October 2008

WISCONSIN:
Milwaukee-area listeners were serenaded by Christmas music as they headed home to hand out Halloween candy: Clear Channel's "My 95-7" (WRIT) and Entercom's 99 WMYX both flipped to all-Christmas music on Friday afternoon (10/31). All Access reports that WRIT was first to flip at 3 p.m., followed by WMYX at 3:15. WRIT has moved its regular format to its HD2 channel. In 2007, both stations flipped on November 1, but WRIT went back to its regular format after five hours. Track the 2008 Christmas flips right here. (10/31/2008)

WISCONSIN:
FOX 11 WLUK (Green Bay) is back on Time Warner Cable after the cable company and WLUK owner LIN TV reached a retransmission consent deal for LIN's stations nationwide. WLUK was off Time Warner's lineup for 25 days. (10/29/2008)

WISCONSIN:
Mid-West Management has moved the "Jamz" Hip-Hop format of WJQM/106.7 (Mt. Horeb) to WHLK/93.1 (De Forest-Madison), displacing "The Lake," a Classic Rock format. 93.1 has a strong signal to most of the Madison metro, while 106.7 is a fringe signal. The Wisconsin State Journal reports that 106.7, which is now simulcasting with 93.1, will begin simulcasting the "Q106" Country format of WWQM/106.3 (Middleton-Madison) beginning Monday. Mid-West launched "Jamz" on 106.7 in January 2007, weeks after WKPO/105.9 (Evansville), another fringe signal, dropped Hip-Hop for Classic Rock. (10/29/2008)

MINNESOTA/WISCONSIN:
Longtime radio engineeer Rey Lark died on Saturday (10/25). Lark worked at many Twin Cities stations, including KDWB/630 and WYOO, and later founded WXCE/1260 (Amery, WI). Lark earned the nickname "Radio Rey," which, ironically, is the slogan of the Regional Mexican format that now airs on 630 ("rey" means king in spanish). (10/28/2008)

WISCONSIN:
Zoe Communications' WDMO/95.9 (Durand) has applied to move to Baldwin on 95.7. St. Croix County, where Baldwin is located, is one of the fastest-growing counties in the country and is currently served by commercial stations based in New Richmond and River Falls. 95.7 would transmit from a tower along I-94 near Baldwin with 4kW/124m (class A), using a directional antenna to prevent prohibited interference to WLKX/95.9 (Forest Lake, MN). The new facility would deliver a good signal to River Falls and New Richmond, with fringe coverage of Hudson and the eastern Twin Cities metro. The station would continue to have a fringe signal to Menomonie, where the studio for its "Thunder Country" format is located. To make way for the move, Zoe proposes that low-power station WPCA-LP/95.7 (Amery) move to 105.9. The new facility would also likely displace a KNXR translator on 95.7 in Hudson. Zoe's WQOQ/1430 would remain licensed to Durand. (10/27/2008)

IOWA:
89.1 "The Spirit" (KXGM-FM Hiawatha-Cedar Rapids) continues to expand its coverage, having recently added translators K227BL/93.3 (Anamosa) and K245AZ/96.9 (Dubuque). The translators are owned by Horizon Christian Fellowship and Radio Assist Minsitry, respectively. "The Spirit" is also heard on KXGM/850 (Waterloo) and translators in Iowa City and Dyersville, and KXGM owner Extreme Grace Media recently purchased translators in Marshalltown and Waverly. (10/22/2008)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
Pierre-based outdoors radio and TV host Tony Dean has died at the age of 67 of complications of an appendectomy, reports the Argus Leader. "Tony Dean Outdoors" aired on TV stations across the Upper Midwest until his retirement earlier this year, and Dean's "Dakota Backroads Radio" daily feature aired on dozens of radio stations until his hospitalization earlier this fall. Here's more coverage from the Rapid City Journal, KELO, and KSFY. (10/21/2008)

MINNESOTA:
Midwest Communications' KDAL/610 (Duluth) has dropped Lou Dobbs after a month, replacing him with an hour of news and features at 5p and Glenn Beck from 6-9p. The change also pushes the simulcast of Larry King's CNN show off the lineup. (10/21/2008)

IOWA:
Legendary news broadcaster Grant Price died Friday (10/17) at the age of 85. Price started his career at KSCJ Sioux City in the 1940's and worked at KXEL Waterloo in the 1950's and WMT Radio and TV in Cedar Rapids in the 1960's. But he's best known for his work at Black Hawk Broadcasting and KWWL Waterloo in the 1970's and 1980's, when he helped move KWWL to the top of the ratings. After retiring from KWWL in 1989, Price joined Wartburg College in Waverly, where he founded the Archives of Iowa Broadcasting and donated more than $2 million. Here's more coverage from Wartburg, KWWL, KGAN, The Courier, and The Gazette. (10/20/2008)

