November 1999

WISCONSIN:
Matt Kummer is joining WGBA/26 (Green Bay) to work in their Fox Valley newsroom. He previously worked in Peoria, IL, and WEAU/13 (Eau Claire). (11/30/99)

MINNESOTA/WISCONSIN:
Some stations in the Minneapolis-St. Paul TV market will soon be available on DSS dishes. DirecTV and Dish Network immediately began offering local channels in a few large markets immediately following President Clinton's signing of the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 1999. DirecTV says it plans to begin offering service in the Minneapolis market in "weeks." It appears that DirecTV will carry WCCO, KSTP, KARE, WFTC, and a national PBS feed. Echostar, the owner of Dish Network, listed Milwaukee and Minneapolis as two of 30 markets that may be served in the near future, but only 20 of those 30 will be offered. Due to limited channel availability, DSS providers will only provide the Big 4 network affiliates in major markets. (11/30/99)

IOWA:
Cumulus Media is buying Connoisseur Communications for $242 million in cash. Connoisseur owns 35 stations in nine markets, including KJOC/1170, KORB/93.5, WXLP/96.9, KBOB/99.7, and KQLI/104.9 in the Quad Cities and KOEL/950, KOEL-FM/92.3, KCRR/97.7, and KKCV/98.5 in Waterloo. Milwaukee-based Cumulus will own 299 stations in 58 markets following the sale. (11/30/99)

WISCONSIN:
WKFX/99.1 is now ID'ing as "Rice Lake" and WAQE-FM/97.7 is "Barron." Here's the confusing background: WAQE-FM had operated on 97.7 Rice Lake for some time, but received a permit to move to 99.1. A permit was then issued for a new station on 97.7 licensed to Barron. WAQE-FM Rice Lake was to be on 99.1 and WKFX Barron was to be on 97.7, but the frequencies swapped call letters shortly before 99.1's sign on in September. However, when the 99.1 facility ID'd as "Barron." Apparently the two stations were giving false ID's for a few months. (11/30/99)

NEBRASKA:
Melanie Ray joines WOWT/6 (Omaha) as the meteorologist for the Noon and 4 p.m. newscasts. (11/30/99)

DIGITAL TV:
After slow development, stations seem to be getting ready for Digital TV. Two dozen stations in the region covered by this site had applied for or received permits for digital stations before this fall. In the past few months, another four dozen stations in the region have applied for their digital channels. But, that still leaves 116 stations (more than half) which have not yet applied for their digital channel. A DTV Watch page has been set up. (11/27/99)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
VCY America was recently granted a new station in Freeman on 91.5. Freeman is midway between Sioux Falls, Mitchell, and Yankton. The class C2 station will use 9kW at 246m. (11/27/99)

WISCONSIN:
Faith Sound (KFSI Rochester) has been granted a 250W translator on 89.1 in Alma. (11/27/99)

IOWA:
The Construction Permit for KAYP/89.9 has been granted a change in community of license from Mount Pleasant to Burlington. The change also involves a drop in class from C2 to C3. The American Family Association holds the permit. (11/27/99)

MINNESOTA:
KCFB/91.5 (St. Cloud) is back on the air and has upgraded to its class C3 facilities (15kW at 106m). As anticipated, KCFB is simulcasting with sister station KTIG/102.7 (Pequot Lakes). The slogan "MCBI", for Minnesota Christian Broadcasters Inc., is sometimes used. (11/26/99)

MINNESOTA:
Chris Earl the new Sports Director at KDLH/3 (Duluth). He last worked at WEAU/13 (Eau Claire) as a sports reporter and anchor. (11/26/99)

MINNESOTA:
Former WCCO-TV producer Julie Jacoby has joined KSTP-TV as an investigative reporter. Jacoby worked at WCCO for seven years, and is an alum of WFRV, KBJR, and KCCO. (11/24/99)

IOWA:
The Construction Permit for a new station on 97.3 in New London is being sold from Big Ben Broadcasting to Pritchard Broadcasting. (11/24/99)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
The Rock format of KKQQ/102.3 (Volga) has moved to KDBX/107.1 (Clear Lake) and is now known as "The X." At 102.3, "something new" is coming. (11/23/99)

IOWA:
KIGL/104.9 (Spencer) will change to KLLT once Saga Broadcasting takes over. (11/21/99)

NEBRASKA:
Benedek Broadcasting is buying WOWT/6 (Omaha) from Chronicle Publishing, along with a station in Wichita, Kansas. For a while, it looked like these two stations would be sold with Chronicle's largest station, KRON in San Francisco, which was sold instead to Young Broadcasting for possibly the highest amount ever paid for a single TV station. (11/19/99)

