Data Dump: Smallest Upper Midwest Communities of License

Earlier we looked at the largest communities in each state that don’t have a full-power radio or TV license. What about the smallest communities that do have licenses?

The answer is not as clear-cut as it may seem. Why? Because though there is a “community of license showing” when an applicant proposes to be licensed to a community, there is no requirement that the community be an incorporated place. In some cases, Census records list two adjacent unincorporated communities that use the same name, such as a Census-Designated Place (a community that is not incorporated but that is still measured) and a surrounding township. FCC records do not specify which unincorporated place is actually the community of license.

For purposes of this list, if there is both a Census-Designated Place and a township, the place used for this list is the CDP because it is the most recognizable as a “community.” (Note that there are some communities of license, such as Twin Lakes, IA, that exist only as a CDP.)

While again acknowledging that “community of license” is largely symbolic since there is no actual requirement to provide programming specifically intended for the community of license, let’s take a look:

Community	Type	Population (2020)	Station
Wentworth, WI	Unlisted	Not measured	WWEN
Lowry, SD	Town	10	KQSD-FM KMLO KQSD-TV
Loomis, SD	CDP	33	KGRH
Crookston, NE	Village	71	KINI
Sunburg, MN	City	94	KLFN
Sageville, IA	City	95	KIYX
Castana, IA	City	107	KILV
Crary, ND	City	113	KQZZ
Hallie, WI	Town	153	WOGO WWIB
Hubbard, NE	Village	153	KAYA
Shubert, NE	Village	163	KSSH
Patterson, IA	City	176	KICP
Wimbledon, ND	City	178	KRVX
Dix, NE	Village	187	KIMB
Brule, WI	CDP	208	WHSA
Flasher, ND	City	217	KKBO
Hazelton, ND	City	223	KUSB
Keystone, SD	Town	240	KRKI
Goodman, WI	CDP	241	WMVM
Michigamme, MI	CDP	255	WKPK
Kelliher, MN	City	258	KKWB
Wilton, MN	City	263	WBKK
Milladore, WI	Village	268	WGNV
Hope, ND	City	272	KFGO-FM
Twin Lakes, IA	CDP	316	KTLB
Baileys Harbor, WI	CDP	334	WLGE
Florence, SD	Town	337	KDLO-TV
Blunt, SD	City	342	KCCR-FM
Ephraim, WI	Village	345	WSBW
Reserve, WI	CDP	349	WOJB
Orchard, NE	Village	363	KGRD
Faith, SD	City	367	KPSD KPSD-TV
Little Eagle, SD	City	367	KLND
Palmer, MI	CDP	378	WRUP
Powers, MI	Village	381	WUPF
Hermosa, SD	Town	382	KWRC
South Heart, ND	City	394	KDXN
Minocqua, WI	CDP	411	WLKD WQMN WMQA
Sarona, WI	Town	419	WPLT
Fisher, MN	City	422	KSNR
Republic, MI	CDP	470	WUPG
Berthold, ND	City	490	KNDL
Sargent, NE	City	500	KEJS KBRY

It’s worth remembering that stations serve wider areas than just their community of license. Many target programming to much larger nearby cities. Some of the stations on this list serve large rural areas and the community of license just happens to be close to the transmitter site.

The Town of Hallie, WI, is an interesting case. Since WOGO and WWIB were first licensed, the Village of Lake Hallie was formed, claiming most of the geographic area and population of the Town of Hallie. However, the radio stations’ official community of license remains Hallie.

There are also many instances in which a CDP is located within a township with a larger population. The best example may be Minocqua, WI, where the Town of Minocqua has about ten times the population of the CDP.

(Another confusing thing is that terminology varies from state to state. Wisconsin does not officially have “townships” but uses the word “town” in the same way the word “township” is used in other states. Meanwhile, South Dakota has both towns and townships. And Minnesota only has townships and cities, leading to many small cities because it is the only level of incorporation.)

Wentworth, WI, appears to be the only community of license for a full-power station in the region that is not a city, village, town, township, or Census Designated Place. The community simply does not exist in Census records.