formats branded as "The Eagle."

The Twin Soos currently have six stations on the U.S. side of the border owned by Sovereign Communications and two on the Canadian side owned by Rogers Broadcasting. Another station, WIHC/97.9 (Newberry), went silent last year citing the poor economy after owner Northern Star Broadcasting sold its other stations to Sovereign. (2/2/2011)