NEBRASKA:
iHeartMedia's KOGA/930 (Ogallala) has dropped Soft Oldies in favor of Classic Country. The change to "Classic Country for the High Plains," first noted by DX-midAMerica, comes after KOGA's usual month of Christmas music. The new format complements "Hot Country 106.5" on iHeart's KMCX (Ogallala) and primarily competes with the musical elements of the Nebraska Rural Radio Association's KRVN/880 (Lexington). KOGA's 2.1kW daytime signal covers a wide area in western Nebraska, northwestern Colorado, and northeastern Kansas, while its 500-Watt directional nighttime signal is more limited to the Ogallala area. (12/31/2018)
MICHIGAN:
A lower Michigan broadcaster is buying an AM-FM combo in Escanaba. Aurora Media LLC is buying "Kix Country 104.7" (WYKX) and Soft Oldies outlet WDBC/680 from KMB Broadcasting for $400,000. The deal also includes the construction permit for W233CT/94.5 (Escanaba), which will relay WDBC. The buyer will begin operating the stations at the start of the year under a time brokerage agreement. Aurora Media is owned by Todd Mohr (82 percent) and Janine Gregorski-Mohr (18 percent) of Manistee, MI. Todd Mohr has full ownership of a company that owns one station and a minority share in another company that owns six stations, all in the lower peninsula. KMB had previously reached a deal to sell WYKX/WDBC to Sovereign Communications in 2017, but the deal was not consummated. WYKX and WDBC primarily compete with AMC Partners Escanaba/Radio Results Network's six-station group. (12/31/2018)
IOWA/MICHIGAN/MINNESOTA:
The following new FM translators have recently signed on:
NEBRASKA:
Following a month of stunting as "Reindeer Radio," KOOQ/1410 and new translator K251CP/98.1 (North Platte) have launched a Classic Hits format positioned as "North Platte's Greatest Hits from the 70s, 80s, and 90s." The station's website says a new morning show hosted by Scotty C and Kyle will launch Jan. 2 and the station will continue to carry local sports play-by-play. An earlier report also said the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Royals will remain on the station. KOOQ, which had previously carried ESPN Radio, is owned by Eagle Radio and is the only Classic Hits station in the market. (12/27/2018)
MINNESOTA:
After a month of running seasonal music as "The Christmas Igloo," KXAC/100.5 (St. James-Mankato) has launched a tweaked Classic Hits format with the new name "Magic 100.5." KXAC had been known as "Oldies 100.5" for many years playing `60s and `70s hits and has now added more `80s to the mix. The change comes after Alpha Media's "105.5 The River" (KRBI St. Peter-Mankato) reverted to its previous Classic Hits format. KXAC is owned by the Linder family's Subarctic Media LLC, whose Mankato group includes four FM and two AM stations. (12/26/2018)
WISCONSIN:
Cumulus Media's WPCK/104.9 (Denmark-Green Bay) returned to usual Country "Nash FM" format after a few months of Christmas music. Normally, a return to a regular format wouldn't be newsworthy, but, as noted here when WPCK flipped to Christmas on Nov. 1, Cumulus had placed WPCK into a divestiture trust earlier this year and split off its longtime simulcast with WPKR/99.5 (Omro-Oshkosh). The station hadn't previously carried the seasonal format. (12/26/2018)
WISCONSIN/MICHIGAN:
Wisconsin radio station owner David R. Magnum is buying a half-dozen translators from Sister Grace, Inc. for $3,000 apiece:
All of the translators were originally sought in 2003 but not granted until this year; none are yet on the air and the deals include no equipment. The application to transfer the La Crosse translator's construction permit lists Magnum's WXYM/96.1 (Tomah) as the station to be rebroadcast, while the other applications list stations owned by other parties. (12/26/2018)
MINNESOTA:
Catholic network Real Presence Radio is buying KZJZ/106.7 (Babbitt) and K288AI/105.5 (Ely) from Aurora Broadcasting LLC. The $25,000 deal also includes a time brokerage agreement that will allow the buyer to begin programming KZJZ before the deal is closed. KZJZ, which serves the eastern part of Minnesota's Iron Range, will be the 16th full-power station for the Grand Forks-based network.
