November 2002

IOWA:
KWOI/90.7 (Carroll) is set to officially begin broadcasting at 5:29 p.m. on Tuesday, December 3. NPR president and CEO Kevin Klose will officially sign the station on from an Iowa Communications Network room at Iowa State (more information). The station will simulcast programming with WOI/640 and WOI-FM/90.1 (Ames) on the same schedule used by KTPR/91.1 (Fort Dodge). (11/27/02)

MINNESOTA:
KBHW/99.5 (International Falls) is now including W269AQ/101.7 (Chisholm) in its translator ID's, suggesting the translator is back on the air relaying KBHW. W269AQ is one of many Iron Range translators recently purchased from JPI Radio. (11/26/02)

MINNESOTA:
Minnesota Christian Broadcasters' new 6kW WZFJ/100.1 (Pequot Lakes-Brainerd) is testing with sample music, jingles, and liners. The station plans to sign on Sunday, December 1, at 2 p.m. with a Christian Hits/Rock format called "Z100, Total Christian Hits." MCBI also owns KTIG/102.7 (Pequot Lakes), which was originally on 100.1 but moved to 102.7 to upgrade to 50kW. MCBI then applied for a new station on 100.1 when it came up for grabs. (11/26/02)

IOWA:
Eisert Enterprises is selling KDWD/100.1 (Emmetsburg-Spencer) and KKIA/92.9 (Ida Grove-Storm Lake) to Jim Dandy Broadcasting for $2.5 million. Jim Dandy is owned by Dean Sorenson (40%), Richard Chapin (40%), and Robert Fain (20%). Sorenson is the majority owner of 17 stations in the region which are operated by Waitt Radio under local marketing agreements, Sorenson and Chapin are partners in a company which owns two Nebraska stations, and Sorenson and Chapin each own 1/3 of a company which is buying two Nebraska stations. (11/24/02)

MINNESOTA:
The Grand Rapids translator for KBHW/99.5 (International Falls) is now the recently-purchased K236AD/95.1, replacing the translator at 100.9 that suffered from some interference. K280AZ/103.9 (Cook) is also back on the air, now rebroadcasting KBHW. (11/21/02)

WISCONSIN:
WGEE/1360 (Green Bay) has applied to increase its daytime power from 5kW to 10kW, while going from nondirectional to directional. The nighttime facilities would remain 5kW directional. (11/21/02)

NEBRASKA:
Arbor Day Broadcasting is buying KNCY/1600 (Nebraska City) and KNCY-FM/103.1 (Auburn) from Radio 2000 for $600,000. The asset purchase agreement says KNCY's contract to carry Westwood One's Mainstream Country format will be cancelled as of December 31. Arbor Day is owned equally by Dean Sorenson, Richard Chapin, and Richard Wagner. The three also own a station in Missouri, while Sorenson and Chapin are partners in Eternal Broadcasting, which owns two stations in Nebraska. Sorenson also owns 17 stations which are operated by Waitt Radio under a local marketing agreement. (11/20/02)

MINNESOTA/WISCONSIN:
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tim Cuprisin reports that Sinclair Broadcasting has long-term plans to launch newscasts on all of its stations. That includes not only WVTV/WB18 and WCGV/UPN24 in Milwaukee, but also KMWB/WB23 in Minneapolis. KMWB is the only station in the Twin Cities with no news presence. (11/20/02)

MINNESOTA:
The FCC has approved Regent Broadcasting's purchase of Duluth market stations WEBC/560, KLDJ/101.7, KKCB/105.1, and KBMX/107.7 from debtor-in-posession Northland Broadcasting. The purchase was given extra scrutiny because of the stations' market share. (11/19/02)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
KLMP/97.9 (Rapid City) has completed an antenna height increase from 119m to 579m. The station's power remains 100kW, meaning the class has changed from C1 to C. (11/19/02)

NEBRASKA:
KNEB/960 (Scottsbluff) has received a construction permit to relocate its transmitter and upgrade from 1kW day/500W night to 5kW/350W. (11/18/02)

WISCONSIN:
Wide World of Wisconsin Radio reports that WBJZ/104.7 (Berlin) flipped from Smooth Jazz to Country as "B104.7" at Noon Friday, November 15. (11/16/02)

WISCONSIN:
WKSH/1640 (Sussex-Milwaukee) will soon be carrying Radio Disney. The previous Christian format ended Thursday morning (11/14), and was followed by the sound of chirping birds. "Be Our Guest" played at 12:01 a.m. Friday and was thought to have been the start of Radio Disney, but the sound of chirping birds later returned with occasional repeats of "Be Our Guest." (11/15/02, updated 11/16)

MINNESOTA:
Don Fitzpatrick's Shoptalk reports that Roshini Rajkumar has returned to home to Minneapolis to work as a reporter at KMSP/FOX9 and WFTC/UPN29. (11/16/02)

NEBRASKA:
KCRO/660 (Omaha) has joined the trend of daytimers applying for nighttime operation. KCRO has applied for 54 Watts nondirectional at night. The station is already authorized for 500W from 6 a.m. to sunrise in addition to its 1kW daytime power. (11/14/02)

