NorthPine: Upper Midwest Broadcasting

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:

CommunityTypePopulation (2020)Station
Wentworth, WIUnlistedNot measuredWWEN
Lowry, SDTown10KQSD-FM
KMLO
KQSD-TV
Loomis, SDCDP33KGRH
Crookston, NEVillage71KINI
Sunburg, MNCity94KLFN
Sageville, IACity95KIYX
Castana, IACity107KILV
Crary, NDCity113KQZZ
Hallie, WITown153WOGO
WWIB
Hubbard, NEVillage153KAYA
Shubert, NEVillage163KSSH
Patterson, IACity176KICP
Wimbledon, NDCity178KRVX
Dix, NEVillage187KIMB
Brule, WICDP208WHSA
Flasher, NDCity217KKBO
Hazelton, NDCity223KUSB
Keystone, SDTown240KRKI
Goodman, WICDP241WMVM
Michigamme, MICDP255WKPK
Kelliher, MNCity258KKWB
Wilton, MNCity263WBKK
Milladore, WIVillage268WGNV
Hope, NDCity272KFGO-FM
Twin Lakes, IACDP316KTLB
Baileys Harbor, WICDP334WLGE
Florence, SDTown337KDLO-TV
Blunt, SDCity342KCCR-FM
Ephraim, WIVillage345WSBW
Reserve, WICDP349WOJB
Orchard, NEVillage363KGRD
Faith, SDCity367KPSD
KPSD-TV
Little Eagle, SDCity367KLND
Palmer, MICDP378WRUP
Powers, MIVillage381WUPF
Hermosa, SDTown382KWRC
South Heart, NDCity394KDXN
Minocqua, WICDP411WLKD
WQMN
WMQA
Sarona, WITown419WPLT
Fisher, MNCity422KSNR
Republic, MICDP470WUPG
Berthold, NDCity490KNDL
Sargent, NECity500KEJS
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.

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