May 2008

WISCONSIN:
WXCE/1260 (Amery) has added Jones Radio Networks' "Oldies Station" format on nights and weekends, but continues with News/Talk during the day. (5/31/2008)

WISCONSIN:
The FCC has issued a Notice of Apparent Liability of $14,000 to Acme Communications, owner of WIWB/14 (CW, Suring-Green Bay) for public file violations and exceeding the amount of commercial time allowed during children's programming. Acme has thirty days to either pay the fine or ask for a reduction or cancellation. (5/31/2008)

WISCONSIN:
Tomahawk Light Broadcasting is donating WLBI-LP/107.1 (Tomahawk) to Above and Beyond Broadcasting. The donation is being made because Tomahawk Light Broadcasting applied for a new station on 91.3 in Tomahawk, and broadcasters which own full-power stations are prohibited from owning low-power radio stations. (5/31/2008)

MINNESOTA/WISCONSIN:
KDLH-DT (Duluth) and KBJR-DT (Superior) have been off the air since Wednesday (5/21) after a failure of the stations' shared antenna. The stations say they could be off the air for 7-10 days until a temporary antenna is installed. They continue to provide digital feeds to cable systems. (5/23/2008)

WISCONSIN:
There are two changes to morning radio in La Crosse: "Z93" (WIZM-FM/93.3 La Crosse) has a new morning show, Pat and AJ in The Morning. Meanwhile, at WCOW/97.1 (Sparta-La Crosse), Steve Peterson is gone and Baylee & Mike now make up the Morning Moo Crew. (5/23/2008)

WISCONSIN:
WRJC, Inc. is buying W224BM/92.7 (Mauston) from Horizon Christian Fellowship for $17,500 and plans to use the translator to rebroadcast its WRJC-FM/92.1 (Mauston). The two stations actually transmit from the same site, and Mauston is outside of the translator's main coverage area. The translator could potentially be used to relay WRJC/1270 if the FCC decides to allow FM translators of AM stations. (5/23/2008)

CONSTRUCTION PERMITS FOR NEW STATIONS:

MANITOBA:
The CRTC has granted CBC Radio permission to move its Radio One transmitter in Pukatawagan from AM 690 (40 Watts) to FM 102.5 (200 Watts). The new station is expected to be operational by June, since the Mathias Colomb Cree National Chief and Council advised the CBC that the CBDS/690 site is contaminated and a cleanup must begin by June. (5/20/2008)

ONTARIO:
The CRTC has granted Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada a new radio station to serve Thunder Bay and Pickle Lake. The primary station will be in Pickle Lake, using 50 Watts on 96.5, with a secondary transmitter 200 miles south in Thunder Bay using 50 Watts on 98.1. The station must broadcast at least 25% of its programming in Aboriginal languages at start-up, and at least 40 hours per week must be local, station-produced programming from Pickle Lake. It will be the second Christian station to serve Thunder Bay. (5/16/2008)

WISCONSIN:
WSRG/97.7 (Sturgeon Bay) has dropped Hot Adult Contemporary for Country as "The Big Dawg" following the station's sale to Al Johnson Broadcasting. All Access reports the flip happened last Friday (5/9) at 10 a.m. (5/14/2008)

MINNESOTA/NORTH DAKOTA:
The FCC has approved a plan for KBVB/95.1 (Barnesville-Fargo) to move its transmitter to the KVXR/1280 site south of Moorhead. The move will strengthen KBVB's signal to Fargo-Moorhead, while weakening the signal to Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, and Breckenridge/Wahpeton. To make way for the move, a new 100kW station originally slotted for 94.5 in Enderlin, ND, which could have served the Fargo market, will move to 107.3 and transmit from Lisbon. The owners of the two stations, James Ingstad's Radio Fargo-Moorhead (KBVB) and Jose J. Garcia (107.3), signed a "memorandum of agreement" but no financial transaction was disclosed. The FCC rejected an informal objection filed by Ingstad's main Fargo competitor, Triad Broadcasting. 107.3 is slated to use the KQLX-FM/106.1 (Lisbon) tower after it moves closer to Fargo. (5/13/2008)