IOWA:
DISH Network CEO Charlie Ergen announced on his monthly "Charlie Chat" Tuesday that Des Moines stations will be offered beginning November 21. Stations in the market are WOI/ABC, KCCI/CBS, WHO/NBC, KDSM/FOX, KPWB/WB, KDIN/PBS, and KFPX/PAX. All of the stations except KFPX will likely be carried, since DISH does not carry PAX affiliates in other markets. Anyone in the Des Moines market, which covers most of central Iowa from the Missouri border to the Minnesota border, will be able to subscribe to the package. (11/13/02)

MINNESOTA:
Several newspapers report that KRII/11 (Chisholm) was slated to sign on this week, but has been delayed by problems in receiving a microwave signal from KBJR/6 (NBC, Superior-Duluth). KRII will operate as a satellite of KBJR with local commercial inserts and go by the name "Range 11." Once the new station signs on, CBS affiliate KDLH/3 will be the only commercial station in the market without transmitters on the Iron Range: ABC affiliate WDIO/10 operates satellite WIRT/13 (Hibbing), while FOX affiliate KQDS-TV/21 is seen on translators. (11/13/02)

MINNESOTA:
Jon Ellis is the new 6 and 10 p.m. producer at ABC affiliate WDIO/10 (Duluth), replacing Bill Strande, who's moving to sister station KSTP-TV/5 (St. Paul). (11/12/02)

MINNESOTA:
New Willmar-area signal KLFN/106.5 (Sunburg) has signed on with an all-Christmas format. The station operates with 6kW/100m (class A) and is owned by Lakeland Broadcasting, which also owns Willmar's KWLM/1340 and KQIC/102.5. (11/11/02)

MINNESOTA:
KMOJ/89.9 (Minneapolis) has apparently back to full power after a few weeks of problems. (11/11/02)

MINNESOTA:
Three Angels Broadcasting Network's Rochester station has moved from channel 21 to channel 58, with the new callsign K58GC. The change includes an upgrade from 17.7kW to 29.5kW. (11/9/02)

MINNESOTA:
Comsearch has received a construction permit for an experimental low-power station on 106.3 in Owatonna. The company plans to conduct tests to see what kind of interference low-power stations cause to stations 600 KHz (.6 MHz) away, in this case, KROC-FM/106.9 (Rochester). The company also has CP's for experimental stations on 91.1 in Owatonna and 91.7 in East Bethel. Though the CP's allow continuous operation, its unclear if that will happen, especially since 91.1 Owatonna is short-spaced with KNOW/91.1 (Minneapolis-St. Paul). (11/8/02)

NORTH DAKOTA:
Clear Channel's KDAM/104.7 (Hope-Fargo) unveiled its new format at 3 p.m. today: Active Rock as "The Dam." Clear Channel also owns a Classic Rock station in the market, "101.9 The Box." The two go head-to-head with Triad Broadcasting's Hard Rock "Q98" and Classic Rock "107.9 The Fox." (11/7/02)

NORTH DAKOTA:
Three Way Broadcasting is buying KHND/1470 (Harvey) from Walters Broadcasting for $39,000. The agreement was reached in June but not filed with the FCC until last week. The owners-to-be have been operating the station since July 1 under a local marketing agreement. Three Way Broadcasting is owned by Richard Jensen (47%), Paula Wagner (33%), and Sheila Jensen (20%). None have any other broadcasting interests. All live in Harvey, though Sheila Jensen is actually a citizen of the United Kingdom and will not be involved in the day-to-day operation of the station. (11/5/02)

MINNESOTA:
KMOJ/89.9 (Minneapolis) is apparently running at very low power since the station can't be heard outside of Minneapolis. Normally, the station's 1kW signal can be heard throughout the metro. (11/4/02)

MINNESOTA:
WBWX-CA/13 (Minneapolis) has applied to increase power from 110W to 1.25kW. The station had earlier received a construction permit to move to channel 33 but would remain on channel 13 under the latest application. WBWX-CA is owned by The Box Worldwide, a subsidiary of Viacom, and carries MTV2. (11/4/02)

WISCONSIN:
The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram reports that WISM/98.1 (Altoona-Eau Claire) left the air at Midnight Thursday after the station's sale to Clear Channel was completed. The station's format had been Classic Rock, which competed with Clear Channel's Rock 92.1 (WMEQ-FM Menomonie-Eau Claire). (11/3/02)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
The FCC has approved an application from KXRB/1000 (Sioux Falls) to add nighttime operation. The station, which is 10kW directional during the daytime, will operate with 100W at night using the same directional pattern. (11/2/02)

MINNESOTA/WISCONSIN:
NBC affiliate KBJR/6 (Superior-Duluth) will occasionally be off the air during the day this week and next while a tower crew installs a new antenna for digital TV. The station's signal on local cable is unaffected since the signal is sent to the cable system by microwave. KBJR will repeat soap operas overnight if the station is off the air at their airtime. (11/1/02)