KZJZ had just launched a "Radio North of Ordinary" Adult Alternative format with WVVE/95.3 (Grand Marais) earlier this year following Aurora's $75,000 purchase of the stations from Midwest Communications. The format will continue on WVVE, which was transferred to sister licensee Shire & Shore Communications LLC in September. The stations, formerly KAOD and WXXZ, had been rebroadcasters of KQDS-FM/94.9 (Duluth) until late last year. (12/18/2018)
NEBRASKA:
Eagle Radio's KOOQ/1410 (North Platte) has dropped ESPN Radio and is stunting as "Reindeer Radio" following the launch of new FM translator K251CP/98.1. The station's website says the all-Christmas format launched on Dec. 1 and that management is "tight lipped" about what will air beginning Dec. 26. Local sports, the Denver Broncos, and the Kansas City Royals will still be part of the format. Eagle Radio also operates Adult Contemporary and Country formats in the market. It's one of three radio groups in the city of 25,000, which also has News/Talk, Classic Rock, and Country formats operated by Armada Media as well as Country and Rock formats operated by Legacy Communications. (12/13/2018)
MINNESOTA:
Water tower work has taken the Twin Cities' oldest* FM translator signal off the air: 170-Watt K294AM/106.7 (West St. Paul) is silent due to work on the water tower that serves as its transmitter site. Owner Fresh Air, Inc. tells the FCC in a notification of suspension of operations that it may not be able to return to the water tower until June and that they are looking for an alternate site. Meanwhile, the station is telling listeners to tune to its primary frequency, KFAI/90.3 (Minneapolis). KFAI's signal has been upgraded since K294AM signed on in 1996 and the primary station's signal now reaches most areas served by the translator. (*Legally, the license of K218DK/91.5 is older, but it has only been on its current frequency since 2001.) (12/12/2018)
NORTH DAKOTA:
Nexstar Broadcasting has named Tammy Blumhagen the new vice president and general manager of its stations in the Bismarck-Minot market. The group includes KXMB (Bismarck), KXMC (Minot), KXMA (Dickinson), and KXMD (Williston), which carry CBS and CW. Blumhagen has worked in the industry for 17 years, the majority of that time in the Bismarck-Minot market. She was most recently the stations' director of sales. (12/12/2018)
WISCONSIN:
Sinclair Broadcast Group has named Eric J. Krieghoff the new general manager of Madison's FOX 47 (WMSN). Krieghoff has worked in broadcast sales at several TV stations in Madison and Green Bay, including 11 years at WMSN, and most recently worked in outdoor advertising. He is a UW graduate. (12/12/2018)
WISCONSIN:
New translator W297CK/107.3 (Sheboygan) and its originating station, WCLB/950, have dropped FOX Sports Radio in favor of Hot Adult Contemporary as "Z107." While the station appears to still be setting up its online presence, its programming is being heard through the stream formerly associated with WBJZ/104.7 (Berlin) when it was operated by Martini Media. WCLB/W297CK is owned by Randall B. Hopper's RBH Enterprises, which has no other stations in Sheboygan. "Z107" primarily competes with Midwest Communications' "The Point" (WXER/104.5 Plymouth and W241AG/96.1 Sheboygan). (12/10/2018)
WISCONSIN:
Court TV is coming back as a broadcast network and will have a Green Bay affiliate at launch, according to a press release issued Monday. Scripps' Katz Broadcasting unit has acquired the intellectual rights to the Court TV name, not used since the cable network became truTV in 2008, and 100,000 hours of its past programming. The relaunched Court TV will have an editorial staff and anchors hosting live courtroom coverage, which will be unusual in a subchannel universe dominated by reruns. The network will launch in May 2019 on stations owned by Scripps, Tribune, Univision, and Entravision with one of Scripps' Green Bay stations (either WGBA/26 or WACY/32) as a charter affiliate. The announcement has no mention of Milwaukee even though both Scripps and Tribune own stations there. Court TV will be Katz's fifth broadcast network. (12/10/2018)
NEBRASKA:
Omaha's "Boomer" Oldies format has added a fourth signal, KBLR/97.3 (Blair). KBLR, which previously carried "Real Country," has a strong signal in areas north of Omaha and fringe coverage of the city itself. It joins the format's original signal, KOMJ/1490 (Omaha), and FM translators K233CO/94.5 and K281CJ/104.1 in Omaha. The stations are owned by Walnut Radio. (12/5/2018)
12/14 addendum: KOMJ and KBLR have changed their callsigns to KOBM and KOBM-FM, respectively.
MINNESOTA:
After ten days teasing listeners about a change, Entercom Country outlet "Buz'n @ 102.9" (KMNB Minneapolis) has rebranded as "102.9 The Wolf, Country hits from then and now." The playlist includes current hits and favorites dating back to the 1980's. (Click here to hear the launch.)
The station also introduced market veteran Greg Thunder as its new morning co-host, joining Mandy Travis and Paul Thomas. Thunder most recently worked at Cities 97 and has also worked at KS95, KDWB, and the former 99.5 WLOL, as well as Country outlets in other markets. Mike Dubs, who had been on "Buz'n Mornings" for the past few months, is going back to evenings, with Fish remaining in middays and Lucas in afternoons.
KMNB had been known as "Buz'n @ 102.9" since its switch to Country seven years ago but has remained behind iHeartMedia's "K102" (KEEY/102.1) in the ratings. The choice of "The Wolf" ignores iHeartMedia's attempt to block Entercom's use of the slogan by placing it on KEEY-HD2 last week. Entercom uses "Wolf" branding in five other markets. (12/3/2018)
IOWA/WISCONSIN:
The planned sale of Tribune Media to Nexstar, announced Monday, may mean divestitures in Des Moines and the Quad Cities. In Des Moines, Nexstar owns ABC affiliate WOI/5.1 and CW affiliate KCWI/23.1, while Tribune owns NBC affiliate WHO-DT/13.1. In the Quad Cities, Tribune owns ABC affiliate WQAD/8.1 while Nexstar owns CBS affiliate WHBF/4.1 and CW affiliate KGCW/26.1 and also provides services to Marshall Broadcasting FOX affiliate KLJB/18.1.
