December 2012

2012 IN REVIEW:
A big year for Contemporary Hit Radio, the shutdown of TV transmitters in rural Canada, several major radio ownership changes in the Dakotas, the end of Alexandria TV news, and Twin Cities radio format shakeups topped Upper Midwest Broadcasting headlines in 2012. Click here for a look back. (12/31/2012)

IOWA:
Iowa Public Radio says it'll return Classical music to Ames this winter with the sign-on of KICG/91.7 (Perry). Ames listeners without HD radios haven't been able to receive Classical music over the air since IPR flipped WOI-FM/90.1 (Ames-Des Moines) to its News and Adult Alternative service in September. (IPR Classical is available on several smaller signals in the Des Moines area and WOI-FM's HD2 signal.) IPR is posting updates on KICG's construction on its website, saying the tower site has been secured, equipment has been purchased, and the structural analysis has been completed. The new station will use 10kW/110m (class C3) from a tower near Boone, delivering a good signal to Ames and possible fringe coverage of Fort Dodge. The FCC first granted a construction permit to build KICG in 2007 and while CP's are normally only valid for three years, the FCC tolled the deadline in this case. (12/28/2012)

IOWA:
KOKZ/105.7 (Waterloo) has lost its "Cool." The Classic Hits station has dropped the "Cool" slogan it had used for more than a decade, originally as an Oldies outlet, and is now simply "KOKZ." KOKZ was sold to Woodward Communications earlier this year. (12/27/2012)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
Classic Hits station 100.1 "The Eagle" (KJBI Fort Pierre-Pierre) will extend its reach to Chamberlain on a translator that previously carried a Christian network. The Praise Network no longer needs K300AN/107.9 after it signed on KGRJ/89.9 (Chamberlain) and is selling K300AN to Lance Knudson for $15,000. The application states that K300AN will relay KJBI and that Knudson will not receive financial assistance or support from KJBI's owner, Janice M. Ingstad's James River Broadcasting. K300AN is one of the few strong signals in Chamberlain, a town of about 2,300 on I-90 at the Missouri River. (12/27/2012)

IOWA:
ABC affiliate KCRG-TV/9 (Cedar Rapids) has been off DISH Network since Dec. 18 amid a retransmission consent dispute. The station says the dispute centers around money and carriage of KCRG/9.2, which carries local programming, syndicated fare, and My Network TV in late-nights. DISH says KCRG, owned by Iowa SourceMedia Group, is seeking a six-fold increase in the amount of money it receives, while KCRG says the amount it's asking is only one-fifth of what DISH pays an unnamed less popular program provider. (12/26/2012)

IOWA:
After a month of Christmas music, Three Eagles' KTLB/105.9 (Twin Lakes-Fort Dodge) is now stunting with a loop of the 17-minute and 9-minute versions of Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida." 105.9's previous Oldies/Classic Hits format, called "The Beach," lasted just eight months. The format was a revival of what 105.9 carried prior to switching to Classic Rock as "The Eagle," which Three Eagles moved to KZLB/92.1 (Fort Dodge) this year. (12/26/2012)

WISCONSIN:
Woodward Communications' WKZG/104.3 (Seymour-Appleton-Green Bay), which is relayed on translator W278AU/103.5 (Green Bay), has emerged from two months of Christmas music stunting as "KZ104.3." The new format is a mix of pop hits from the `80s and `90s. It replaces the three-year-old "Chuck FM" (WCHK-FM), which mainly focused on hits of the `70s and `80s. The "KZ104.3" lineup includes Doug & Mary in the morning, who move over from sister 95.9 "Kiss FM" (WKSZ De Pere), as well as Dayton Kane, Ty Collins, and Mario Lopez's syndicated evening show. WKSZ will be carrying Chuggs and Nikki in mornings starting Jan. 2. (12/26/2012)

WISCONSIN:
Christmas may be over, but Mid-West Family Broadcasting's WTDY/1670 (Madison) and WTDY-FM/106.7 (Madison) continue to play Christmas songs as they await the launch of a new format. No official announcement has been made about the new format, but RadioInsight has reported on sports-related domain names reserved by Mid-West and two new sports networks launch Jan. 2. (12/26/2012)