ILLINOIS/IOWA:
The Quad City Times reports that WGEN/1500 (Geneseo, IL) will leave the air on Thursday, May 15, as the station's tower site becomes a new retail development. WGEN is a 250-Watt daytimer with a fringe signal to the Quad Cities, running a News/Talk format. The station is telling listeners to tune to co-owned WJRE/102.5 (Galva, IL), which has a fringe signal to Geneseo, for local news and sports. It's not clear if owner Virden Broadcasting plans to return the license to the FCC. Virden owns another station, WYEC/93.9 (Cambridge, IL), which recently moved its tower closer to Geneseo and added a rimshot signal to the eastern Quad Cities. (5/13/2008)

IOWA/NEBRASKA:
Pappas Telecasting has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for 13 of its 30 TV stations, including KPTM-FOX and KXVO-CW in Omaha and KMEG-CBS and KPTH-FOX in Sioux City. (Pappas does not hold the licenses for KXVO or KMEG, but operates them through local marketing agreements.) Pappas said the bankruptcy filing was necessary after negotiations with eleven lenders broke down. Pappas, the largest privately-held commercial television broadcast group in the country, has been seeking potential buyers since last December. (5/12/2008)

WISCONSIN:
WLGE/106.9 (Baileys Harbor) has signed on with an Adult Alternative format as "The Lodge." The new 6kW station is owned by Michael J. Mesic, who won the frequency in FCC Auction No. 70 with a $76,000 bid. Audio of the sign-on is posted on its website. WLGE is the second commercial station in northern Door County, coming on the air fifteen months after Roger Utnehmer's WSBW/105.1 (Sister Bay). (5/11/2008)

MINNESOTA:
WGVZ/105.7 (Eden Prairie) has applied for a license to cover its construction permit to move its transmitter from Minnetonka to the IDS Center in Minneapolis, indicating the new facility is, or will soon, be in operation. The move makes 105.7 more of a core signal in the market, strengthening coverage to St. Paul and the north-central and northeastern metro, while weakening the signal somewhat in the far southwest metro. WGVZ, owned by Citadel, simulcasts an Adult Gold format as "Love 105" with WGVX/105.1 (Lakeville) and WGVY/105.3 (Cambridge). It remains a class A station, using 950W at 254m from the IDS Center, with a directional antenna to prevent interference to stations to the southeast and northeast. (5/10/2008)

NEBRASKA:
KIMB/1260 (Kimball) is getting its fifth owner in seven years: Sterling Radio, LLC, is buying KIMB from Kimball Radio, LLC, for $50,000. Sterling Radio is owned by Alexander L. Creighton, who has ownership interest in three Colorado stations. Kimball Radio retains KYOY/100.1 (Kimball). (5/6/2008)

NEBRASKA:
The price for Rick Siebert's previously reported purchase of KWBE/1450 (Beatrice) is $650,000, according to the Purchase and Sale Agreement filed with the FCC. Siebert began operating the station on April 1 through a local marketing agreement. (5/6/2008)

MINNESOTA:
WQXJ/104.5 (Blackduck-Bemidji) has signed on carrying ABC's True Oldies Channel. The format hasn't been heard in Bemidji since WBJI/98.3 switched to Country exactly ten years ago. The new class C3 (8.5kW/148m) station is owned by Louis H. Buron, Jr., who also owns four other stations in the market. WQXJ is the ninth commercial station in Beltrami County, which has about 40,000 people, and there may be four more commercial stations on the way. (5/1/2008)

24-HOUR FORMAT MERGER:
Triton Radio Networks, which already owns the ten Dial Global 24-hour formats, is now buying Omaha-based Waitt Radio Networks' eleven 24-hour formats from NRG Media. The 21 networks will be operated under the Dial Global name and have a combined 925 affiliates. The deal also includes Waitt's commercial production service. (5/1/2008)