October 2013

MINNESOTA:
The owners of an FM station in the Willmar market are buying the AM-FM combo in Benson. Headwaters Media, LLC will pay Quest Broadcasting $275,000 for KBMO/1290 and KSCR-FM/93.5, which were last known to carry Soft Oldies and Classic Hits formats, respectively. The buyers are already operating the stations under a local marketing agreement. Headwaters Media is owned by Justin Klinghagen and John Jennings and also owns 94.1 "The Loon" (KKLN Atwater-Willmar). Quest's Paul Estenson agreed to a five-year non-compete clause as part of the sale. (10/28/2013)

ONTARIO:
CFNO-FM/93.1 (Marathon) has applied to add a rebroadcasting transmitter in Beardmore, a former township within the municipality of Greenstone. CFNO-FM-3 would use 260 Watts on 107.1 and would reach an estimated 246 people at a construction cost of $22,500. CFNO already has rebroadcasters in Geraldton, Longlac, and Nakina, which are also within Greenstone, as well as Hornepayne, Nipigon, and White River. The station says it received a request from Greenstone leaders to add a transmitter in Beardmore and cites the rupture of a pipeline a few years ago that caused evacuations near Beardmore as evidence that a local transmitter is needed. The Beardmore transmitter would not originate any of its own programming but would carry emergency announcements via CFNO. CFNO also has a pending application to move its studio to Thunder Bay, where sister company Dougall Media owns other stations, and said in that application that staff in Thunder Bay would continue to provide local news and emergency bulletins to the CFNO listening area. (10/28/2013)

ONTARIO:
Canadian regulators have approved a downgrade for CBC Radio One's station in Wawa, which is on the eastern side of Lake Superior. CBLJ-FM/88.3 will drop from 5kW to 4.807kW but raise its antenna height above average terrain from 115m to 133m, downgrading from class B to B1. The CBC stated the downgrade was necessary due to budget reductions. CBLJ is a rebroadcaster of CBCS-FM (Sudbury). (10/28/2013)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
New Catholic radio station KSTJ/91.3 (Hartford-Sioux Falls) has or will soon sign on. The station posted pictures of its tower construction and antenna installation on its Facebook page and applied for a license to cover last week. KSTJ's 41kW/221m signal rimshots Sioux Falls and Mitchell. It carries programming from EWTN Radio in a simulcast with KSJP/88.9 (Ipswich-Aberdeen); KSTJ is owned by the Catholic Chancery Office while KSJP is owned by Agnus Dei Communications. (10/28/2013)

WISCONSIN:
Christian station WRVM has signed on transltors W226BM/93.1 (Wisconsin Rapids) and W265CR/100.9 (Nekoosa). W226BM uses uses 250 Watts and W265CR uses 120 Watts. WRVM is now heard on four full-power stations and 26 tanslators in northeastern and central Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula, with construction permits for several more translators. (10/28/2013)

NORTH DAKOTA:
Longtime Farm/Country station KEYZ/660 (Williston) has switched most of its schedule to syndicated talk. The station dropped its longtime "Keyz Country" slogan and added several syndicated shows this week, including Joel Heitkamp from 9 to 11 a.m., Sean Hannity from 2 to 5 p.m., Dennis Miller from 6 to 9 p.m., Jim Bohannon from 9 p.m. to Midnight and 5 to 6 a.m., and Coast to Coast AM overnight. The station, which is an ABC News affiliate, runs seven hours of local programming each weekday and continues to play Classic Country on the weekend. The change comes as the area's economy becomes dominated by the oil industry rather than agriculture. KEYZ's 5kW signal can easily be heard across western North Dakota, eastern Montana, northwestern South Dakota, and southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba during the day. Sister station KYYZ/96.1 (Williston) carries a Country format. (10/25/2013)

NEBRASKA:
KXVO/15.2 (Omaha) has dropped Azteca America and is now carrying This TV, which is also seen 22 hours per day on sister station KPTM/42.2. KPTM-DT2 carries My Network TV from 7 to 9 p.m., the only hours the programming service is available. 15.1 is a primary CW affiliate while 42.1 is a primary FOX affiliate and "Estrella TV" is carried on 42.3. (10/25/2013)