MINNESOTA:
"The Score" has entered a third incarnation on Twin Cities radio. The Sports format, a sister to Clear Channel's "The Fan" (KFXN-FM/100.3), originally aired on KFXN/690. It then moved to the HD2 signal of KQQL/107.9 (Anoka) when Clear Channel donated 690 to the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council last year, but KQQL-HD2 reverted to its previous "Kool 1-0-8's" format earlier this year. Now, "The Score" has resurfaced on the HD2 signal of KTCZ/97.1 with Yahoo! Sports Radio and FOX Sports Radio, replacing the "Cities 97 Studio HD" Acoustic format. The format could eventually end up on a translator; KTCZ and other Clear Channel stations are specified as the primary stations on four applications to upgrade Educational Media Foundation translators, two of which have been approved. In other cities, EMF and Clear Channel have reached deals in which some translators carry Clear Channel HD2 formats while Clear Channel carries EMF's "K-Love" and "Air-1" Christian networks on other HD2 signals to feed translators. Two of the applications (92.9 and 99.9) specify the Wells Fargo Center, where EMF has two current translators (90.7 and 102.5), while the other two applications (93.3 and 102.5) specify the IDS Center, where Clear Channel's K278BP/103.5 is located. (102.5 would move from Wells Fargo to IDS; the application faces opposition from the owner of KQIC/102.5 Willmar.) Adding to the mystery, the original "Score" website has redirected to thescore1035.com since last year, but the format has never surfaced on that translator. 103.5 has continued to relay the AM 1130 format (via the HD2 simulcast on 100.3) since Clear Channel moved "The Fan" to 100.3 and News/Talk to 1130 last year; logos shown online shortly before that switch had indicated 102.5 as the News/Talk translator. (12/23/2012)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
DX-midAMerica reports Armada Media's KJKQ/99.5 (Sisseton) is on the air with Variety Hits as "Jack FM." The station uses 25kW/170m (class C2) from a tower west of Sisseton, with a good signal to parts of western Minnesota and southeastern North Dakota. Armada also owns "Pheasant Country 103" (KBWS-FM/102.9 Sisseton) and stations in Aberdeen and the Watertown, SD/Ortonville, MN region. DX-midAMerica also reports that Armada's KDIO/1350 (Ortonville, MN) and KMSD/1510 (Milbank, SD) have switched their format providers from Cumulus to Dial Global. (12/21/2012)

NATIONAL:
NBC's new digital subchannel network, Cozi TV, made a soft lauch today (12/20) on NBC owned-and-operated stations with a full launch scheduled for Jan. 1. TV Newscheck reports the network will have two dozen affiliates at the outset, which includes ten O&O's. For now, the closest affiliate to the Upper Midwest is NBC O&O WMAQ/5.2 (Chicago). The network joins Me-TV, Antenna TV, This TV, and Retro TV Network in the genre of classic TV shows and movies, with a lineup including Charlie's Angels, Highway to Heaven, Magnum, P.I., and Lassie. Cozi's schedule also includes local news in some cities and some first-run entertainment programs, which are a holdover from the "NBC Nonstop" brand that previously ran on O&O's. (12/20/2012)

MINNESOTA:
The FCC has deleted the license for translator W229BC/93.7 (Brainerd), saying the translator was off the air for more than a year in violation of the Communications Act. The translator was owned by BL Broadcasting, which could've used it for one of the two AM stations it owns in Brainerd. BL bought W229BC from Radio Assist Ministry for $17,000 in 2009. The translator has been licensed since 2007, but it appears it was never on the air for a significant amount of time. (12/18/2012)

MINNESOTA:
"The Refuge" translator K216FS/91.1 (Brainerd) has gone silent due to the loss of its rented tower site. Refuge Media, which originates the Christian Hits network at WJRF/89.5 (Duluth), tells the FCC it's actively pursing another suitable location and will apply for a move as soon as possible. (12/18/2012)