The merger will also increase Nexstar's presence in Wisconsin, adding Tribune FOX affiliate WITI/6.1 (Milwaukee) to Nexstar CBS affiliate WFRV/5.1 (Green Bay) and FOX affiliates WLAX/25.1 (La Crosse) and WEUX/48.1 (Chippewa Falls-Eau Claire). Regionally, Nexstar also owns stations in the Marquette, Sioux City, Sioux Falls, Rapid City, and Bismarck-Minot markets. (12/3/2018)
NORTH DAKOTA/MINNESOTA:
The Grand Forks Herald reports that sister Forum Communications property WDAZ/8 (Devils Lake-Grand Forks) plans to end Grand Forks-based newscasts after Dec. 21, instead simulcasting all newscasts from sister station WDAY-TV/6 (Fargo). WDAY-WDAZ General Manager Joshua Rohrer's statement to the newspaper suggests the Grand Forks facility will remain as a bureau providing stories to air on the Fargo-based newscasts. There was no word of whether any jobs would be impacted.
The stations are ABC affiliates and carry the same program schedule, since Grand Forks is part of the Fargo market. WDAZ's 6 and 10 p.m. weeknight newscasts have long been the only newscasts specifically for the northern half of the Red River Valley. WDAZ already simulcasts WDAY's morning, 4 p.m., 5 p.m., and weekend newscasts, having discontinued Grand Forks weekend newscasts in 2011 and the 5 p.m. newscast in 2014. Online, the content of both WDAY and WDAZ was recently combined into The (Fargo) Forum's inforum.com.
Rohrer cites "changes to distribution of television, emerging technologies and economic factors in our area" as the reason for the change in a statement to the Herald. Many households cannot receive WDAZ because DirecTV only carries WDAY. Also, WDAZ's VHF High digital signal transmits from a tower more than 40 miles away from Grand Forks, and indoor reception of VHF digital TV signals at that distance has proven difficult.
Gray NBC/CBS operation KVLY/KXJB and Red River FOX affiliate KVRR already offer newscasts that include both Fargo and Grand Forks news. (12/1/2018)
CONSTRUCTION PERMITS FOR NEW FM TRANSLATORS:
Note: With the grant of the Sauk Rapids and Waite Park translators above, all eight of the AM stations in the St. Cloud area have now been granted FM translators. They'll join three other translators fed by HD Radio subchannels, one non-commercial band translator, and three low-power FM's. (12/2/2018)
MINNESOTA:
Leighton Enterprises' KCML/99.9 (St. Joseph-St. Cloud) has applied to upgrade from its present 2.9kW/143m (class A) to 12kW/143m (class C3). The new facility would continue to transmit from St. Cloud but use a directional antenna limiting the signal to the west, preventing interference to adjacent-channel stations in Browerville and Olivia. The upgrade would add about 14,000 people to KCML's city-grade coverage area and increase the signal strength within St. Cloud itself. The station carries an Adult Contemporary format as "More FM." (12/2/2018)
WISCONSIN:
In the latest of a string of HD Radio changes, the HD3 signal of WMIL/106.1 (Waukesha-Milwaukee) is now hosting iHeartRadio's "ALT2K" format. The playlist of 2000's Alternative hits was already part of the iHeartRadio platform. WMIL-HD3 formerly carried a simulcast of WITI-TV audio, which FM listeners had gotten used to hearing from the former analog channel 6 audio signal on 87.75 MHz. This change comes as iHeart's WKKV-HD2 switched to "The Breeze" (see earlier item). (12/2/2018)
WISCONSIN:
Wisconsin Public Radio has signed on a larger FM signal for its Ideas Network in the Madison area. W300BM/107.9 had previously transmitted with 250 Watts from the WHA/970 tower in the UW Arboretum but is now using 170 Watts from the UW's taller candelabra tower west of the city, which is also used by WPR's WERN/88.7. The new signal reaches all of W300BM's former coverage area as well as areas to the west. WPR's W215AQ/90.9 also transmits from the candelabra tower with 26 Watts and was still carrying the Ideas Network at last report. WPR Chief Operating Officer Mike Arnold says in an announcement about the change that the upgrade should eliminate the need for Ideas Network listeners to switch between FM frequencies as they drive around town (the network's flagship is WHA/970). (12/2/2018)
MINNESOTA:
Minneapolis NBC affiliate KARE 11 has returned to DISH Network after a very brief outage that began early Saturday, Dec. 1. By midday, KARE owner Tegna posted a news release saying they had reached a new agreement with DISH for the company's 47 stations in 39 markets. A similar dispute also took KARE off DISH for a few days in 2015, and CBS affiliate WCCO was off DISH briefly due to disputes in both 2014 and 2017. (12/1/2018)
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