MINNESOTA:
The Star Tribune reports that Northern Lights Broadcasting is finding some local opposition as it proposes to move the transmitter of its "B96" (KTTB/96.3 Glencoe) to St. Louis Park. The Strib reports that St. Louis Park city leaders are considering an ordinance change to allow one of the four 200-foot towers at the longtime WWTC/KYCR(AM) site to be replaced with a 392-foot tower to accomodate KTTB, but some neighbors are objecting. The move also requires FCC approval. As first reported here last month, KTTB would use 24kW/104m (class C3) from the WWTC/KYCR site, downgrading from its 100kW/176m (C1) facility near Watertown, west of the metro. (The 104m figure is the height above average terrain, the main figure used in FCC records, not the actual tower height.) The change would also include a community of license change from Glencoe to Edina, where KTTB's studio is located. (10/19/2008)

WISCONSIN/MINNESOTA:
"Eagle 102.7" (KQEG La Crescent, MN-La Crosse, WI) has switched its evening and overnight programming from ABC's Classic Hits Radio to Dial Global's Kool Gold format. The station continues local programming from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The change follows ABC's transition of Oldies Radio to Classic Hits Radio earlier this year. (10/18/2008)

MINNESOTA:
KARE 11 unveiled a new look to its news graphics Thursday (10/16), replacing the style that had been used for about the last decade. (10/17/2008)

MINNESOTA:
Minnesota Public Radio's "The Morning Show" with Dale Connelly and "Jim Ed Poole" (Tom Keith) will end its run of more than 25 years on December 11 with a live broadcast from The Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. Tom Keith is retiring from the network, but Dale Connelly will continue in other capacities. The show features humor and a wide variety of music, and is heard on "The Current" (KCMP/89.3 Northfield) in the Twin Cities and on MPR's Classical stations in other parts of the state. Keith tells the Star Tribune the show was never really the same after MPR moved it to "The Current" when the station launched in 2005. "The Current" will expand its Adult Alternative format to morning drive, while Classical stations will carry the morning Classical programming currently heard only on KSJN/99.5 (Minneapolis) and KMSE/88.7 (Rochester). (10/16/2008)

WISCONSIN:
Wisconsin Public Television has consolidated its digital lineup. The network's six stations had previously carried 4 SD channels during the day and 1 HD and 1 SD channel at night; they now carry 1 HD and 2 SD channels for the entire broadcast day. The move expands The Wisconsin Channel (in SD) to a full schedule, while the other SD channel carries children's programming from 9a-2p and Create at other times. Meanwhile, WPT plans to "flash cut" its six translator stations to digital broadcasting in November. The River Falls, Grantsburg, and Bloomington translators are scheduled to flip the week of November 3, followed by the Coloma, Fence, and Sister Bay translators the week of November 10. (10/15/2008)

WISCONSIN:
WGBW/1590 (Two Rivers) will switch from Dial Global's "Kool Gold" network to ABC's "True Oldies Channel" on Oct. 15. WGBW is also adding Dick Bartley on Saturday nights and Paul Harvey, but will retain hourly CNN newscasts. Station president Mark Heller says the change is due to the fact that crosstown WLTU/92.1 (Manitowoc) will begin carrying "Kool Gold" beginning Dec. 29 as a result of Dial Global's decision to narrow its number of Oldies formats. WGBW holds a construction permit to move to Denmark, giving it a strong daytime signal to Green Bay. (10/14/2008)

WISCONSIN:
Zoe Communications' "King Country 106.3" (WPLT Sarona-Spooner-Rice Lake) has completed a move giving it a stronger signal to Rice Lake. The change involved a community of license change from Spooner to Sarona, and a move of WPLT's transmitter nine miles southwest to the WGMO/95.3 tower south of Shell Lake. The station remains class A, using 3.4kW/134m. To fill WPLT's place as a Spooner-licensed station, WGMO/95.3 has a construction permit to change its community of license from Shell Lake to Spooner, though it was still ID'ing as Shell Lake on Saturday (10/11). WCSW/940 will remain licensed to Shell Lake. (10/13/2008)

WISCONSIN/MINNESOTA:
Wisconsin Public Radio station KUWS/91.3 (Superior) has added WPR's 24-hour HD2 Classical service on a HD subchannel. WPR reported the HD2 channel has been heard as far away as the Chippewa Flowage area of rural Sawyer County (KUWS transmits with 83kW from Duluth, MN). The service is also carried on WPR stations in Delafield-Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, and La Crosse. It simulcasts with WPR's NPR News & Classical Music network (heard on WHSA/89.9 Brule) from 9a-3p and carries the syndicated Classical24 service at other times. (10/11/2008)

MINNESOTA/WISCONSIN:
Friday (10/10) was Pat Kelly's last day at Duluth's "Northland's NewsCenter." Kelly, who anchored the CBS3 (KDLH) 5:30 and 10 p.m. newscasts and the CW2/My9 9 p.m. newscast, is the last remaining on-air holdover of the staff of KDLH before KBJR/NBC6 took over operation of the station in 2005. He also has years of experience in radio, including as morning host at the old "96Lite FM" (KDAL-FM Duluth). Kelly spoke about his decision to retire on the October 3 edition of KUWS Radio's "Final Edition" (click to listen). (10/10/2008)

NON-COMMERCIAL FM APPLICATIONS:
Dozens of applicants who filed for new non-commercial stations in October 2007 face stiff competition. After a year of sorting out overlapping applications, the FCC has identified 46 groups of more than four mutally exclusive applications, including: