November 2014

OTHER NEW LOW-POWER (100-WATT) STATIONS RECENTLY GRANTED:

NORTH DAKOTA:
The FCC has deleted the license of translator K269FI/101.7 (Cavalier) at the request of its owner, the University of Northwestern-St. Paul. The translator had relayed "Life 97.9" (KFNW-FM Fargo) and went off the air in June due to transmitter problems. (11/24/2014)

WISCONSIN:
WOTE/1380 (Clintonville) has become "ESPN 1380," dropping Soft Oldies. WOTE is owned by Results Broadcasting along with "Frog Country 92.3" (WJMQ Clintonville). WOTE uses 3.9kW day and 1.8kW night, also delivering a good signal to Shawano, where Results owns a separate AM-FM combo. (11/24/2014)

ALL-CHRISTMAS UPDATE:
The Friday before Thanksgiving has proven to be a big day for all-Christmas flips this year. Those making the flip include:

Other flips earlier in the week included "104.3 Cities FM" (KZLT East Grand Forks), "Y105.5" (WLJY Nekoosa-Wisconsin Rapids), and iHeartMedia's "Mix 98.1" (WISM Altoona-Eau Claire). Entercom's WOLX/94.9 (Baraboo-Madison) is promoting a Nov. 25 flip. Follow the full list of this year's flips here. (11/21/2014)

NEBRASKA:
Pappas Liquidating Trust is seeking FCC approval to turn its local marketing agreement to run FOX affiliate KFXL-TV/51.1 (Lincoln) into full ownership. Pappas owns ABC affiliate KHGI/13 (Kearney), which simulcasts KFXL FOX programming on channel 13.2, and wants to buy KFXL Television LLC from Stanley Trapp for $300,000. Though the Lincoln-Tri Cities market is several ownership groups short of the FCC's minimum for duopolies, Pappas argues the KHGI/KFXL duopoly should be allowed because the two stations' coverage areas do not overlap. (Gray TV was able to form a duopoly in the market through a failing station waiver, which is not being sought in this case.) KFXL recently changed its RF channel from 51 to 15 and got a slight upgrade to 21.5kW, still far short of the 1,000kW potential maximum for UHF digital TV stations. (11/19/2014)

NORTH DAKOTA/FARGO:
A member of the Ingstad family is buying another translator in the Fargo market. Brooke Ingstad is buying the construction permit for W247CC/97.3 (Moorhead) from Horizon Christian Fellowship for $75,000. The sale includes no property. The translator has never been on the air, and the current CP calls for just 1 Watt covering a portion of Moorhead. The application to transfer the license states W247CC will carry the Ingstad family's "Willie at 1660" (KQWB West Fargo), which had previously been listed as the primary station on FCC paperwork for K233CY/94.5. K233CY ended up carrying an Adult Alternative format from an HD2 subchannel of another Ingstad station. The family's Radio F-M Media and Mediactive, LLC own five full-power FM stations in the market. (11/19/2014)

MICHIGAN:
Todd Stuart Noordyk's Great Lakes Radio has signed on a third FM translator format in the Marquette market. W291CJ/106.1 (Marquette) is now carrying Christmas music as "The Gift," originating on the HD4 signal of WKQS-FM/101.9 (Negaunee). The translator, which Great Lakes Radio is buying from the Educational Media Foundation, upgraded from 55 Watts to 250 Watts. The company also uses WKQS-HD2 to feed a Sports format to W286BC/105.1 (Marquette) and WKQS-HD3 to feed an Oldies format to W248BU/97.5 (Ishpeming-Marquette). (11/18/2014)

MINNESOTA:
Hubbard Broadcasting is buying 16 radio stations in north-central Minnesota from companies owned by Lou Buron for $8 million.

The deal was first announced in a press release Thursday, and the sale price became available in an asset purchase agreement in the FCC database Friday. The stations currently owned by Paul Bunyan Broadcasting, BDI Broadcasting, BG Broadcasting, and BL Broadcasting employ about 100 people and are based in Alexandria, Bemidji, Brainerd, and Wadena, all within the viewing area of Hubbard ABC affiliate KSTP-TV/5 (St. Paul).

"Hubbard Broadcasting is deeply committed to local radio and to Minnesota, and this is a great opportunity to expand the company's presence into some wonderful local communities," said Virginia (Ginny) Morris, chair and CEO of Hubbard Radio in a press release. "We have long admired Lou Buron and Mary Campbell, whose stations have been nationally recognized for both excellence in programming and commitment to local community service. We are committed to maintaining that dedication to excellence and community, and we look forward to welcoming all Omni employees to the Hubbard Broadcasting family."

