MINNESOTA:
KBAJ/105.5 (Deer River-Grand Rapids) is due to continue carrying Classic Rock as Lamke Broadcasting, owner of two Grand Rapids stations, takes over in the new year. KBAJ currently relays Red Rock Radio's KQDS-FM/94.9 (Duluth), and Lamke will will take over KBAJ under a local marketing agreement on Sunday (Jan. 1) as it awaits FCC approval of its purchase of the station from Red Rock. Lamke also owns News/Oldies outlet KOZY/1320 (Grand Rapids) and Adult Contemporary outlet KMFY/96.9 (Grand Rapids). According to a post on the station's website, the new Classic Rock format will be called "J105 The Thunder" and will include the syndicated Bob & Tom morning show. Besides Grand Rapids, KBAJ's 100kW signal is also strong in Hibbing and the western Iron Range. (12/30/2016)
MINNESOTA:
KMFG/102.9 (Nashwauk-Hibbing) has flipped from Classic Rock to non-commercial Christian Hits as KRFG after Midwest Communications' sale of the station to Duluth-based Refuge Media. Midwest had to divest KMFG to comply with ownership caps to buy KGPZ/96.1 (Coleraine) from Red Rock Radio as part of a five-station deal, which received FCC approval in November. KMFG is the third full-power station for Refuge, which also runs its "Refuge Radio" network on WJRF/89.5 (Duluth), KRGM/89.9 (Marshall), and more than a dozen translators in Minnesota, eastern South Dakota, and northwestern Iowa. (12/30/2016)
SOUTH DAKOTA:
One of Mitchell's two radio groups is returning to local ownership: Nedved Media, LLC, is buying Riverfront Broadcasting's three Mitchell-market stations for $3.35 million. The stations include News/Talker KORN/1490 (Mitchell), "Korn Country" (KORN-FM/92.1 Parkston-Mitchell), and Hot Adult Contemporary outlet "Q107" (KQRN/107.3 Mitchell). Nedved Media will begin operating the stations through a local marketing agreement on Jan. 1. The company is owned by Nancy and Steve Nedved of Mitchell; Nancy is the group's general manager. The group competes with Saga Broadcasting's two full-power FM's and two HD-fed FM translators in the market. Riverfront and its sister companies retain three stations in Pierre, three in Yankton, and eight in Iowa. (12/29/2016)
MINNESOTA:
Community radio station KFAI/90.3 (Minneapolis) is broadcasting at reduced power after a winter storm snapped its IDS Center antenna on Christmas Day. The station reports that it was able to return to the air on Dec. 27 after engineers located a used antenna. KFAI normally transmits with 900 Watts and is currently using 251 Watts (ERP), according to a request for special temporary authority filed with the FCC. The outage had also affected KFAI translator K294AM/106.7 (West St. Paul), which relays the station's programming to the eastern metro. The station continued to provide programming online during the outage. (12/28/2016, updated with STA filing 12/29)
MINNESOTA:
Leighton Enterprises has launched a Contemporary Hits format called "Channel 977" on KJJK/1020 and translator K249EZ/97.7 (Fergus Falls). KJJK had previously run a Sports format and had flipped to Christmas music, followed by two days of Prince, before the format launch on Dec. 28, according to its Facebook page. K249EZ was moved down from East Grand Forks under the FCC's AM revitalization window. KJJK is one of four stations owned by Leighton in Fergus Falls, with the others carrying Country, Rock, and News/Talk formats. The launch of "Channel 977" apparently marks the first time the western Minnesota city has had its own Contemporary Hits format. (12/28/2016)
NEBRASKA:
News Channel Nebraska's new station in Grand Island is due to begin broadcasting in January, according to an article in the Grand Island Independent. The NCN network has three existing low-power TV stations and is owned by Flood Communications, which has construction permits for KMLF-LD/21 (Grand Island) and KGHK-LD/30 (Hastings); the newspaper article mentions channel 30. KGHK-LD is slated to transmit from a tower midway between Hastings and Kearney and should have a good signal to the Tri-Cities. NCN's existing stations in Norfolk, Columbus, and Beatrice show locally-produced newscasts on a repeating wheel, as well as sports and other local events. Grand Island will be NCN's biggest city and also its most competitive, since several major network affiliates already cover Grand Island news on a regular basis. (12/27/2016)