WISCONSIN/MICHIGAN:
Educational Media Foundation, the operator of the Christian "K-Love" and "Air1" music networks, is buying two stations in northeastern Wisconsin and seven translators in Wisconsin and Michigan. EMF will pay Bethesda Christian Broadcasting $825,000 for WNLI/88.7 and WPFF/90.5 (Sturgeon Bay) and translators in Appleton and Sheboygan, WI (two translators), and Escanaba, Iron Mountain, Ishpeming, and Marquette, MI. The Family Educational Broadcasting Corp. of Door County first signed on WPFF in 1992 and added WNLI in 1999. The stations were sold to Bethesda Christian Broadcasting, which has most of its holdings in South Dakota, in 2007. (10/23/2013)

IOWA/NEBRASKA/WISCONSIN:
The purchase price for Cyrus Capital Partners' purchase of controlling interest in NRG Media is $70 million, according to paperwork filed with the FCC. Waitt Media Holdings is selling its 79.74 percent stake in the Cedar Rapids-based company to funds held by Cyrus, which are ultimately owned by Stephen Freidheim of New York. The full ownership structure is detailed here. Quass Communications, LLC, James T. Smith, and Charles DuCoty maintain minority ownership in NRG Media, which owns seven stations in Illinois, six in Iowa, sixteen in Nebraska, and thirteen in Wisconsin. (10/22/2013)

IOWA/NEBRASKA:
Federal regulators are considering a change to aircraft communications that could allow a new FM station to sign on in the Omaha market. KIMI/107.7 (Sidney, IA) has been prevented from firing up its full 50kW ERP facility rimshotting Omaha due to concerns about interference to airplane communications (see below for more details). Now, the Kona Coast Radio station says in a new filing with the FCC that the Federal Aviation Administration is considering changing the Instrument Landing System frequency at Offut Air Force Base to avoid interference from KIMI. The station is seeking special temporary authority to remain silent until the changes are made. The day before the government shutdown, the FCC approved an STA for KIMI to broadcast with 500 Watts so it could return to the air before the Oct. 3 deadline to keep its license as a previous STA expired, but KIMI went silent again Oct. 8 at the FAA's request. (10/21/2013)

NEW FM TRANSLATORS GRANTED:

ONTARIO:
Canadian regulators have approved downgrades for CBC/Radio-Canada's two stations in Fort Frances, which also reach part of far northern Minnesota. CBC Radio One station CBQQ-FM/90.5 will drop from 50kW to 25kW and Radio-Canada Première station CKSB-9-FM/89.1 will drop from 50kW to 5.62kW. CBC/Radio-Canada said the reductions are necessary to reduce operating costs. In OK'ing the power drops, the CRTC noted that most of the listeners who may lose reception are in the U.S. CBQQ programming mostly originates from CBQT/88.3 (Thunder Bay), while CKSB-9-FM is a secondary transmitter of CKSB/1050 (St. Boniface-Winnipeg, MB). (10/21/2013)

NEBRASKA:
ABC affiliate KLKN/8 (Lincoln) left DirecTV due to a retransmission consent dispute at midnight Oct. 17/18. KLKN says the dispute is not only over money but also over digital rights, which KLKN says it does not have the right to grant from ABC or program syndicators. CBS/FOX affiliate KEYC/12 (Mankato, MN) has also cited a digital rights issue in its current dispute with DISH Network. Due to the unusual situation of two separately-owned ABC affiliates existing in the Lincoln-Tri Cities market, DirecTV customers still have access to ABC programming from KHGI/13 (Kearney); strangely, the situation was reversed during a 2012 dispute when KHGI was off DirecTV but KLKN remained. Retransmission consent disputes also took KLKN off DISH Network briefly in 2008 and Time Warner Cable briefly in 2010. (10/18/2013)

NEBRASKA:
With the federal government shutdown ending and FCC databases coming back online, we can now see one of the last applications filed before the Commission closed on Oct. 1. Wayne Radio Works, LLC is buying the construction permit for new translator K255CK/98.9 (West Point) from VSS Catholic Communications for $15,000. Wayne Radio Works owns two stations in Wayne, but the translator would have to be moved before it could rebroadcast either of them. The CP's 170-Watt coverage area is in the West Point region. (10/16/2013)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
Midwest Communications has announced plans to swap two formats in Sioux Falls with its Country format moving to a stronger signal. On Oct. 28, KTWB will move to 92.5 as "Big Country" while Adult Contemporary-formatted KELO-FM will move to 101.9 and drop the longtime "Lite" moniker in favor of simply frequency and callsign. 92.5 is one of the strongest FM stations in the Upper Midwest, using 100kW/555m (class C), while 101.9 uses 34kW/177m (class C2). Meanwhile, KELO-FM also announced that it would go all-Christmas on Thanksgiving Day. (10/16/2013)