Hubbard said it expected no programming or personnel changes at the stations. Stations included in the deal are KULO/94.3 (Alexandria), KIKV/100.7 (Sauk Centre-Alexandria), KWAD/920 (Wadena), KKWS/105.9 (Wadena), KNSP/1430 (Staples), KVBR/1340 (Brainerd), KLIZ/1380 (Brainerd), KBLB/93.3 (Nisswa-Brainerd), KUAL/103.5 (Brainerd), WJJY/106.7 (Brainerd), KLIZ-FM/107.5 (Brainerd), KBUN/1450 (Bemidji), KKZY/95.5 (Bemidji), KLLZ/99.1 (Walker-Bemidji), KBHP/101.1 (Bemidji), and WQXJ/104.5 (Blackduck-Bemidji).

Dan Seeman, Vice President and Market Manager for Hubbard Radio Minneapolis-St. Paul, will oversee all of the Minnesota radio stations.

Hubbard's radio group owns stations in Minneapolis and six other major markets. These will be the company's only radio stations in unrated markets. (11/13/2014)

ALL-CHRISTMAS UPDATE:
iHeartMedia's "Oldies 95.7" (WRIT Milwaukee) made its annual transition to Christmas music at 7 a.m. Thursday (Nov. 13). The switch comes a little earlier than the past two years, but nearly two weeks after WZTI/1290 and its FM translator at 100.3 became "The Elf." Elsewhere, Saga Broadcasting's "More 104" (KMYR Ames-Des Moines) is promoting a Christmas preview weekend beginning Friday. And several University of Northwestern-St. Paul non-commercial stations are planning their seasonal switches: "Life 97.3" (KDNW Duluth) will flip on Nov. 21, the same day as Duluth's "Christmas City of the North Parade, while "Life 97.9" (KFNW-FM Fargo) will flip the day after Thanksgiving. "Life 101.9" (KNWS-FM Waterloo-Cedar Rapids) will have two all-Christmas weekends before a full flip on Dec. 13. Follow the full list of this year's flips here. (11/13/2014)

NEBRASKA:
Why have just one Christmas station when you can have two? iHeartMedia has signed on new 110-Watt translator K235CD/94.9 (Omaha) carrying "Christmas 94.9," just 12 days after launching "Christmas 102.3" on new translator K272FE/102.3 (Council Bluffs-Omaha). K235CD relays the HD2 channel of KISO/96.1 (Omaha) while K272FE relays the HD2 channel of KFFF/93.3 (Bennington-Omaha). Websites are set up at both Christmas949.com and Christmas1023.com, both pointing to the same Facebook and Twitter accounts. KISO-HD2 had previously carried "The Brew," a format which was heard on 96.1's main channel until it flipped to "Kiss FM" two years ago. (11/12/2014)

MINNESOTA:
"Pride Radio" turned out to be short-lived on iHeartMedia's newest FM translator in the Twin Cities area. The translator at 96.7, which relays the HD3 signal of KQQL/107.9 (Anoka), began transmitting from West St. Paul in mid-October and had carried a voice-tracked version of iHeartMedia's "Pride Radio" format for its first couple of weeks on the air. Then KQQL-HD3 and the translator switched to "Kool 1-0-80s," a format that's had several other incarnations in the market. The FCC has granted the license to cover 96.7's new 71-Watt facility and is still listing its callsign as W244CS, not K244EQ as it had previously announced. iHeartMedia has applied to move the translator to the IDS Center with 170 Watts. (11/12/2014)

IOWA:
Quincy Newspapers NBC affiliate KTIV/4.1 (Sioux City) is operating at reduced power due to a burnout in its transmission line. The station reports that the burnout happened early Friday morning, and that it returned to the air Sunday with about 20 percent of normal power from an antenna mounted about 700 feet up its 1,987-foot tower northeast of Sioux City. Nexstar ABC affiliate KCAU/9 (Sioux City) began temporarily carrying KTIV programming on channel 9.2, which normally carries Live Well Network, on Saturday. KTIV also carries CW+ on 4.2 and Me-TV on 4.3. (11/10/2014)

MINNESOTA:
It appears another new digital TV subchannel is coming to the Twin Cities: Justice Network has announced plans to launch in January on "virtually all" stations owned by Gannett Broadcasting. Gannett's holdings include Minneapolis NBC affiliate KARE/11, which also carries WeatherNation TV on 11.2. Many of the series on the new network's "true crime" lineup previously aired on the truTV cable channel. The Justice Network announcement comes a few weeks after CBS announced plans to launch new subchannel Decades on WCCO-TV/4 (Minneapolis) and other stations next spring. (11/10/2014)