ONTARIO:
The hometown of the bear that inspired Winnie the Pooh could soon get a second FM signal. CBC Radio One's CBLW/1010 (White River) has applied to move to 97.7 FM with 50 Watts, up from 40 Watts on the AM side. The only other station receivable in White River, other than AM skywave reception at night, is a secondary transmitter of Adult Contemporary outlet CFNO-FM (Marathon) on 100.7. The town has about 600 residents and is a stop for travellers on the Trans-Canada Highway and the Lake Superior Circle Tour. (12/26/2016)
MANITOBA:
The conventional wisdom in radio is that if you play current music and some older music, you must also play everything in between, but a Winnipeg radio station is trying a different course. Corus Entertainment's CJGV-FM/99.1 has become "Peggy @ 99.1" with a playlist that's about half current and recent Adult Contemporary hits and about half `80s hits, but almost nothing from the `90s or early 2000's. The switch from CJGV's five-year-old "Fresh" branding, which RadioInsight reports came on Christmas Day at 5 p.m., followed a month and a half of Christmas music. "Fresh" had run a Hot Adult Contemporary format but placed last among the Peg's commercial radio stations in the Numeris Fall (September 5-October 30, 2016) 12+ ratings. (12/25/2016)
WISCONSIN:
DTV America's WZCK-LD (Madison-Middleton) is now on the air with seven channels on virtual channel 8. The station, formerly analog W08CK, broadcasts with 8.4kW on channel 36. Its channels include Cozi TV, GetTV, Sonlife, American Sports Network, Liquidation Channel, QVC, and QVC Plus. (12/23/2016)
WISCONSIN:
Friday (Dec. 23) was Mike Kearns Day in La Crosse as the longtime broadcaster retired from his morning shift on WKTY/580. Kearns had worked for the station for 44 years and had taken over the "Lead Balloon Show" that his father, Charlie, started when the station signed on in 1948. Some of Kearns' memories are recounted in a story on WKTY's website. Dave Carney and Matt Skradie will take over the WKTY morning show next week. (12/23/2016)
WISCONSIN:
The sale of an FM translator is poised to settle a legal dispute between several broadcasters. Scott Thompson, owner of Big Radio, had filed a civil lawsuit against Sister Grace Inc. last February, alleging that Thompson had a deal to buy W239CD/95.7 (Beloit) from Sister Grace, but Sister Grace decided to sell it to David Magnum instead. Thompson also filed a petition to deny the FCC application to transfer W239CD's license. Now, Thompson has reached a deal to buy W222AU/92.3 (Beloit) from Magnum for $50,000. A settlement agreement says Thompson will drop his lawsuit and petition to deny the transfer of W239CD's license. The application to transfer W222AU's license states that it will relay Big Radio's WBEL/1380 (South Beloit). (12/22/2016)
MICHIGAN:
"Eagle Country 105.7" (WCUP L'Anse) has moved its transmitter from a site south of L'Anse to Hancock, strengthening its coverage of Houghton-Hancock and Keweenaw County but weakening the signal in rural areas of the southwestern Upper Peninsula. The new transmitter site is shared with sister station "The Rockin' Eagle" (WGLI/98.7 Hancock), which also got a slignt upgrade as part of the project -- both stations now use 100kW/176m (C1). They're owned by the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. (12/20/2016)
MINNESOTA:
Low-power FM station KPPS-LP/97.5 (St. Louis Park) has applied to change frequency to escape interference from a future translator station and a signal from out of town. KPPS, owned by Park Public Radio, has applied to move to 88.9 and upgrade to 85W/33m from a tower slightly to the east of its present location, adding parts of southwest Minneapolis and Uptown to its main coverage area. The request comes after the FCC granted the University of Northwestern-St. Paul a construction permit for W248CU/97.5, which is to relay KTIS/900 from a site in St. Paul. KPPS also says in its application that it has encountered interference from KNXR/97.5 (Rochester) during testing. (12/19/2016)
IOWA:
