April 2012

NORTH DAKOTA/SOUTH DAKOTA:
Cumulus Media and Townsquare Media are trading some stations with the result of Cumulus radio groups in the Bismarck and Sioux Falls markets going to Townsquare. Nationwide, Cumulus will trade 55 stations in 11 markets to Townsquare in exchange for 10 stations in two markets, plus $116 million, from Townsquare. (A complete list of affected markets nationwide is here.) Cumulus says the 11 markets its exiting are "non-strategic." The Bismarck group includes Talker KLXX/1270 (Mandan), Classic Rocker KBYZ/96.5, Contemporary Hits KKCT/97.5, Oldies KACL/98.7, and Country KUSB/103.3 (Hazleton). The Sioux Falls group includes Country KXRB/1000, Talker KSOO/1140, Hot AC KMXC/97.3, ESPN affiliate KSOO-FM/99.1 (Lennox), AC KDEZ/100.1 (Brandon), Classic Rocker KYBB/102.7 (Canton), and Contemporary Hits KKLS-FM/104.7. Cumulus has no other stations in the Dakotas. Townsquare's holdings include existing radio groups in Duluth and St. Cloud. (4/30/2012)

WISCONSIN:
WOVM/91.1 (Appleton) has applied for an upgrade that would add Green Bay and Oshkosh to its main coverage area WOVM currently uses 3.7kW at 126m and wants to upgrade to 30kW, keeping its current antenna height and transmitter location. It would use a directional antenna to prevent interference to stations in Sheboygan, Kiel, and Wausau. WOVM, known as "The Avenue," is owned by Music That Matters, Inc. and carries an Adult Alternative-based format. The station was originally Lawrence University's WLFM and was sold to Catholic broadcaster Starboard Media in 2005, which transferred it to the current owners in 2008. (4/30/2012)

MICHIGAN:
The FCC is considering the deletion of a vacant allotment for 103.9 at Crystal Falls which could have been used for a class C2 (50kW/150m) commercial station. The allotment was put up for auction twice but received no bids. As reported last year, the commission may also delete several unsold Wisconsin allotments: 96.7 Bosobel, 96.3 Owen, and 106.9 Tigerton. (4/30/2012)

MINNESOTA:
Minnesota Public Radio plans to move Classical programming in Ely on May 1 from W269AC/101.7 to K211FR/90.1. K211FR is the former K208CR/89.5, which had carried the Classical service until being bumped off the air by the sign-on of MPR News outlet WIRC/89.3 last year. At that time, W269AC switched from News to Classical. W269AC will relay WIRC beginning May 1 and could conceivably relay an HD subchannel if one is available. (4/30/2012)

MINNESOTA/WISCONSIN:
A translator bumped off the air by the sign-on of WDMO/95.7 (Baldwin, WI) is encountering problems as it tries to get back on the air. W239AM/95.7 (Hudson, WI), which relays the Easy Listening/Nostalgia format of KNXR/97.5 (Rochester), had a construction permit to move to 96.7 and move its transmitter to a residential neighborhood in Woodbury, MN. A filing on April 12 notified the FCC that the new facility was ready to go on the air, but another filing this week indicates it went silent on April 13. The licensee, William Cornwall, tells the FCC that Woodbury officials initially told him no permit was required for the operation but that he later received an inquiry from the city. Cornwall says he was not ordered to take the station off the air but ceased broadcasting as a showing of good faith. (4/27/2012)

NORTH DAKOTA:
FOX has been off Midcontinent Communications' cable systems in western North Dakota for more than two weeks amid a retransmission consent dispute with Prime Cities Broadcasting, owner of FOX affiliate KNDX/26 (Bismarck) and its satellite KXND/24 (Minot). The market also includes Dickinson and Williston, where the stations have translators. The outage began April 8. Midcontinent said this is the second time KNDX's signal has been removed from their system by such a dispute and is reminding customers that the station is also not carried on DirecTV and has also had disputes with DISH Network. (4/27/2012)

NORTH DAKOTA/MINNESOTA:
An FCC filing reveals more information about Scott Hennen's return to partial ownership of "The Flag" (WZFG/1100 Dilworth, MN-Fargo). The buyer is Bakken Beacon Media, LLC, which is co-owned by Hennen and Gary Emineth of Lincoln, NE and has managed KTGO/1090 (Tioga) in the Bakken oil patch since last year. Bakken Beacon Media will pay SMAHH Communications, a subsidiary of Great Plains Integrated Marketing, $960,000 for WZFG and will operate the station before the sale is approved through a local marketing agreement. The deal does not include three other GPIM stations: "Ag News 890" (KQLX Lisbon), "Thunder 106.1" (KQLX-FM Lisbon-Fargo), or 106.9 "The Eagle" (KEGK Wahpeton-Fargo). Bakken states in its WZFG filing that an application to transfer KTGO's license was also filed last week, but the application is not currently available through the FCC's online system. (4/26/2012)