MINNESOTA:
A correction on the new format at WLKX/95.9 (Forest Lake-Minneapolis): Rather than Spanish Christian as had been reported on the cusp of the change last month, WLKX is running a mix of Regional Mexican and Tropical as "La Neta" and streaming online at lanetaradio.com. "La Neta" is programmed separately from co-owned KBGY/107.5 (Faribault), which runs a similar format as "La Mera Buena." WLKX's signal is strong in the far northeastern suburbs while KBGY's is strong in the far southern suburbs; both stations have fringe signals to Minneapolis and St. Paul and simulcast Spanish-language Twins broadcasts. WLKX continues to carry some English-language programming on the weekends in simulcast with co-owned stations in the region, including North Dakota State University Bison football and "Bear Facts and Fish Tales" Sunday nights from 7 to 9. The station had carried an english-language Christian format since 1995, first as "Spirit 95.9" and then "Hope 95.9." "Hope" programming continues on the HD2 signal of sister station KLCI/106.1 (Elk River-Minneapolis). (10/14/2013)

MINNESOTA:
Mankato's only two local channels are off DISH Network due to a dispute with United Communications, which operates CBS and FOX affiliate KEYC. The station says it actually did reach a new retransmission consent agreement with DISH in July, but that DISH later demanded contract language which KEYC says would violate copyrights for network programming. DISH's package for the four-county Mankato market also includes Minneapolis stations KSTP-ABC and KARE-NBC and a national feed of PBS. (10/11/2013)

MANITOBA:
Regulators have approved a format tweak for "The Breeze" CFJL-FM/100.7 (Winnipeg). The Evanov Communications station will adjust its format to Light Adult Contemporary targetting listeners 45+ after the CRTC agreed to drop requirements that CFJL carry a specialty music format and play no more than 70 percent popular music. No one submitted an intervention opposing the change. The CRTC found CFJL had shown the economic need for the change and that it would not have a negative effect on other stations in the market. BBM ratings show CFJL is the lowest-rated station in Winnipeg, though its share more than doubled from the fall (September 3-October 28, 2012) to the spring ratings period (March 4-April 28) from 0.9 to 2.1. The current format has been among the lowest-rated of the five formats the station has run since signing on in 2002. (10/11/2013)

IOWA/NEBRASKA/WISCONSIN:
In case you missed it, ownership of two radio groups with holdings in the Upper Midwest is changing in deals announced this week:

MINNESOTA:
Former KMSP-TV anchor Rod Grams, who went on to become a U.S. Representative and then a U.S. Senator, has died at age 65. The Star Tribune reports he died Tuesday evening (10/8) after a battle with cancer. Besides KMSP, Grams' two-decade broadcast career included work in Montana, Wausau, and Rockford. Grams served in the U.S. House from 1993 to 1995 and the U.S. Senate from 1995 to 2001 as a Republican. He and his wife own the Little Falls Radio Corporation, which owns KLTF/960, WYRQ/92.1, and KFML/94.1. (10/9/2013)

WISCONSIN:
Wisconsin Public Radio could be ready to sign on another new station in the Chequamegon Bay area by the end of the year, marking the end of a two-decade effort to improve reception in the popular vacation area. Antenna installation is scheduled for this week for WHWA/104.7 (Washburn), which will carry the NPR News & Classical Music network with 17.5kW/184m (class C2) from a tower west of Washburn. WHWA will replace 38-Watt WPR translator W284AN/104.7 (Ashland). The sign-on of WHWA will mark the end of the "Clear Signal" campaign, which launched after the sign-on of a new commercial station in Ashland led to intermodulation that interfered with fringe reception of other regional WPR signals. The effort initially spawned two translators, one of which was replaced by the sign-on of Ideas Network station WUWS/90.9 (Ashland) last year. The former Ideas Network translator was moved from 102.9 to 102.3 and switched to 24-hour Classical from WHSA-HD2. (The translator had to vacate 102.9 to make way for future station WRNC/102.9.) WPR plans to return W284AN's license since there is no suitable frequency for a relocation. (10/8/2013)