Translator K274CV/102.7 (Ottumwa) is on the air relaying the News/Talk format of KBIZ/1240. The format includes more than five hours of daily local programming, Clark Howard, Dave Ramsey, and political talk at night. The translator was moved down from Eagle Grove under the FCC's AM revitalization window. KBIZ is part of the six-station O-Town Communications group, doing business as Ottumwa Radio. (12/18/2016)
NEBRASKA:
New low-power FM station KXNB-LP/101.3 (Omaha) has signed on as "Mind and Soul 101.3," serving the African-American community with talk, news, and a playlist including Classic Hip-Hop, R&B, Funk, and Jazz. The 11-Watt station is owned by the Malcolm X Memorial Foundation and will share time and transmitter facilities with KJSO-LP, owned by the North Omaha Loves Jazz Cultural Arts and Humanities Complex. (12/18/2016)
MINNESOTA/WISCONSIN:
Midwest Communications has signed on two new FM translators in the Twin Ports: W251CD/98.1 (Superior-Duluth) relays WDSM/710 (Superior-Duluth), while W280FB/103.9 (Duluth) relays KDAL/610 (Duluth). Both translators broadcast from the Duluth antenna farm with 250 Watts, enough to deliver a good signal across the Twin Ports area. They were moved in from Moose Lake and Chippewa Falls, respectively, under the FCC's AM revitalization window. Midwest will have six FM signals in Duluth with the launch of these translators and the pending purchase of Classic Rocker KQDS-FM/94.9 (Duluth), which received FCC approval last month. Both WDSM and KDAL carry News/Talk formats, with WDSM focusing on conservative politics and KDAL leaning towards non-political and local information-based programming. Duluth is the only market where Midwest runs two News/Talk formats. (12/14/2016)
IOWA:
The permittee of a new non-commercial FM station in eastern Iowa is seeking a waiver to add Cedar Rapids to its main coverage area. The current construction permit for Plus Charities' KMMK/88.7 (Coggon) calls for a 5kW/95m (class A) facility serving an area north of Cedar Rapids. KMMK is now seeking a "Raleigh waiver" to upgrade to 25kW/94m (class C3), adding most of Cedar Rapids to its 60 dbu contour. The upgrade would increase the population of KMMK's 60 dbu contour by 750 percent to 194,927 people. The waiver would be needed because KMMK is too close to KCCK-FM/88.3 (Cedar Rapids) and KXGM-FM/89.1 (Hiawatha-Cedar Rapids) to upgrade under normal circumstances. A "Raleigh waiver" allows such an upgrade for non-commercial FM stations when the actual interference to other non-commercial stations would be minimal. KMMK is not yet on the air and has a March 2018 construction deadline. (12/11/2016)
WISCONSIN:
New FM translator W224DE/92.7 (Janesville) is on the air relaying the News/Talk format of WCLO/1230. WCLO's lineup includes more than nine hours of local programming per day, plus non-political syndicated talk and CBS News. The stations are owned by Southern Wisconsin Broadcasting, LLC, a subsidiary of Bliss Communications. (12/11/2016)
WISCONSIN:
Wisconsin Public Radio's Superior bureau now has just the second regional manager in its quarter-century history. Longtime Bureau head John Munson is due to retire in a few weeks, and the network has hired Paul Damberg to take his spot. Damberg, who started Dec. 5, worked at the University of Minnesota Duluth's KUMD/103.3 for 17 years and was more recently at Lake Superior College. The bureau is located on the UW-Superior campus and is home to KUWS/91.3 and four other WPR stations in the region. Munson has done just about everything you can think of at the bureau, including training students, teaching classes, calling hockey games, hosting public affairs programs, working on community events, and serving as a statewide fill-in announcer for WPR's Ideas Network. One of his last major accomplishments was the construction of three new state-of-the-art studios at the bureau this year. Your reporter was fortunate to learn from Munson in the 1990's, and Munson was kind enough not to show your reporter the door when he pushed the limits several times. The unique college-public radio model that Munson helped create at KUWS helped launch numerous media careers and will likely continue to launch careers for years to come. (12/6/2016)
