May 2002

IOWA:
J.C. Van Ginkel has bought KNOD/105.3 (Harlan) from John W. Talbot for $500,000. Van Ginkel owns 51% of Wireless Communications, which owns nearby KJAN/1220 (Atlantic). The FCC has already approved the sale. (5/30/02)

NORTH DAKOTA:
Michael Mintz has received a construction permit for a new 14.5kW station on channel 69 in Bismarck, K69IK. (5/30/02)

WISCONSIN:
The construction permit for 6kW WYNW/92.9 (Birnamwood) is being transferred from Evangel Ministries to Starboard Broadcasting for $250,000. Facilities for the new station have apparently not been constructed, and the CP expires next March. WYNW should provide a fair signal to Wausau. Starboard is an operator of several Catholic-formatted stations across Wisconsin. (5/30/02)

ONTARIO:
The Thunder Bay Post reports that Newcap Broadcasting's CJLB/105.3 (Thunder Bay) flipped from Country to Contemporary Hits as "Hot 105" on Friday, May 17. The new format can be heard online through hot105.fm. The change brought a new format to the market, but left Country music fans without a station. Less than one week later, Northwest Broadcasting's CFQK/104.5 (Kaministiquia) announced a change from AC/Dance/Oldies to Country, keeping the "Max 104.5" slogan. CFQK's 40-Watt signal is difficult to receive in Thunder Bay, but fans of Country have little other choice on the radio. Though Thunder Bay has a population of 115,000, only five commercial radio stations serve the city, and out-of-market stations are difficult to receive. (5/28/02)

NEBRASKA:
The FCC is considering a petition from Sutton Radio Company to allocate 105.3 to Sutton as a class C2 (50kW) station. It would provide a good signal to Hastings and Grand Island. (5/27/02)

NEBRASKA/SOUTH DAKOTA:
Jeff Barth has petioned the FCC to allocate 94.3 to Hartington, NE, as a class A (6kW) station. A station using the allocation could possibly be located to provide a good signal into Vermillion and Yankton. (5/27/02)

ONTARIO:
The CRTC has approved the transfer of Ontario Limited, which owns CITB/97.1 (Thunder Bay) and CIPR/97.3 (Pigeon River), from Ray Gauthier to Northwest Broadcasting. Northwest also owns "Max 104.5" (CFQK Kaministiquia). Gauthier is still involved in the day-to-day operations of the stations. CITB/CIPR runs a traveler's information format. (5/27/02)

WISCONSIN:
The FCC is considering a petition from Starboard Broadcasting to allocate 96.3 to Owen as a class C3 (25kW) station. The allocation is possible because of WJMC-FM/Rice Lake's frequency change and downgrade two years ago. A station using the allocation would provide a good signal to Clark, Taylor, eastern Chippewa, and western Marathon counties, and a fair signal to Marshfield. Starboard owns Catholic-formatted stations across the state, including WDVM/1050 (Eau Claire) and WDVM-FM/93.9 (Nekoosa), which was not yet on the air at last report. (5/27/02)

WISCONSIN:
The FCC has ruled that Time Warner Cable doesn't have to carry TBN affiliate WWRS/52 (Mayville) on its systems in Kenosha, Racine, or Walworth counties. Time Warner does carry WWRS on its Milwaukee, west suburban, and north suburban systems, which are closer to the station's transmitter. The FCC ruled that besides WWRS' lack of viewership historically and poor signal in the southern counties, the station does not provide any local-interest programming for the counties. (5/27/02)

WISCONSIN:
The FCC has approved Midwest Communications' plan to move translator W270AJ/101.9 from the Town of Rockland to Green Bay, using 180 Watts. (5/25/02)

MINNESOTA/WISCONSIN:
Carol Rueppel, Vice President and General Manager of NewsCorp's KMSP/9 and WFTC/29, has announced that the two stations will switch affiliations on Sunday, September 8. KMSP will become FOX9 and WFTC will become UPN29. Programming for both stations will originate from upgraded facilities at KMSP's existing Eden Prairie building. In addition to the obvious swap of prime-time programming and the move of the NFL to FOX9, changes to the news lineup will be made: channel 9's 10 p.m. newscast will get the ax, while channel 29's newscast will move from 9 to 10 p.m. and will air seven days per week. After FOX9 News at 9, "Will and Grace" and "Frasier" will air in the 10 p.m. hour. On UPN29, "Seinfeld" and "Everybody Loves Raymond" will air in the 9 p.m. hour, followed by "UPN29 News at 10" and "That `70s Show." FOX9 will continue to air "Good Day Minnesota" from 5:30 to 9 a.m. Beginning June 3, KMSP will air "Good Day Live," a live syndicated show which originates at FOX11/Los Angeles, from 11 a.m. to Noon. (5/24/02)