WISCONSIN:
WECL/92.9 (Elk Mound-Eau Claire) has switched from Classic Rock to Active Rock as "The X," filling a void in the market that had been left since sister station WDRK/99.9 (Cornell-Eau Claire) flipped from Active Rock to Variety Hits three years ago. "The X" debuted Monday (10/7) after a weekend of stunting with all-Metallica. The change follows Mid-West Family Broadcasting's purchase of WECL and five other stations in the Eau Claire market from Maverick Media. WECL had carried Classic Rock for nine years, most recently as "The Big Cheese." Mid-West has a long-running Active Rocker in the Madison market, WJJO/94.1 (Watertown-Madison). (10/7/2013)

MINNESOTA:
KWLM/1340 (Willmar) reports that one of its early leaders, Bill Linder, has died. Linder first started at the station, which his father founded, in 1940 and worked with his father and brother to build the Linder Radio Group. The family now owns stations in the Willmar, Marshall, Mankato, and Owatonna markets and the Linder Farm Network. Bill Linder was inducted as a charter member of the Minnesota Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Services will be held Sunday in Willmar. (10/3/2013)

MINNESOTA:
Steve Schug, known on-air as Steve Hunter, passed away last week at the age of 44. Schug worked at Q102 Willmar and KCLD St. Cloud before heading to the Twin Cities, where his resume included work at KS95, Mix 104.1, and K102 and the parody song "Livin' in Minnesota." Visitation is scheduled for Friday in Norwood Young America. (10/3/2013)

MANITOBA:
Canadian regulators have approved a new format in Portage la Prairie. Golden West Radio will launch an information-heavy Classic Rock format on 93.1, converting the frequency from a rebroadcast of Country outlet CFRY/920. The format will include a heavy dose of local news, weather, sports, and agricultural information. Though the change is legally regarded as the launch of a new station, the technical parameters of the new station will match the 27kW facility already used by CFRY-1-FM on 93.1. The Country format will continue on AM; Golden West also owns "Mix 96.5" (CJPG-FM) in Portage. (10/2/2013)

IOWA/NEBRASKA:
The latest effort to put a full-power station on the air on 107.7 in the Omaha market has run into an old problem: Concerns about interference to air navigation equipment.

Longtime readers will recall that Connoisseur Media attempted to activate the frequency in the mid-2000's but was refunded its $4,397,250 auction bid after determining that complaints about interference to navigation equipment at Eppley Airfield and Offutt Air Force Base would prevent the station from ever going on the air.

Now, Victor Michael's Kona Coast Radio is encountering a similar problem as it attempts to activate KIMI/107.7 (Sidney, IA) from a tower near Tabor, which would deliver a rimshot signal to Omaha. In an application filed with the FCC shortly before the government shutdown, KIMI states that it was contacted by the Federal Aviation Administration about possible intermodulation interference to equipment at Offut after the 50kW ERP facility had already been constructed. (A picture of the tower submitted with the application appears at the right.)

KIMI says it's working with the FAA to resolve the issue and is seeking special temporary authority to operate with 500 Watts. It needs to return to the air by Oct. 3 to retain its license but it's not clear if that deadline will be enforced due to the government shutdown.

KIMI was originally constructed at Humboldt, NE, and remains licensed there, though filings indicate it was only on the air in Humboldt for a few days and cannot return to the air there because the original facility has already been dismantled. (10/2/2013)

MICHIGAN:
Houghton Community Broadcast Corp. is buying the construction permit for translator W257CZ/99.3 (Houghton) from Minnesota Public Radio for $15,000. The application states the translator will relay WCCY/1400. W257CZ was granted earlier this year and is currently permitted for 10 Watts from a site south of town. MPR also has existing translator W224AO/92.7 (Houghton), which acts as a fill-in transltor for the News/Classical format of WGGL/91.1 (Houghton). (10/1/2013)

NEBRASKA:
Flood Communications, LLC is buying translator K276FB/103.1 (Schuyler) from Bible Broadcasting Network for $25,000. Flood owns a few stations in the Norfolk area, far from K276FB's current coverage area east of Columbus. (10/1/2013)