NEBRASKA:
KCTY/1590 (Wayne) has signed on FM translator K255CK/98.9 (Wayne) carrying its Classic Hits format known as "The City." The lineup also includes several local newscasts per day as well as newscasts from ABC and the Nebraska Radio Network. KCTY owner Wayne Radio Works purchased K255CK from Spirit Catholic Radio and obtained a waiver to move it from West Point to Wayne. The company also owns Country-formatted KTCH/104.9, which had used the KCTY callsign until this past February when KTCH's format moved from AM to FM and the KCTY callsign went to AM. Wayne Radio Works is owned by veteran Nebraska broadcaster David Kelly. (11/10/2014)

NEBRASKA/MINNESOTA:
DTV America Corp. continues its buying spree with the purchase of five low-power TV stations in Nebraska and one in Minnesota. It's buying five LPTV construction permits licensed to Lincoln (K14NW-D, K15IU-D, K19JI-D, K24JK-D, and KQLD-LD/34) from Mid America DTV, LLC for $20,000. In a separate transaction, DTV America is buying the CP for K18KU-D (Duluth) from Randolph Lee Ridings for $4,000. Both deals were signed last year but not filed with the FCC until last week. DTV America is in the process of buying another 19 LPTV CP's in the Upper Midwest to go along with the 33 LPTV CP's it and DTV America II already hold in the region. (11/10/2014)

IOWA/MINNESOTA:
iHeartMedia's "KG95" (KGLI/95.5 Sioux City) joined the all-Christmas list over the weekend. Meanwhile, Duluth's "Life 97.3" (KDNW) and Dubuque's "Super Hits 106" (KIYX/106.1 Sageville) are promoting pending flips. Follow the full list of this year's flips here. (11/9/2014)

IOWA:
Calvary Chapel Iowa has signed on new low-power FM station KEWR-LP/97.5 (Cedar Rapids), which is carrying the syndicated HeartSong Radio format. KEWR-LP transmits with 67 Watts from northeast Cedar Rapids and is apparently being rebroadcast on the larger signal of Edgewater Broadcasting's new K286BY/105.1, which is licensed to Iowa City but transmits from southwest Cedar Rapids with 250 Watts. (11/9/2014)

IOWA:
FM translator K225BZ/92.9 (Webster City) has signed on, relaying the Oldies/Classic Hits format of KQWC/1570. The station reports the 250-Watt translator signed on Oct. 31. Riverfront Broadcasting of Iowa, LLC is in the process of buying the KQWC, K225BZ, KQWC-FM/95.7, and stations in three other communities from NRG Media. (11/9/2014)

MINNESOTA:
New station KTRF-FM/94.1 (Red Lake Falls-Thief River Falls) has signed on simulcasting the News/Talk/Sports format of KTRF/1230 (Thief River Falls). KTRF-FM uses 50kW/57m (Class C2) from a tower southeast of town. The new station is the fourth for Tor Ingstad's Iowa City Broadcasting Company in the area; the others are Country-formatted KKDQ/99.3 (Thief River Falls) and Classic Rocker KKAQ/1460 (Thief River Falls). (11/9/2014)

MINNESOTA:
University of Northwestern-St. Paul's K288BF/105.5 (Grand Marais) is back on the air after brief transmitter troubles. The longtime translator, one of only a half-dozen FM signals reliably available in Grand Marais, relays the Contemporary Christian format of "Life 97.3" (KDNW Duluth). (11/9/2014)

NEBRASKA:
Salem Media has signed on translator K233CO/94.5 (Omaha), relaying the Christian format of KCRO/660. The translator uses 250 Watts from a tower in West Omaha. It signed on Wednesday, Nov. 5. (11/6/2014)

WISCONSIN:
Magnum Communications has closed on its purchase of four stations near Milwaukee. The Tomah-based company bought WRJN/1400 and WEZY/92.1 (Racine) and WBKV/1470 and WBWI/92.5 (West Bend) from Bliss Communications for $2.25 million. Bob Heymann, Director of the Chicago office of Media Services Group, Inc., was the exclusive broker for the transaction. (11/6/2014)

MINNESOTA:
KBEK/95.5 (Mora) is back on the air, testing with a mix of music. The station had gone silent at the end of March and was subsequently sold by Colleen McKinney to Genesis Technology Communication LLC, a deal which the FCC approved several weeks ago. The new owners have been building a new studio and website for the station. (11/6/2014)

IOWA:
Christmas has come to the Quad Cities on iHeartMedia's "Mix 96" (KMXG Clinton). The flip happened at Midnight early Nov.5, which is several days earlier than last year. Prior to last year, "Mix 96" had run Christmas preview weekends until making the full transition later in the month. Follow the full list of this year's flips here. (11/5/2014)