MINNESOTA:
FOX47 (KXLT Rochester) will begin newscasts on Sunday, November 28. They'll air from 9 to 9:35 p.m. KXLT, which affiliated with FOX less than two years ago, will be the first FOX affiliate in Minnesota with a news department. The staff includes Jonathan Walsh, anchor; Kendra Oestreich, anchor/reporter; Ryan Towell, meteorologist; Pete Adeson, Sports Director; Joe Miller, sports reporter; Sarah Pitzen, reporter/weather; Carrie Chambers, producer; and Chuck Garfield, director. (11/19/99)

NEBRASKA/IOWA:
The FCC has dismissed the application from KAYA/91.3 (Hubbard) to change its community of license to Sioux City, Iowa. (11/18/99)

MINNESOTA:
The translator of KSTP-TV in St. James has moved from channel 32 to channel 30 (K30FN). The power remains about the same; the change was probably made to get away from WCCO's DTV allocation on channel 32. (11/18/99)

IOWA:
The Calvary Satellite Network has applied for a translator on 89.7 in Clive, a suburb of Des Moines. (11/18/99)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
Update on KDBX/107.1 (Clear Lake): they are saying KKQQ/102.3 will move to 107.1 next Monday, November 22, with something new coming to 102.3. (11/17/99)

MINNESOTA:
The FCC has approved Brill Media's purchase of WPNT/107.7 (Proctor-Duluth). The Commission had some concerns about concentration of advertising revenue in the market, but apparently decided Brill's purchase of 107.7 wouldn't affect the market adversly. (11/17/99)

MINNESOTA:
More applications for Christian satellite relayers in the Twin Cities area. Pensacola Christian College has applied for a translator on 91.9 in Medina, a northwestern suburb. The Educational Media Foundation (K-LOVE) has applied for a station (not a translator) on 89.9 in North Branch, a community just north of the Twin Cities on I-35. (11/17/99)

MINNESOTA:
KBKK/95.9 (Pillager-Brainerd) is on the air using Jones Radio Networks' Nostalgia format. The format goes head-to-head with KLKS/104.3 (Breezy Point-Brainerd). (11/17/99)

NEBRASKA:
Say goodbye to WOW, at least on AM. The Nebraska Radio Page reports that after 76 years as WOW, the station will become KOMJ "Magic 590" next Monday, November 22. The new format will be Nostalgia. WOW, of course, will still be on 94.1 FM. (11/17/99)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
KDBX/107.1 (Clear Lake) is on the air, broadcasting liners from DJ's at KKQQ/102.3 (Volga-Brookings) saying that KKQQ is moving to 107.1. More info as it becomes available. (11/16/99)

IOWA:
KKSO/1390 (Des Moines) was on the air when I was in town on Saturday. It at first appeared to be broadcasting nothing, but KBGG/1700 could be heard very quietly. (KKSO "moved" to 1700 and became KBGG; 1390's license will expire in 2004 as a result of the move.) Will a new format debut at 1390? (11/14/99)

MICHIGAN:
WMXG/106.3 (Stephenson) is not on the air, despite the fact that they've asked the FCC for a license to cover (which is what stations do when they put a Construction Permit on the air). Mike Austerman of the Michigan Broadcast Guide did some checking and found that the station plans to sign on in December with a Modern Rock-leaning-Contemporary Hits format. (11/12/99)

MINNESOTA:
KCFB/91.5 (St. Cloud) will go off the air next Sunday (11/14) and stay off for a few weeks. KCFB's building has been sold to KKJM/92.9 and the entire staff has either been relocated or let go. When KCFB returns to the air, programming will originate from sister station KTIG/102.7 (Pequot Lakes). In KKJM news, part-timer Dan Foley has been upped to full-time. (11/11/99)

NEBRASKA:
Megan Dardanell moves from KHGI/13 (Kearney) to WOWT/6 (Omaha), where she'll be a reporter and fill-in anchor. (11/11/99)

NORTH DAKOTA:
KXJB/4 (Valley City-Fargo) is being sold from North American Communication Corp. to Catamount Broadcasting. Translators in Devils Lake and Glasston are also included. (11/9/99)

NEBRASKA:
KRNY/102.3 (Kearney) has applied for a power increase from 25kW to 79kW, which would also involve a change in class from C3 to C1. Since the proposed antenna height is 331m, KRNY would probably have the same coverage area as many 100kW stations. Sister station KQKY/105.9, which is already 100kW, has applied for an antenna height increase to 367m. (11/9/99)

IOWA:
Pensacola Christian College was recently granted another translator for its WPCS. In Sioux City, WPCS will be relayed by K220HO/91.9, with 170W at 93m. (11/9/99)