IOWA:
Family Radio's pair of translators in Cedar Rapids and Williamsburg is off the air due to the sign-on of another station in the area. K209BQ/89.7 (Amana-Williamsburg) was bumped off the air by the sign-on of KRNF/89.7 (Montezuma) and is awaiting FCC approval to return to the air on 88.7. K209BQ receives Family Radio/KEAR-FM programming via satellite and acts as the feeder translator for K236AA/95.1 (Cedar Rapids). The arrangement is necessary since translators in the non-reserved portion of the band (92-108 MHz) can only receive their feeds over the air unless they are located within the main station's primary contour. K209BQ originally signed on in 1995 and had a construction permit to move to 88.7, but it was never implemented. (12/18/2012)

NEBRASKA:
KPNY/102.1 (Alliance) has applied for an upgrade to expand its coverage to the south. The non-commercial Christian station, part of the "My Bridge Radio" network, would change frequency to 102.3, move its transmitter 19 miles south, and upgrade from 100kW/159m (class C1) to 100kW/456m (class C). KPNY's main coverage area would extend to the Colorado and Wyoming borders, improving reception in Scottsbluff and Sidney. The coverage area would be the second-largest of any FM station in Nebraska, behind KZEN/100.3 (Central City). (12/17/2012)

MICHIGAN:
The FCC has ended a five-year-old dispute about an FM station's move into the Marquette market. Great Lakes Radio's WRUP/98.3 changed its community of license from Munising to Palmer in 2010 after receiving FCC approval, using 2.6kW/310m (class C3) from a tower west of Marquette. Two competing broadcasters, Northern Star Broadcasting and Taconite Broadcasting, argued that the application should've been denied because Palmer doesn't qualify to be a community of license and because the move resulted in the deletion of an allotment at Houghton. The FCC said the petitioners were wrong since Palmer is a Census Designated Place and the deletion of the Houghton allotment didn't actually result in a loss of service (the allotment was for WGLI/98.7 to change frequency, but it never actually did). (12/14/2012)

MINNESOTA:
Analog channel 58 was resurrected in Duluth Thursday (12/13), but only temporarily. K58CM, which formerly carried the Trinity Broadcasting Network, was forced to leave the air at the end of 2011 due to the discontinuation of channels 52 to 69. However, the station's new digital facility on channel 41 is still not operational and channel 58 was back on the air with test pattern Thursday, which meets a legal restriction that stations be silent for no more than a year. TBN sold K58CM to Regal Media earlier this year as part of a $1.275 million deal involving three dozen low-power TV stations. The stations that are still on the air, including K25IA-D (Minneapolis), continue to carry TBN. Regal Media is headed by George Cooney, the CEO of TV and film producer EUE/Screen Gems. (12/14/2012)

NORTH DAKOTA:
The FCC has approved a community of license swap that will allow two FM stations to improve their signals to Bismarck and Dickinson. KLTQ/95.7 (New England) will move to Beulah with 100kW/163m, with a main coverage area nipping the edge of Bismarck. KQLZ/97.9 (Beulah) will move to New England and change frequency to 98.1 with 100kW/142m, delivering a city-grade signal to Dickinson. Synergy Broadcast North Dakota, LLC recently bought the two stations from Horizon Christian Fellowship. (12/13/2012)

MINNESOTA:
The FCC has deleted the license for KQRB/89.9 (Windom) at the request of its owner, the American Family Association. The 250-Watt station had signed on in 2003 carrying American Family Radio, replacing a local AFR translator that had been on 90.9, but went silent in November 2011 after losing its transmitter site. AFR's KBOJ/88.1 (Worthington) was deleted last year for the same reason. (12/13/2012)

WISCONSIN:
Fourth Dimension, Inc. is buying translator W224BL/92.7 (Ladysmith) from Radio Assist Ministry for $3,000. The translator will rebroadcast Fourth Dimension's Christian outlet, WHEM/91.3 (Eau Claire). W224AL has been licensed for five years but FCC filings indicate it has been silent for much of that time for financial reasons. (12/13/2012)

