The following are updates to stories previously reported here and other recent FCC filings and actions:
Iowa
Family Radio’s KYFR/920 (Shenandoah) continues to work on fixing a transmitter problem that has caused it to operate at half of its licensed 5kW daytime power since last August, and has requested an extension of special temporary authority. It continues to use its licensed 2.5kW at night.
JKJ Educational Foundation was granted a construction permit for a new station on 89.9 in Kiron using 100W/3m (class A). (see list of new non-commercial FM station grants)
The FCC dismissed Iowa Public Radio’s application for a new station on 88.1 in West Point. The reason for the dismissal is not immediately known.
Manitoba
Dufferin Communications applied to move the transmitters of CFJL-FM/100.5 (Winnipeg) and CHWE-FM/106.1 (Winnipeg) to a nearby tower already used by CKJS-FM/92.7 (Winnipeg). CFJL would switch from 100kW/206m to 100kW/185m, while CHWE would upgrade from 40kW/175m to 77kW/185m.
Minnesota
Two Harbors Community Radio was granted a new station on 88.3 in Two Harbors using 20kW/165m (class C2). It will replace KTWH-LP/99.5. (see list of new non-commercial FM station grants)
Three applicants for a new station on 88.1 in Grand Rapids have reached a settlement agreement that will see the frequency go to the University of Northwestern-St. Paul. UNWSP will reimburse Park Public Radio $11,187 for its costs preparing the application and We Have This Hope Christian Radio $3,750 for its costs. The other groups have withdrawn their applications, but the UNWSP construction permit has not yet been formally approved.
The FCC identified Minn-Iowa Christian Broadcasting as the tentative selectee of a new station on 89.5 in Hutchinson. The application had been in competition with We Have This Hope Christian Radio’s application for the same frequency in nearby Brownton. The FCC tentatively selected Minn-Iowa because it asserted that it is eligible for a fair distribution preference, providing the first non-commercial service to 2,371 people. The other applicant did not claim eligibility for fair distribution preference.
Salvation Poem Foundation modified its application for a new station on 88.1 in Grand Meadow to instead specify 88.3 in Harmony, with a transmitter in northern Iowa near Decorah. The modification will apparently remove Salvation Poem from competition with 11 other applications.
The FCC granted Sinclair CW affiliate WUCW/23.1 (Minneapolis, RF22) a construction permit to switch from its current 1000kW/410m to 790kW/436m, remaining at the Telefarm site in Shoreview.
The FCC approved tolling of the construction deadline for K30QY-D (Oakland) following owner Lowcountry 34 Media’s consent decree. K30QY’s new deadline is July 7.
Innovative Media Technologies’ K26PF-D (St. Cloud) was granted an upgrade from 250W to 15kW, moving its transmitter from Albany to a site near St. Joseph.
Nebraska
WJAG, Inc. filed an application to transfer Eugene F. Huse’s 52% control of WJAG/780 (Norfolk), KEXL/97.5 (Pierce-Norfolk), and KQKX/106.7 (Norfolk) to the W. H. Huse Revocable Trust. The application explains that Huse’s interest in the company transferred to the Revocable Trust when he died in 2018 but that “FCC staff has indicated that it had not reviewed the W. H. Huse Revocable Trust.” Once the transfer to the Revocable Trust is approved, the company then plans to transfer the interest to the W. H. Huse Living Trust. The Huse family, which also owns the Norfolk Daily News, has owned WJAG since it was first licensed on July 27, 1922.
CSN International reported that K255CJ/98.9 (Briggs) went off the air March 8 due to the pending demolition of the tower at the WOWT(TV) studio in Omaha, from which K255CJ had broadcast. (As previously reported, iHeartMedia’s KFFF/93.3 was recently granted a construction permit to move from the tower.) Previous filings indicate K255CJ has gone off the air several times in the past several years due to a previous move, technical difficulties, and a temporary loss of programming. It has not yet applied to move to a new site.
The FCC granted My Bridge Radio a construction permit for a new station on 88.7 in Scottsbluff using 60kW/38m (class C1). (see list of new non-commercial FM station grants)
North Dakota
The FCC granted Vision Media’s KZTK/103.9 (Arthur) a construction permit to upgrade from its current 25kW/100m (class C3) to 47kW/93m (class C2). The upgrade will extend KZTK’s main coverage area to the edge of downtown Fargo.
Wisconsin
Magnum Communications submitted a filing indicating that new FM translator W255DE/96.9 (Waunakee) has signed on, relaying WEZY/1350 (Portage) to a suburban Madison area. The station transmits from De Forest and was originally slated to be licensed to that community but instead requested to be licensed to Waunakee in its license to cover application, which was granted March 10.
The Salvation Poem Foundation was granted a construction permit for a new station on 91.5 in Melrose using 50kW/87m (class C2). (see list of new non-commercial FM station grants)
The FCC granted VCY America’s WVRN/88.9 (Wittenberg) a construction permit to upgrade from its present 25kW/147m (class C2) to 90kW/146m (class C1), putting Wausau within its main coverage area.
Milwaukee Media’s WIWN/68.1 (Fond du Lac-Milwaukee) submitted a petition for rulemaking requesting to move from RF channel 5 (VHF Low) to RF channel 7 (VHF High). The petition says WIWN, a primary Cozi TV affiliate, “has struggled to provide a strong enough signal to create reliable reception” on the VHF Low frequency, where it is licensed for 9kW but has been transmitting with 34kW under special temporary authority. On channel 7, WIWN would use a distributed transmission system consisting of one transmitter at its existing Milwaukee transmitter site with 38kW and a second transmitter near Fond du Lac using 600 Watts.
Spirit of Prayer Ministries submitted an updated request for tolling of the deadline to construct a new low-power TV station on channel 18 in Wausau, which still does not have an FCC callsign. The station was first granted in 2010 and, following the FCC’s delay of all new LPTV construction deadlines nationally due to the spectrum auction repack, faced a July 13, 2021 deadline that was later extended to Jan. 10, 2022. (The station’s planned facilities were ultimately not changed as a result of the repack.) The FCC has not yet acted on a request for tolling submitted in January that cited a volunteer engineer’s health issues. The latest filing includes documentation of the engineer’s medical conditions as well as news articles about challenges faced by LPTV stations and emergency orders due to COVID. It is seeking an extension to March 31, 2023.
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