WISCONSIN:
Gray Television's WSAW/7 (Wausau) has increased its power from 16.9kW to 72kW. The station carries CBS on 7.1, My Network TV and syndicated programming on 7.2, and weather on 7.3. Meanwhile, Quincy Newspapers' ABC/CW affiliate WAOW/9 (Wausau), which also transmits on VHF High, has a construction permit to upgrade from 31.6kW to 63.2kW. A number of stations operating digitally on VHF have sought power increases due to reception problems. (4/25/2012)

WISCONSIN:
Sinclair Broadcating's WCGV-TV (Milwaukee) has increased from 650kW to 1,000kW, the maximum power for digital TV stations. WCGV broadcasts on digital channel 25 and carries My Network TV on 24.1 and The Country Network on 24.2. WCGV now theoretically has the largest coverage area in the market since its antenna, at 340m above average terrain, is the highest in Milwaukee. (4/25/2012)

WISCONSIN:
WRDN/1430 (Durand) is back on the air carrying Citadel's Real Country format with local news and farm updates from station co-owner Brian Winnekins, most recently of WCOW/97.1 (Sparta-La Crosse). Durand Broadcasting, owned by Karla and Brian Winnekins, bought the station last year from Zoe Communications for $20,000. WRDN is currently using 152 Watts from a long-wire antenna while a new tower is built. Once construction is complete, WRDN will return to its former daytime power level of 2kW and continue with 152W at night. WRDN and the former WRDN-FM/95.9, now WDMO/95.7 (Baldwin), had run a Durand-focused Country format until Zoe purchased the stations in 2001. (4/24/2012)

IOWA:
Fife Communications' KDNZ/1250 (Cedar Falls-Waterloo) has switched to Oldies as "Cruisin' 1250, The Real Oldies Channel" with CBS News and updates from FOX Sports. "Cruisin' 1250" replaces "Radio Buena," which launched six years ago. "Cruisin' 1250" goes head-to-head with Woodward Communications' "Oldies 1330" (KWLO Waterloo).

KDNZ was originally slated to go silent after KCNZ/1650 signed on. It was one of dozens of AM stations the FCC selected to move to the expanded band (1620-1700) in the 1990's with the plan of taking the old frequencies silent to reduce interference. Due to concerns about reaching listeners with older radios, the FCC initially said the old frequencies could remain on the air for up to five years. However, the FCC has allowed KDNZ and some other stations, including KOIL/1180 (Bellevue-Omaha) and WLMV/1480 (Madison), to remain on the air. It was initially thought that the old frequencies would have to serve minority audiences to stay active, but KDNZ and KOIL are now targetting general audiences. Licensees returned other old frequencies in cities including Iowa City, Des Moines, Sussex-Milwaukee, and West Fargo. (4/23/2012)

MINNESOTA:
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa radio station WGZS/89.1 (Cloquet) is asking the FCC for a power increase. The station, which signed on last year, is asking for a boost from 50kW to 92kW while maintaining its 135m antenna height above average terrain and tower site near Brookston. The station's class would change from C2 to C1. The upgrade would increase WGZS' signal in Duluth, though intermodulation interference in the city poses a problem even for some stations transmitting from the city's main antenna farm. The proposed upgrade is short-spaced with Radio-Canada station CKSB-9-FM/89.1 (Fort Frances, ON), but WGZS is seeking a specially-negotiated agreement since the only area of interference would be on U.S. soil. WGZS is currently broadcasting from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and sporadic weekend programming. (4/20/2012)

NORTH DAKOTA/MINNESOTA:
Talk host and radio executive Scott Hennen announced Thursday (April 19) that he's buying the station he helped launched just a few years back, AM 1100 "The Flag" (WZFG Dilworth, MN-Fargo). Hennen had exited the station after a disagreement with investors. It was not immediately clear whether the sale would include three other stations co-located with WZFG: 106.9 "The Eagle" (KEGK Wahpeton), "Thunder 106.1" (KQLX-FM Lisbon), and "Ag News 890" (KQLX Lisbon). Hennen, appearing as a guest on "The Flag," said programming on the station would focus on Faith, Family, and Freedom. He's seeking input from listeners about which programs "The Flag" should carry. The station is one of four talkers in the market and recently lost the rights to Rush Limbaugh. (4/19/2012)

NORTH DAKOTA:
The Forum of Fargo, in a story about Scott Hennen's pending announcement that he's buying his old station back, reports that Triad Broadcasting's KQWB/1660 (West Fargo) will drop ESPN Radio and become "True Oldies 1660." The change is planned for Monday. Radio Fargo-Moorhead's "The Fan" (KVOX/740 Fargo) will pick up some ESPN programming.

