The following are updates to previously-reported items and other recent regulatory filings and actions concerning Upper Midwest broadcast stations. This report is created by the author and is not an official report of the FCC.
National
The FCC announced that it will hold a filing window for new low-power FM stations from Nov. 1 to 8, 2023.
Iowa
NRG Media’s KOKZ/105.7 (Waterloo-Cedar Rapids) is operating at reduced power due to transmission line damage caused by a windstorm and lightning strike. Normally using 100kW/399m from a tower southeast of Waterloo, KOKZ’s request for special temporary authority says it is currently operating at 71kW ERP. Once work begins to replace the feedline, KOKZ will use 12.5kW/355m from a different antenna on the same tower. Work is expected to begin in July. The filing says the station anticipates returning to full power within 30 to 45 days.
Des Moines-based St. Gabriel Communications applied to modify the construction permit for its future station on 88.7 in Odebolt. The facility was originally planned to be located at a site in Odebolt owned by the original permittee, Faith Lutheran Church, with 100kW/51m. St. Gabriel proposes moving the station to a tower just northeast of town using 40kW/84m, largely matching the originally-planned coverage area.
Manitoba
Bell Media, whose CTV owned-and-operated stations include CKY-DT/7 (Winnipeg), asked the CRTC to remove several conditions of licence governing how much money it spends on local news and how much local news the stations air. Citing competition from streaming providers, Bell writes that “the Canadian broadcast industry is in crisis” and says its local news efforts lost about $40 million last year. Bell says its stations would continue to offer “a wide range of quality news” even without the specific requirements. It notes that the CRTC has already removed local news requirements for CBC-TV stations.
Nebraska
MyBridge Radio’s K282AX/104.3 (Paxton) applied to move its transmitter east, from its present site near Paxton to a new site near Sutherland.
VSS Catholic Communications applied to modify the construction permit for KETW/90.5 (Ogallala) to lower the antenna height from 145m to 128m above average terrain, remaining 2.46kW. The filing says the change is needed because pre-existing appurtenances on the tower will prevent a new antenna at the originally-planned height.
The Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission was granted the callsign KUNE for its future station on 88.7 in Columbus.
South Dakota
Mount Rushmore Broadcasting’s KFCR/1490 (Custer) reports that it returned to the air June 18. The station had gone off the air Oct. 10, 2022, due to equipment failure.