MINNESOTA/NORTH DAKOTA:
Triad Broadcasting is in the process of purchasing KBMW/1450 (Breckenridge) and KGWB/107.1 (Wahpeton) for $1.2 million. KGWB has applied to move to 106.9, move its transmitter north, and operate with 50kW, which would provide a good signal in the Fargo. Triad already owns five Fargo market stations, including Breckenridge-licensed KLTA/105.1. KGWB is currently owned by Guderian Broadcasting, and KBMW is owned by WB Broadcasting, but each company is owned by the same four partners. (5/22/02)

NEBRASKA:
Nebraska Rural Radio Association's KRVN-FM/93.1 (Lexington) has flipped from Adult Contemporary to "Nebraska's Best Country, 93.1 The River." (5/21/02)

IOWA/NEBRASKA:
The FCC is considering a proposal from Harrison County Radio to allocate 106.5 to Woodbine, Iowa, as a class A (6kW) station. Woodbine is about 30 miles north of Council Bluffs. In order to make the allotment, the class of KEXL/106.7 (Norfolk) would change from C to C0. KEXL still has the option of upgrading to protect its class C status, which would prevent the Woodbine allocation from being made. (5/21/02)

MINNESOTA:
KYMN sale update: James Instad is the person buying KYMN/1080 (Northfield), not Radio Southern Minnesota as reported last month. Ingstad owns 51% of Radio Southern Minnesota, which also owns KCHK/1350 and KCHK-FM/95.5 (New Prague). Ingstad is buying the station from Wayne Eddy's KYMN, Inc. for $800,000. (5/21/02)

MINNESOTA:
Sorenson Broadcasting is selling KLCH/94.9 (Lake City) to Waitt Radio for $280,000. Waitt has been operating KLCH under a local marketing agreement since the station signed on last December. Sorenson also owns KCUE/1250 and KWNG/105.9 (Red Wing), which are also operated by Waitt under LMA but apparently aren't being sold. (5/21/02)

MINNESOTA:
A proposal for a new 50kW station on 1180 in the Brainerd lakes area faces opposition from another company that wants to use the frequency in Plano, Illinois. The FCC decided last year that Baxter, MN, deserved the frequency more than Plano, IL, but now Nelson Enterprises has petitioned for reconsideration of that decision. The Baxter station was applied for by D&E Enterprises, which is owned by the same people that own DJ Broadcasting, the licensee of KBKK/95.9 (Pillager). (5/21/02)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
Three Angels Broadcasting Network has received a construction permit for an 8kW station on channel 32 in Pierre, K32CW. (5/21/02)

WISCONSIN:
Trinity Broadcasting Network has received a construction permit for a 7kW station on channel 26 in Rhinelander, K26GU. TBN also has a CP for a 3kW station on channel 44 in Rhinelander. (5/21/02)

IOWA:
The Quad City Times reports that WBQD-LP/26 plans to begin broadcasting on July 1 as a UPN affiliate. Being licensed as a low-power station, WBQD would have to move if KGWB/26 (WB, Burlington) goes ahead with a plan to upgrade so that it can be seen in the Quad Cities. WBQD has a construction permit to move to channel 62. (5/19/02)

IOWA:
The Iowa Public Broadcasting Board, the governmental entity which runs Iowa Public Television, is buying KQCT/36 (Davenport) from Black Hawk Broadcasting for $200,000. 6kW KQCT currently rebroadcasts PBS station WQPT/24 (Moline). The purchase agreement files with the FCC indicates that KQCT will be affiliated with IPTV once the sale is completed. IPTV does not currently have a station in the Quad Cities, though KIIN/12 (Iowa City) can be received fairly well. The IPPB also has an outstanding application for a station on channel 30 in Davenport. (5/16/02)

NEBRASKA:
G&L Investments' KIMB/1260 (Kimball) has applied to upgrade its daytime power from 1kW nondirectional to 50kW directional. The station's nighttime power would remain 112W nondirectional. (5/16/02)

MINNESOTA/WISCONSIN:
Hubbard Broadcasting's KSTP-TV/5 announced on its news last night that sister station WIXK-FM/107.1 will move into the Twin Cities next month with a female-oriented, mostly-talk format. The format will be a mix of local and national hosts. (5/15/02)

NEBRASKA:
The FCC has granted Charles C. Townsend, III, a construction permit for a new 100-Watt station on channel 26 in Norfolk, K26GW. (5/15/02)

MINNESOTA:
D&E Communications has applied for a new station on 1180 in Baxter. The station would operate with 50kW nondirectional days, and 5kW directional nights. D&E is owned equally by David De La Hunt of Mehanga and Edward De La Hunt of Park Rapids and has also applied for a 10kW station on 1070 in Verndale. The two also own DJ Broadcasting, which owns KBKK/95.9 (Pillager), and the De La Hunt family is involved in about half a dozen other stations in the region. (5/14/02)