The paper also reports that Radio Fargo-Moorhead is selling ads for 92.7 "The Bone" (KFNL Kindred-Fargo). As earlier reported here, KFNL returned to the air several weeks ago with a Hard Rock format after five years as non-commercial Christian. KFNL is owned by Mediactive, LLC, headed by Robert Ingstad, the nephew of Radio Fargo-Moorhead owner James Ingstad. Triad had objected to the sale of KFNL from Northwestern College to Mediactive, alleging the Ingstads would jointly operate their stations in violation of market caps. The FCC approved the sale after Mediactive said it had no plans at that time to enter an agreement with Radio Fargo-Moorhead. (4/19/2012)

IOWA:
L4 Media Group, the owner of WBXF-CA/4 (Des Moines), has made a number of filings with the FCC in the wake of commission concerns about the company's stations. Last month, the FCC asked why L4 Media Group's thirten low-power TV stations should keep their class A statuses and questioned whether they were even on the air. In a new filing for WBXF-CA, the company says the station has been off the air since April 24, 2011, for financial reasons but that it inadvertendly failed to ask for special temporary authority to remain silent. It said it will return the station to the air by April 24 to avoid license cancellation for being silent more than a year. However, there's no requirement that the station remain on the air for any significant amount of time. (4/19/2012)

IOWA:
"Mix 93.5" (KCVM Hudson-Cedar Falls-Waterloo), which moved from 96.1 in 2010, has now applied to move its transmitter to the northeast and upgrade. KCVM would change its community of license to Evansdale and increase from its present 6kW/99m to 24.5kW/81m from a tower near Dunkerton, upgrading from class A to C3. The move would add Waverly, Oelwein, and Independence to KCVM's main coverage area. Though Hudson has no other broadcast licenses and the FCC generally disapproves of changes that leave a community without a license, KCVM says the move should be allowed because both Hudson and Evansdale are within the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Urbanized Area. KCVM is owned by Fife Communications. (4/18/2012)

IOWA/MINNESOTA:
Two Upper Midwest stations are among the ten winners of Crystal Awards from the National Association of Broadcasters this year: Hubbard Broadcasting's "My Talk 107.1" (KTMY Coon Rapids-St. Paul-Minneapolis) and Fife Communications' "Mix 93.5" (KCVM Hudson-Cedar Falls-Waterloo). The awards recognize stations for their outstanding year-round commitment to community service. Two Hubbard stations in Cincinnati also won Crystal Awards. The complete list is here. (4/18/2012)

NEBRASKA:
Former KFAB/1110 (Omaha) talk host Tom Becka, who recently started a morning show in Fargo, is also returning to the Omaha airwaves. He'll host an afternoon show on KKAR/1290 beginning April 30 and continue his morning duties at KFGO-FM/101.9 (Fargo). Becka will air on KKAR from 4 to 6 p.m., displacing an hour of Sean Hannity and an hour of Mark Levin. (4/18/2012)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
Haugo Broadcasting's KTOQ/1340 (Rapid City) has dropped Conservative Talk for ESPN Radio. The Rapid City Journal reports the switch occured April 1 and the station is also planning to carry the Minnesota Twins. Both ESPN and the Twins had previously been heard on KRKI/99.5 (Newcastle, WY-Rapid City), which is now carrying FOX Sports Radio and the Colorado Rockies. KTOQ's previous lineup had included Laura Ingraham, Dennis Miller, Dave Ramsey, Glenn Beck, Michael Savage, Michael Medved, and FOX News. (4/17/2012)

NORTH DAKOTA:
Meadows Broadcasting has signed on new station KZZQ/101.9 (Richardton-Dickinson). As reported a few weeks ago, the station's website lists a Conservative Talk format. The lineup includes FOX News, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Coast to Coast AM, and Handel on the Law. The station uses 26kW/177m (class C2) from a tower southeast of town and is the first News/Talker specifically targetting Dickinson. (4/17/2012, updated 4/18)

