April 2002

SOUTH DAKOTA:
KTWB/101.9 (Sioux Falls) morning team Sam and Chris are back on the air after a few days off. (4/23/02)

WISCONSIN:
WLMX-FM/104.9 (Balsam Lake) has been experiencing transmitter problems. The station was at reduced power Friday, off the air Saturday and Sunday, and at reduced power again Monday. (4/20/02, updated 4/21, 4/22)

MICHIGAN:
WIMI/99.7 (Ironwood) is now using the slogan "The Storm." Crosstown WUPM/106.9 morning host Scott Michaels has left for WIMI, and WUPM general manager Chuck Gervasio is now covering mornings. (4/20/02)

MICHIGAN/MINNESOTA/NORTH DAKOTA:
The FCC has granted construction permits for several new low-power TV stations:

MICHIGAN:
Tu-Mar Broadcasting's WOLV/97.7 and WHKB/102.3 (Houghton) have both been granted construction permits for upgrades from their current 6kW-equivalent to 25-kW equivalent. (4/19/02)

MINNESOTA:
Trinity Broadcasting Network has been granted a construction permit for a new 28kW station on channel 49 in Virginia, K49GG. (4/19/02)

MINNESOTA/NORTH DAKOTA:
KNOX/1310 (Grand Forks) has announced that its owner, Leighton Enterprises, is purchasing KCNN/1590 and KZLT/104.3 (East Grand Forks) from Dave Norman's KRAD Inc. (Those are the former call letters of the stations.) The Grand Forks Herald reports that Leighton will run the stations before the sale is finalized through a lease management agreement. Leighton also owns KNOX-FM/94.7 and KYCK/97.1, and Clear Channel owns the other five stations in the market. (4/16/02)

WISCONSIN:
Acme Television is buying UPN57 (WHPN Janesville-Madison) and plans to turn the station into a WB affiliate. Cable-only "TVW", which is associated with WISC/3, currently carries The WB in the Madison area. (4/16/02)

IOWA:
The Iowa TV Webpage reports that reports that the owners of KWWF/22 (Waterloo) hope to have the station on the air in November, since the construction permit expires on November 29. The station is expected to carry UPN. (4/15/02)

IOWA/NORTH DAKOTA:
The FCC has dismissed applications for new low-power FM stations on 102.1 in Creston, IA, and on 98.5 in Jamestown, ND, at the request of the applicants. (4/15/02)

NEBRASKA/WISCONSIN:
The FCC has made some channel allocations, the first step in the long process of putting a station on the air:

• 97.5 is allocated to Pierce, Nebraska, as a class C2 (50kW/150m) station at the request of Pierce Radio. Pierce is near Norfolk.
• 100.5 is allocated to Rosholt, Wisconsin, as a class A (6kW/100m) station at the request of Craig Norlin. Any station using the frequency would have to have its transmitter in the Shantytown area to avoid interference with WIZD/99.9 (Rudolph) and WNCY/100.3 (Neenah). A new station on this frequency has the potential for a good signal into Steven's Point and a fair signal into Wausau.

NEBRASKA:
The KOLN/KGIN translator in Cambridge has moved from channel 25 to channel 30, the O'Neill translator has moved from 34 to 43, and the Neligh translator has moved from 28 to 53. (4/15/02, updated 4/16)

WISCONSIN/MINNESOTA:
Midwest Communications' WDSM/710 (Superior-Duluth) has begun a News/Talk format, with a lineup including Imus in the Morning, Tom Martino, Sean Hannity, and Michael Savage. CNN News runs on the hour. Perhaps this is a sign of the times for AM radio: Midwest owns three AM stations in the Duluth market (KDAL/610 and KXTP/970 are the others), and all three run a variety of the News/Talk/Sports genre. All of the AM stations in Duluth-Superior run some form of non-music programming. (4/10/02)