WISCONSIN:
Hometown Broadcasting is buying WAUH/102.3 (Wautoma) from Raymond I. Cal for $50,000. WAUH has reportedly been rebroadcasting Hometown's WISS/1090 (Berlin), so the sale is not a surprise. Though WAUH is currently just 110W, it is upgradeable to 6kW. Hometown Broadcasting is owned equally by Margaret Larson Corrente of Menasha and Thomas Boyson of Oshkosh. (5/11/02)

IOWA:
K-Love's Des Moines area translator, K213DV/90.5 (Pleasant Hill), signed on about a week ago and is reportedly providing good coverage of the metro. (5/9/02)

NORTH DAKOTA:
Williston Community Broadcasting is buying KDSR/101.1 (Williston) from Robert H. Miller for $500,000. Stephen Marks of Arnold, Maryland, owns 100% of Williston Community Broadcasting. Marks is also the sole shareholder of companies that own four radio stations and two TV stations in Montana and one radio station in Virginia. (5/9/02)

MINNESOTA/WISCONSIN:
Hubbard Broadcasting's soon-to-move-in WIXK-FM/107.1 has been mostly off the air since Monday, while the "Real Country 107" format continues to run on WIXK/1590. When Hubbard does finally make the official move, WIXK-FM will change its community of license from New Richmond, WI, to Coon Rapids, MN, (a Twin Cities suburb), and transmit from Shoreview. (5/8/02)

NEBRASKA:
Journal Broadcasting is dropping Country in Omaha and moving a spanish-language format from AM to FM. "Max Country 94.1" ended its run Friday, May 3, and the Rhythmic Hits format of "Channel 977" is being moved to the new "Channel 941." The frequencies are simulcasting now, but Journal says that will stop on Friday, May 10, when the format of KBBX/1420 will also be heard on 97.7, where it'll be known as "La Maquina Musical 97.7." 97.7 will be the first full-time spanish language station serving Nebraska or Iowa. The moves leave Clear Channel's KXKT/103.7 as the only major Country station in the market. (5/8/02)

MINNESOTA:
South Central Electrical Association has moved its Frost translator rebroadcasting WCCO-TV (CBS) from channel 33 to 36. (5/4/02)

WISCONSIN:
WOGO/680 (Hallie-Eau Claire) has dropped Contemporary Christian for a News/Talk format. The lineup includes CNN Headline News and Point of View, and Bill O'Reilly's show will be carried on the station when it begins next week. All of the commercial AM stations in the Eau Claire market now have a non-music format. (5/3/02)

WISCONSIN:
Milwaukee Public Schools has decided to stop programming its WYMS/88.9 due to budget problems and has partnered with UW-Milwaukee's WUWM/89.7 to run the station. WYMS ceased its jazz format on April 29 and is currently rebroadcasting WUWM. WUWM says it will resume a jazz format on WYMS, but the station's website says "research will be conducted into how best to program WYMS into the future." (5/3/02)

NORTH DAKOTA/MINNESOTA:
Guderian Broadcasting's KGWB/107.1 (Wahpeton) has applied to move to 106.9 and upgrade from 3kW to 50kW. The station's transmitter would be relocated to near Wolverton, providing a good, though not city-grade, signal to Fargo-Moorhead. The station had approval for a similar upgrade in the past, but it was never built. (5/3/02)

MINNESOTA:
The KSAX (ABC) translator in Park Rapids has moved from channel 24 to 32. (5/3/02)

MINNESOTA/WISCONSIN:
Journal Broadcasting's WTMJ/620 (Milwaukee) has filed an informal objection to a proposed upgrade of WDGY/630 (Hudson-St. Paul). WDGY currently broadcasts with 2.3kW day and 300W night from a transmitter near Hudson, shooting most of its signal westward. The station applied to move its transmitter to Rosemount, operating with 7.9kW day and night and shooting its signal northward. No information on WTMJ's objection is available. (5/2/02)

MINNESOTA:
Minnesota Christian Broadcasters' battle for a second station in the Brainerd lakes area isn't over yet. The FCC has already issued a construction permit to MCBI for a new 3.9kW station on 100.1 in Pequot Lakes, but now Carol DeLaHunt, one of the original applicants for the frequency, has petitioned the FCC to reconsider the auction that gave MCBI the new station. The call letters WZFJ have been assigned to MCBI's construction permit for 100.1. (5/2/02)

MINNESOTA:
Travis Wold is returning to the Willmar market with a part-time production and promotions position at 94.1 The Loon (KKLN Atwater-Willmar). (5/2/02)

MINNESOTA:
Add another Bill O'Reilly affiliate to the list: WJON/1240 (St. Cloud) will carry the show from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (5/2/02)