IOWA:
Longtime WOI-DT/5 (Ames-Des Moines) sports director John Walters is leaving the station in June for a job with Iowa State University. He's been with ABC5 since 1996 and will oversee ISU's new cyclones.tv website. Walters was among the ABC5 personalities who received national exposure during a series of segments on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" earlier this year. Dave Zawilinski, who's been with ABC5 for ten years, will take over as sports director. (4/17/2012)

IOWA/NEBRASKA:
Pappas Telecasting and DirecTV have patched up their retransmission consent dispute. Pappas stations returned to DirecTV last Friday afternoon (April 13). KCWI-CW (Ames-Des Moines), KFXL-FOX (Lincoln), KHGI-ABC (Kearney), and KAZO-LP-Azteca (Omaha) were off the satellite provider for about two weeks. (4/17/2012)

NEBRASKA:
Platte Valley Educational Radio is donating the construction permit for KQQA/90.5 (Shelton) to Radio 74 Internationale. The coverage area for the current 2.2kW/55m CP is northeast of Kearney. (4/17/2012)

MINNESOTA:
The Adult Contemporary format has returned to the Twin Cities on Cumulus Media's "Love 105" trimulcast of WGVZ/105.7 (Eden Prairie-Minneapolis), WGVX/105.1 (Lakeville), and WGVY/105.3 (Cambridge). "Love 105," which originally launched five years ago playing a mix of soft hits from the `60s to `80s, had recently adopted the positioner "Best Songs, Best Variety" and added more upbeat `80s hits to the mix. Online music logs indicate "Love" made the switch to AC at 6 a.m. Friday (April 13) with AC currents and gold from the `80s, `90s, and 2000s. `60s tunes are gone but the `70s are heard occasionally. The move comes a few months after longtime market AC "Lite FM" (WLTE/102.9) flipped to Country. (4/13/2012)

NEBRASKA:
DTVCast Corp. is buying the construction permits for four low-power TV stations in Hastings as part of an eleven-station deal which also includes stations in Kansas and Oklahoma. DTVCast will pay William and Ruth Bruggeman $130,625 for the permits. The Hastings CP's include K30MQ-D, K35LG-D, K42KX-D, and K43NV-D, which are all permitted for 15kW, the maximum power for digital LPTV stations, from Hastings. (4/11/2012)

MICHIGAN:
DX-midAMerica reports an unusual addition to the Rock format at WGLI/98.7 (Hancock-Houghton): Political talk. "The Rockin' Eagle" is airing Thom Hartman Saturday mornings from 6 to 9 followed by Bill Press from 9 to Noon. On Sunday, Stephanie Miller runs from 6 to 9 followed by a local public affairs show from 9 to 10. The regular Rock format continues at other times. (4/11/2012)

IOWA:
Clear Channel's KWMG/95.7 (Anamosa-Cedar Rapids), the FM simulcast partner of News/Talker WMT/600, has applied to move to the WMT tower north of Marion. KWMG currently uses 6kW/100m from a tower near Stone City and has applied to use 18kW/118m directional from the WMT tower, upgrading from class A to C3 and greatly increasing its signal to Cedar Rapids. The directional antenna would limit KWMG's signal to the southwest to prevent interference to KZAT/95.5 (Belle Plaine). Also, a vacant allotment for a future non-commercial station on 95.5 in Asbury would move to 98.7. The new proposal replaces an earlier application that would have moved KWMG to a tower five miles closer to Cedar Rapids than the present site but remain class A. The new application apparently could not be filed until the FCC formally dismissed an application from KQMG-FM/95.3 (Independence) to move to 95.1, licensed to Solon. (4/10/2012)

WISCONSIN/MINNESOTA:
Zoe Communications' WDMO/95.7 (Baldwin) is on the air as "Thunder Country 95.7," serving the Wisconsin portion of the Minneapolis-St. Paul radio market. The format is the same as what the station last ran when it was licensed to Durand on 95.9. WDMO now uses 4kW/124m (class A) from a tower along I-94 southwest of Baldwin, with a strong signal to most of St. Croix County and part of Pierce County and fringe coverage in the eastern suburbs of St. Paul. (4/9/2012)

FCC AUCTION NO. 93 ENDS:
FCC Auction No. 93 ended last week with provisionally winning bidders for ten new stations on commercial FM frequencies in the Upper Midwest. Two of the new stations will be in the booming oil market of Williston, ND.