NEBRASKA:
The FCC's Audio Division has rescinded its earlier grant of a new FM signal in Omaha. The new 99-Watt translator on 95.3 was to have relayed Scripps' KXSP/590. It was being moved from Schuyler, where it is currently licensed as K276FB, under the AM revitalization window. The translator originally applied to move to 96.5 on Omaha but changed its proposed frequency to 95.3 after an informal objection from the owner of KSOM/96.5 (Audubon, IA). After the construction permit was issued for 95.3, Hawkeye Communications --- owner of KCSI/95.3 (Villisca-Red Oak) -- filed a petition for reconsideration, presenting evidence that it had existing listeners within the translator's planned coverage area. The FCC granted KCSI's petition for reconsideration and rescinded the grant of the 95.3 translator in a letter last week. Flood Communications, the owner of the translator, had already received FCC approval to sell it to Scripps, but it's not clear if that deal will be consummated now that the translator can't make a one-step move to Omaha. The AM revitalization filing window is closed. (12/4/2016)
NEW FM TRANSLATORS ON THE AIR:
Many more new FM translator signals have signed on in the Upper Midwest, most of which were moved to their current location under the FCC's AM revitalization window. Some may have been on the air for a few months already:
ONTARIO:
The last remaining Canadian broadcast TV signal between Thunder Bay and Winnipeg, a distance of about 600km (375 miles) by air, is poised to sign off permanently. Last month, Shaw Communications withdrew its application to renew the license of CJBN-TV/13 (Kenora), saying that it intends to close the station. CJBN is an extremely small station, broadcasting only in analog with 178 Watts. Most of its programming is relayed from Global TV affiliate CKND-DT/9 (Winnipeg). Cartt.ca reports that a company spokesperson said three people would lose their jobs when the station signs off Jan. 27, and the two weekly programs that currently air on CJBN will continue to run on Shaw's local cable channel. Global network programming will still be available on cable from CKND. It's not likely that many people are still watching CJBN's broadcast signal since it's the only one left in Kenora after the CBC and TV Ontario shut down their local transmitters in 2012. Virtually all other northwestern Ontario communities outside of Thunder Bay lost all broadcast TV service at that time, except for the U.S. signals that can be received in Fort Frances. (12/2/2016)
MINNESOTA:
An AM Oldies station will get an FM signal in St. Paul as a result of a translator trade. Educational Media Foundation's W221BS/92.1 (Waite-St. Paul) will be transferred to Gregory Borgen's 630 Radio Inc. in exchange for K288GR/105.5 (Bayport, MN-Hudson, WI). W221BS currently carries EMF's "Air 1" network, transmitting with 55 Watts from St. Paul, but is no longer needed to carry that network following the upgrade of W225AP/92.9 (St. Paul-Minneapolis), which also carries "Air 1." The applications to transfer the licenses state that W221BS will relay Borgen's Oldies-formatted WDGY/740 (Hudson-St. Paul) following the transfer, while K288GR will relay iHeartMedia's KFXN-FM/100.3 -- presumably the KFXN-FM-HD3 feed carrying EMF's "K-Love" network. K288GR had been relaying Borgen's WREY/630 (St. Paul), which recently got a better signal with the launch of W235CT/94.9 (St. Paul). The deal calls for K288GR to continue transmitting from WDGY's tower site east of Hudson.
Editor's note: If you're wondering "Where is Waite?" you're not alone. It does not appear there is any place called Waite, Minnesota, nor is there a neighborhood going by that name in St. Paul or Minneapolis. There is a City of Waite Park in central Minnesota, far outside of W221BS' coverage area, and a community center called the Waite House in Minneapolis, bit it's not clear if "Waite" refers to either one of those. There is no community of license showing for translators, meaning applicants don't have to prove that the proposed community of license exists or would be within the translator's coverage area. (12/2/2016)
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