Several regional radio stations have notified the FCC this month that they are operating with reduced power:
WRUP/98.3 (Palmer-Marquette, MI) is operating at about half of its usual power following storm damage to its transmitter. The MediaBrew Communications Marquette station says in its April 15 FCC filing that the transmitter will need to be replaced. WRUP, which carries Classic Rock, normally uses 2.6kW ERP at 310m above average terrain, which is a class C3 facility equivalent to 25kW at 100m.
WVVE/95.3 (Grand Marais, MN) is operating at reduced power due to transmitter problems. The station says in an April 6 filing that its main transmitter suffered storm damage and it’s using a borrowed 100-Watt transmitter, and that it is not sure when it will be able to repair the main transmitter due to the COVID-19 pandemic. WVVE normally transmits with 63kW/209m from Lutsen. The FCC approved the station’s sale from Shire & Shore Communications to Daniel Hatfield earlier this year, but the sale has not yet closed.
KMXA-FM/99.9 (Minot, ND) is using its auxiliary facility after a tower failure at its licensed site. The iHeartMedia station’s filing says the top 200 feet of its main site failed on or about March 29, and an accompanying photo (below) shows a section of crumpled tower on the ground. KMXA-FM normally uses 100kW/142m and is using the auxiliary facility of 1.1kW/119m; the station is seeking special temporary authority to switch to a temporary 20kW facility. KMXA-FM carries an Adult Contemporary format as “Mix 99.9.”
KCMI/97.1 (Terrytown-Scottsbluff, NE) says in an April 13 filing that it is operating at 70 percent of its usual 100kW due to a transmitter issue. The filing says an engineer will fix the issue as soon as weather permits access to its remote transmitter site in the Wildcat Hills south of Scottsbluff. KCMI is owned by Christian Media Inc.
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