ALL-CHRISTMAS UPDATE:
All-Christmas formats aren't just for commercial stations. Non-commercial outlets such as "Power 107.1" (KSLT Rapid City) and several Northwestern College stations have already been on this site's all-Christmas list, and Family Radio has now joined them. On Monday (12/10), Family Radio began "Christmas 2012," a festival of traditional Christmas carols and classical selections along with short segments of Bible reading as the only talk elements. The programming ends on Christmas night with Family Radio's traditional broadcast of Handel's Messiah. Family Radio stations include KDFR/91.3 (Des Moines), KYFR/920 (Shenandoah, IA), KEGR/89.5 (Fort Dodge), KBFR/91.7 (Bismarck), KKAA/1560 (Aberdeen), KQKD/1380 (Redfield), KQFR/89.9 (Rapid City), and WMWK/88.1 (Milwaukee). Meanwhile, Dial Global's "America's Best Music" network seems to have made its seasonal transition to all-Christmas music after mixing in a healthy dose of Santa's favorites to its regular playlist since Thanksgiving. Affiliates include KRNT/1350 (Des Moines), WNAM/1280 (Neenah-Appleton), and others. One other major addition since the last front-page update is Winnipeg's 102.3 "Clear FM" (CKY-FM), which flipped on Nov. 30. (12/12/2012)

NEBRASKA:
Classic TV/movie network Antenna TV is listing KSNB/4.2 (Superior-Lincoln) as an affiliate. Gray Communications is in the process of buying KSNB from Collins Broadcasting and all indications are that KSNB's primary channel will carry the "MyTV" programming currently seen on Gray's KOLN/10.2 (Lincoln). The station recently upgraded to add rooftop antenna coverage of Lincoln and Grand Island, and also has translators in Lincoln. (12/11/2012)

NORTH DAKOTA:
RadioInsight reports KKBO/105.9 (Flasher-Bismarck) has dropped "Bob FM" for Country as "The Big Rig." The change follows the sale of KKBO from Connoisseur Media to Radio Bismarck Mandan, which also owns "Mojo 107.5" (KXRV Cannon Ball-Bismarck). The company is headed by Larry J. Schmidt, also known as Bob Denver, who noted in a press release about the sale last summer that Radio Bismarck Mandan's new downtown facility still has room for one more station. "The Rig" is the fourth Country outlet in Bismarck, competing with Clear Channel's KBMR/1130 and KQDY/94.5 and Townsquare Media's "US 103.3" (KUSB Hazleton-Bismarck). (12/10/2012)

MINNESOTA/WISCONSIN:
An east metro FM translator that relays KNXR/97.5 (Rochester) has applied for a move that would give it a good signal to much of St. Paul. W244CS/96.7 (Hudson, WI) wants to transmit with 71 Watts from a water tower in West St. Paul, a suburb which is actually south of the capital city. W244CS would transmit from the same water tower used by 170-Watt KFAI translator K294AM/106.7. W244CS is currently licensed to transmit from a residence in Woodbury but is off the air. It originally transmitted on 95.7 in Hudson but was forced to leave that frequency by the sign-on of WDMO/95.7 (Baldwin, WI). The application states W244CS would continue to carry KNXR, which runs an Easy Listening/Nostalgia format. (12/10/2012)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
VCY/America is buying translator K233BN/94.5 (Aberdeen) from Edgewater Broadcasting for $10,000. The translator will relay VCY's KVCH/88.7 (Huron). (12/10/2012)

IOWA:
It appears New Moon Communications' plans to bring low-power NBC-TV affiliates four small markets, including Ottumwa-Kirksville, have fallen through. New Moon bought KUMK-LP/42 (Ottumwa) and three other stations outside the Upper Midwest last year and announced plans to launch them as NBC affiliates. Now, all four are up for sale, with KUMK-LP the latest to be listed. New Moon bought the stations from the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, which received them as a donation from the Trinity Broadcasting Network. (12/9/2012)

MINNESOTA:
After just over nine months with a News/Talk/Sports format, Three Eagles Communications' KMKO-FM/95.7 (Lake Crystal-Mankato) has reverted to Rock as "The Rock Station." The station had switched from "The Blaze" to News/Talk/Sports in February with a lineup including FOX News, Dennis Miller, Jim Rome, Joe Soucheray, Neil Boortz, the Timberwolves, the Wild, and Gopher sports. That format competed primarily with the Linder family's KTOE/1420, which launched FM translator K274AL/102.7 shortly before KMKO's flip to Talk. (12/7/2012)