MINNESOTA:
After asking the FCC to reconsider its non-renewal of their licenses, KMGK/107.1 (Glenwood) and KSTQ/99.3 (Alexandria) have had their licenses renewed. Both are owned by Branstock Communications. No word yet on KMSR/94.3 (Sauk Centre), another Branstock station which was not given a license renewal. (11/9/99)

WISCONSIN:
Woodward Communications is adding another station in the Green Bay market with the purchase of WGBM/94.7 (Mishicot) from Bay-Lakes-Valley Broadcasting. Woodward already owns WKSZ/95.9, WAPL/105.7, and WHBY/1150 in the Green Bay and Appleton markets. (11/9/99)

MINNESOTA:
Duluth Datacasting Partners is buying K56HF, one of Duluth's silent LPTV stations. (11/7/99)

MINNESOTA:
KSTP-DT/50 will begin operations on Monday, November 8. The station will transmit from the tower at KSTP's studio on University Avenue in St. Paul until the permanent facility at the Shoreview tower is ready. Programming on the channel will include Monday Night Football and movies from ABC. The Twin Cities digital TV lineup has been added to the Minnesota TV Markets page. (11/6/99)

NATIONAL:
Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, through an organization called Starcom, has applied for at least 148 translators for its Sonlife network this year. The stations would techically relay WJFM Baton Rouge, LA. The only other station on the network is an AM station in Bowling Green, KY. Programming consists of preaching and talk from Swaggart Ministries. Here are the translators that have been applied for in the Upper Midwest: Bloomfield, IA 90.3, Carrol 90.1, Creston 89.5, Osceola 88.7, Spencer 88.1; Alexandria, MN 91.7, Bemidji 90.5, Fergus Falls 88.3, Worthington 91.3; Ainsworth, NE 89.5, Alliance 89.1, Beatrice 88.9, Bridgeport 91.9, Broken Bow 91.3, Columbus 88.1, Kearney 90.5, Kimball 89.3, Sidney 89.5, Wayne 88.7, Valentine 90.9; Dickinson, ND 90.9, Langdon 88.9, Williston 88.7; Aberdeen, SD 89.5, Brookings 89.7, Huron 88.7, Mitchell 88.7, Vermillion 88.9, Watertown 90.1, Yankton 91.1; La Crosse, WI 89.9. (11/4/99)

NORTH DAKOTA:
KFGO-FM/101.9 (Fargo) recently changed its slogan from "Moose Country 102" to "Moose Country 1-0-1-9." (11/4/99)

MICHIGAN:
VCY/America was recently granted a Construction Permit for a new station in Iron Mountain. It will operate with 500W at 138m (vertical only), and has been granted the call letters WBMU. (11/4/99)

WISCONSIN:
Word is that the Construction Permit for 106.3 Spooner will go to Mike Oberg, who's buying WCSW/WGMO (Shell Lake) from Charles Lutz. Lutz' wife, Betty, won the auction for the Spooner station, but a condition in Oberg's purchase of WCSW/WGMO said he'd get the Spooner station if Lutz won the auction. (11/2/99)

WISCONSIN:
The tower for WXCX/105.7 (Siren) was completed last week. The station should sign on within a month. (11/2/99)

NORTH DAKOTA:
Pensacola Christian College has applied for a 160W (vertical only) station on 88.7 in Willison, and a station on 88.1 in Vance. (11/2/99)

WISCONSIN:
All of Cumulus Media's Eau Claire stations were knocked off the air Monday (11/1) when winds knocked down a tower at the main studio location on Cameron Street. The tower was used for WBIZ/1400's antenna and studio-transmitter antennas for WMEQ/880, Arrow 92.1, B95, and Z100. All of the stations were off the air or had open carrier until at least 8 p.m. As of 12:15 a.m. Tuesday, it appears that at least B95 and Z100 are back (from what I can tell from Luck). (11/2/99)

NORTH DAKOTA:
Prime Cities Broadcasting had planned to have KNDX/26 (Bismarck) and KXND/24 (Minot) on the air by October 31, but the dates have been set back to November 7 for KNDX and November 25 for KXND. Translators in Dickinson and Williston should be on the air by the end of the year. The FOX affiliates will go by the name "West Dakota FOX," and they'll have a secondary affiliation with UPN. (11/2/99)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
The Construction Permit for KCYT/94.3 (Lead) is being sold from Brian Encke to W3, Inc. (11/2/99)

MINNESOTA:
St. Cloud State University has filed a petition to deny Best Media's application for a translator on 88.1 in Chanhassen. It would block SCSU's KVSC/88.1 in the area. (11/2/99)