IOWA:
Nexstar Broadcasting is forming an ABC/CW duopoly in the Des Moines market with the purchase of KCWI-TV/23 (Ames) from Pappas Telecasting for $3.5 million. Nexstar recently purchased WOI-TV/5 (Ames). The sale will split up a current duopoly of KCWI and My/This affiliate KDMI/19 (Des Moines), maintaining the FCC minimum of eight full-power ownership groups in the market. (11/4/2014)

MICHIGAN:
Todd Stuart Noordyk's Great Lakes Radio, which recently launched two HD/translator formats in the Marquette area, is buying three translator stations from Educational Media Foundation for the token price of $1. The Noordyk family also holds Christianradiobroadcasting.org, which owns two non-commercial stations in the Upper Peninsula that carry EMF's "K-Love" network. Translators included in the $1 transaction are W291CJ/106.1 (Marquette), W260AG/99.9 (Ishpeming), and W254AG/98.7 (Escanaba). On other translators, Great Lakes Radio carries "Good Time Oldies" on W248BU/97.5 (Ishpeming-Marquette) via the HD3 signal of WKQS/101.9 (Negaunee-Marquette) and "FOX Sports Marquette" on W286BC/105.1 (Marquette) via WKQS' HD2 signal. The "FOX Sports Marquette" website also lists 99.9. (11/2/2014)

MINNESOTA:
Milestone Radio's WQPM/1300 (Princeton) has added an FM simulcast on translator K277AS/103.3, which is now transmitting from the WQPM tower with 150 Watts. "The Big Q" carries a broad Oldies format. K277AS, which is owned by the Educational Media Foundation and remains licensed to Big Lake, had previously transmitted from Monticello as part of a chain of "Air 1" network translators from St. Cloud to the Twin Cities. The chain is no longer needed since "Air 1" is now being fed to metro area translators from the HD2 signal of iHeartMedia's KTCZ/97.1 (Minneapolis). (11/2/2014)

NEBRASKA/SOUTH DAKOTA:
The FCC has approved a move from South Dakota to Nebraska for a future FM station. The new station on 99.5, which does not yet have a callsign, was originally alloted to Rosebud, SD. The CP now calls for the station to be licensed to Kilgore, NE, with a transmitter just outside Valentine using 25kW/87m (class C3). The CP is held by DJ Broadcasting, which owns KSDZ/95.5 (Gordon, NE). KSDZ, which carries Country by day and Classic Hits by night, is relayed on a translator in Valentine owned by Duane Witte. (11/2/2014)

NORTH DAKOTA:
Official paperwork has been filed with the FCC to complete the previously-reported sale of KNDX/26 (Bismarck) and KXND/24 (Minot) to Legacy Broadcasting LLC. Gray TV is exercising an option to buy the stations, former FOX affiliates, from Prime Cities Broadcasting and then spinning them off to Legacy for $75,000 because FCC rules will not allow Gray to buy the stations outright or operate them through a shared services agreement. Gray instead moved the FOX affiliation to a subchannel of its NBC affiliates in the market and kept the KNDX and KXND callsigns alive on low-power stations in the western part of the market. Legacy will be required to change the callsigns of the full-power stations. The sale price is the same as similar Gray transactions in the Fargo and Hastings-Lincoln markets; Legacy is also the buyer in the Hastings transaction. (11/2/2014)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
KLND/89.5 (Little Eagle) has been off the air for a month due to transmission line damage. The station says in a request to the FCC for special temporary authority to remain silent that its transmission line is cracked and that it had intended to return to the air by the end of the month, but replacement coaxial cable was delivered damaged. It says it expects to return to the air by the end of November. KLND is owned by Seventh Generation Media Services and serves the Standing Rock Reservation in north-central South Dakota with 100kW/207m, carrying Native American and public radio programming. (11/2/2014)

WISCONSIN:
New station WMNM-LP/105.1 (Mount Morris) is on the air carrying a mix of music including Oldies and County, along with short vignettes about the history of towns in the area. The station is asking for listener input on its permanent format. WMNM-LP is owned by the Mount Morris Waushara Preservation Group and uses 48W/43m. The coverage area is in central Wisconsin, west of Oshkosh and southeast of Stevens Point. (11/2/2014)

WISCONSIN:
Milwaukee Community Radio Alliance's WZTI/1290 (Greenfield-Milwaukee) and its FM translator, W262CJ/100.3 (Milwaukee), have dropped "Martini Radio" and are now running Christmas music as "The Elf." The switch happened at Noon on Nov. 1. A Christmas format that drops a station's regular brand often indicates a format adjustment is in the works for Dec. 26. "Martini Radio" first launched as a Nostalgia/Lounge format in March 2013 and later added more 70s and 80s light pop. (11/1/2014)