WISCONSIN:
Christian broadcaster WRVM, Inc. has signed on its fourth full-power station. WYVM/90.9 (Sheboygan) officially signed on at 7 a.m. Monday (12/3) using 6.1kW/40m from a tower near Howards Grove. Translator W263BQ/100.5 (Sheboygan) also continues to rebroadcast WRVM via WYVM, and the station says it plans to move WYVM to a different tower and upgrade to cover Manitowoc in the future. WRVM/102.7 (Suring) is the network's flagship, and programming is also rebroadcast on WHJL/88.1 (Merrill) and WMVM/90.7 (Goodman) and about two dozen translators in northern and central Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. (12/6/2012)

WISCONSIN:
The FCC has granted RAMS I a construction permit for a new AM station in the Wausau market. The new station will be licensed to Rothschild and use 1kW on 1340. RAMS I is owned by Joan K. Reynolds, Lee S. Reynolds, and Lyle S. Reynolds of Pelham, AL. The three are involved in companies that owned a half-dozen stations in Alabama, Indiana, and Tennessee as of 2007, when the application was last updated. (12/5/2012)

IOWA:
Iowa Public Radio is selling off one of its two construction permits for new FM stations in the Sioux City area. Iowa State University, one of the license holders for IPR, is selling KHGM/88.9 (Sioux City) to Little Priest Tribal College for $9,000. The station must go on the air by March 30, 2013 or the CP will expire. KHGM's CP is for 15kW/106m (class C3) from a tower near Homer, NE, using a directional antenna limiting the signal towards the northeast. It's possible that the new owner could seek a downgrade for KHGM to get it on the air more quickly and then apply for a future upgrade, which is a common practice for unbuilt stations facing expiration. IPR also has a CP for KNSX/97.1 (Moville), which it's applied to upgrade from 5.2kW/109m to 11.8kW/149m. KNSX's CP doesn't expire until 2015. (12/5/2012)

MANITOBA:
Canadian regulators have denied a grant to a small western Manitoba community TV station that would have allowed the station to add its signal to more pay TV providers. Neepawa Access Community T.V. operates a 100-Watt community channel seen on broadcast channel 30 (callsign CH5248) and the local cable system and says it's received increased requests to cover regional events following the 2009 shutdown of CKX-TV/5 (Brandon). It sought recognition as a small-market, independently owned television station, which would have made it eligible for support from the Small Market Local Production Fund. The station said it needed $14,000 to install equipment needed to get the station added to Bell TV and MTS Allstream. However, the CRTC says the fund was created to "address the negative impact on small-market independent stations when distant signals offering the same or similar programming are distributed in their markets" and pointed out that since Neepawa Access Community T.V. offers virtually all local programming, its programming could not have been duplicated by distant stations. The CRTC was also concerned that the funding would be used for equipment rather than programming and that approval could set a precedent resulting in a flurry of funding requests from similar stations across Canada. (12/5/2012)

MINNESOTA:
Two rimshot Twin Cities FM stations are listed for sale online. Though not specifically named, the stations described in the listings posted last month could only be Lakes Broadcasting Company's WLKX/95.9 (Forest Lake) and Milestone Radio II's KBGY/107.5 (Faribault). WLKX, which carries a commercial Christian format, is listed with an asking price of $3.5 million while there's no asking price listed for KBGY, which carries a Regional Mexican/Tropical mix. WLKX is a class A facility (3kW/91m) serving the northeastern metro while KBGY is a class C2 facility (48kW/120m) rimshotting the far south metro. The listing says KBGY could be moved closer to the metro, though existing stations on 107.1 and 107.9 limit the potential. The two stations are owned by companies headed by Daniel Peters, who also heads a company that owns 75% of the licenseee of 106.1 "Bob FM" (KLCI Elk River-Minneapolis) and WQPM/1300 (Princeton). KLCI and WQPM are not listed for sale. (12/4/2012)