MINNESOTA:
Twin Hearts Media is purchasing KSMM/1530 (Shakopee-Minneapolis) from North Star Broadcasting for $850,000. Twin Hearts is a non-profit group formed last year to bring a radio station for Catholics back to the Twin Cities. The organization has been buying an hour of airtime per day to air EWTN Radio's "Catholic Answers Live" from 5-6 p.m. for about a month now. Otherwise, KSMM is currently spanish-language as "La Tremenda," a format run by Selwyn Ortega's Las Americas Corporation. Twin Hearts Media is owned equally by Barb Piper of Coon Rapids, Doug Heider of Lino Lakes, Jeff Cavins of Maple Grove, Mark Hapka of Andover, and Terry Betthauser of Coon Rapids. Twin Hearts intends to operate KSMM as a non-commercial station following the sale. (4/8/02)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
Midcontinent Media's KTWB/101.9 (Sioux Falls) added the slogan "Maximum Country." (4/7/02)

WISCONSIN/MINNESOTA:
Midwest Communication's WDSM/710 (Superior-Duluth) has stopped Sports Talk and is filling the weekend with pop, rock, and blues. The change isn't a complete surprise, since Jim Rome's show had been simulcasting on Midwest's new 970 Radio X, which also carries FOX Sports Radio in addition to other talk programming. A notice posted on the station's website says Bruce Ciskie is moving to Midwest's KDAL/610, where he'll be heard from 6-10 p.m., while the Packers, Badger Football, the Timberwolves, and high school sports will still be heard on 710. WDSM is the fourth format or name change in Duluth in the last five weeks. (4/6/02)

MINNESOTA/NEBRASKA/WISCONSIN:
If you missed the news earlier this week (like I did), Gray Communications is buying the assets of bankrupt Benedek Broadcasting for $500 million. Benedek's holdings include NBC affilates WOWT/6 (Omaha) and WMTV/15 (Madison), and CBS affiliates KDLH/3 (Duluth) and WSAW/7 (Wausau). (4/6/02)

WISCONSIN:
Clear Channel's Rock 92.1 (WMEQ-FM Menomonie-Eau Claire) is now carrying the syndicated "Bob and Tom" morning show. (4/6/02)

WISCONSIN:
The FCC has dismissed Pine Tree Broadcasting's proposed purchase of WAUH/102.3 (Wautoma) from Raymond I. Cal because a contract was not submitted with the application. (4/6/02)

MINNESOTA/WISCONSIN:
Mix 108 Duluth update: the station is carrying the syndicated Bob and Sheri morning show. (4/5/02)

MICHIGAN:
Northern Christian Radio has been granted a construction permit for a new station on 102.3 in Sault Ste. Marie. The facilities are 22.5kW at 105m, class C3. (4/4/02)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
Country 1000 (KXRB Sioux Falls) has applied to add 100W nighttime power. The station is currently 10kW daytime-only, with a 35-Watt pre-sunrise authority from 6 a.m. to sunrise during the winter months. (4/4/02)

WISCONSIN:
WEAU-DT/39 (Eau Claire) is slated to sign on May 1. More information is available on their website. There are currently no digital stations on the air in the La Crosse-Eau Claire market. (4/4/02)

NORTH DAKOTA/MINNESOTA:
Just when you thought Clear Channel was out of the Country business in Fargo, they're not. Last week, KFGO-FM/101.9 abandoned the format for Classic Rock as "The Box," but now KULW/92.7 has picked up Country as "B93." The new format, replacing Oldies, began this week. Clear Channel also has a construction permit for a new 100kW station on 104.7 licensed to Hope that will also serve the Fargo area. (4/3/02)

MINNESOTA/WISCONSIN:
The new image of KBMX/107.7 (Proctor-Duluth) was unveiled at 4 p.m. today, Monday 4/1. The new name, as the call letters suggest, is "Mix 108," with the positioner "Today's Best Mix." The format remains Hot Adult Contemporary. Earlier in the day, the station had temporarily revived the "Z-Rock" format that aired prior to the current Hot AC. That was followed by an hour of a clock ticking beginning at 3. (4/1/02)

MICHIGAN:
VCY/America has signed on another new station: 500-Watt WVCM/91.5 in Iron Mountain. (4/1/02)

WISCONSIN:
Telemundo affiliate W63CU (Milwaukee) has upgraded from 11.5kW to 137kW. (4/1/02)

MICHIGAN:
Marquette market ABC affiliate WBUP/10 (Ishpeming) has shut down its news department, blaming ABC's decision to stop paying the station to carry its programming. The last newscast aired last week. More information is available on their website, which is also offering the station's news vehicles for sale. The change means NBC affiliate WLUC/6 is once again the only station in the market with local news. (4/1/02)