IOWA:
There could be more change coming to the Fort Dodge radio market after Christmas. KTLB/105.9 (Twin Lakes-Fort Dodge) has switched to an all-Christmas format as "Christmas 105.9," dropping "The Beach" branding that went with its Oldies format. The station's website has dropped all references to the Oldies format, including staff listings. The format had relaunched just eight months ago after Three Eagles Communications moved 105.9's former format, Classic Rock "The Eagle," to KZLB/92.1 (Fort Dodge). Oldies had also run on the station prior to the Classic Rock format. (12/3/2012)

ILLINOIS/IOWA:
A group of three radio stations in Illinois, including one with a rimshot signal to the Quad Cities, announced Friday that they're being sold. Randall Miller is selling WKEI/1450 (Kewanee, IL), WYEC/93.9 (Cambridge-Moline), and WJRE/102.5 (Galva, IL) to Fletcher Ford of Bluegrass, Iowa, who is the group's sales manager, for $800,000, according to documents filed with the FCC. The deal also includes two translators in Kewanee. WYEC upgraded its signal and added a studio in Moline four years ago. (12/3/2012)

WISCONSIN:
The Capital Times reports WXCO/1230 (Wausau) has shifted from Conservative Talk to Liberal Talk with a lineup including Ed Schultz, Stephanie Miller, Randi Rhodes and Thom Hartmann. The station had switched to Conservative Talk after moving ESPN Radio to WDTX/100.5 (Rothschild-Wausau) in 2010. (12/3/2012)

MINNESOTA:
The FCC has approved another FM translator's move to downtown Minneapolis to relay a Clear Channel station, wich could potentially be Clear Channel's third translator in Minneapolis with two more possibly to come. Translators can relay HD2 or HD3 streams that are not otherwise available on analog radios. The latest move to get FCC approval is for W227BF/93.3, which currently transmits from 10 Watts from Arden Hills and now has a construction permit to move to the IDS Center with 99 Watts. The translator is owned by the Educational Media Foundation and currently carries EMF's K-Love network, but the application indicates it will relay Clear Channel's KTCZ/97.1. The FCC also recently approved a move for EMF's W225AP/92.9 (St. Paul) to the Wells Fargo Center in Minneapolis, with Clear Channel's KFXN-FM/100.3 specified as the primary station. KFXN-FM's HD2 signal, which relays the News/Talk format of KTCN/1130, is currently rebroadcast on K278BP/103.5. Clear Channel owns five full-power FM signals in the market and bought K278BP from EMF after it was moved to the IDS Center from the southeastern suburbs. EMF also has pending applications to move or upgrade translators on 99.9 and 102.5. (12/2/2012)

WISCONSIN:
WBEV/1430 (Beaver Dam) could get an FM translator southeast of town of the FCC approves a waiver for the FM translator to move. W277AC/103.3 (Watertown) has applied to move to Clyman on 92.7, using 250 Watts and relaying WBEV. The station's main coverage area would not include Beaver Dam. W277AC, which is owned by John M. Torres, is seeking a waiver of rules that normally require a translator's new coverage area to overlap with the old one. (12/2/2012)

NORTH DAKOTA/MINNESOTA (UPDATED):
It turns out Fargo-Moorhead's two largest radio groups are both getting new ownership, but the reported price for the latest sale is far below the price of the other. L&L Broadcasting is buying Triad Broadcasting's 32 stations in 5 markets, which includes 6 stations in Fargo-Moorhead and Wahpeton. The purchase price is $21 million, subject to adjustment, according to documents filed with the FCC. That would be quite smaller, per station, than the $25 million that Midwest Communications is paying Jim Ingstad to buy the 6 Radio Fargo-Moorhead stations. (Radio Fargo-Moorhead also sells ads for a seventh station.) The FCC has approved the Radio Fargo-Moorhead sale, but it apparently not yet been consummated. L&L is reportedly headed by former Citadel CEO Larry Wilson, who also heads the 6-station Alpha Broadcasting group in Portland, OR. Check North Dakota Radio Markets for a complete listing of the Fargo-Moorhead stations. (12/1/2012)