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.
Iowa
Educational Media Foundation’s KILV/107.5 (Castana) returned to full power on April 5 after a few weeks of reduced-power operation due to storm damage.
VMPP, LLC closed on its purchase of KWPC/860, KMCS/93.1, and KWPC translator K236CF/95.1 (Muscatine) on April 9.
The FCC has approved American Christian Radio’s purchase of KPVL/89.1 (Postville) from Community Public Media.
God’s Grace Radio was granted a modification to the construction permit for its future low-power FM station KGDR-LP/106.7 (Dyersville) to specify a tower site closer to Dyersville, remaining 100 Watts.
Michigan
Armada Media’s WJPD/92.3 (Ishpeming-Marquette) was granted special temporary authority to operate at 3kW ERP, rather than its licensed 100kW, after an electrical storm caused antenna and feed line damage.
Minnesota
Moose Lake Adventist Broadcasting reports that it took WMLA-LP/99.7 (Moose Lake) off the air March 28, stating, “At the present time the licensee is financially unable to continue to operate the station.”
The FCC has ordered Blooming Prairie Farm Radio’s KNXR/97.5 (Rochester) to show why it should not be downgraded, on paper, to class C0 to allow an upgrade by WAQE-FM/97.7 (Barron, WI). KNXR’s actual facility would not change — its current 100kW at 317m falls short of the minimum 451m antenna height required for full class C FM stations after a change to the standards in the 1990s. (The revision inserted a new Class C0 for 100kW stations between 300m and 450m in antenna height, allowing upgrades by stations that were previously blocked by Class C stations that did not build out their maximum facilities. Grandfathered Class C stations below 451m are only changed to C0 when another station seeks an upgrade.) KNXR could apply for an upgrade to at least 451m to keep its full class C status; no other Minnesota radio station has an antenna that high. WAQE-FM has proposed a 47kW at 156m (class C2) facility with a directional antenna limiting the signal towards KNXR.
Hubbard Radio’s K235BP/94.9 (Bemidji) has been granted a construction permit to move to 95.1 as K236DA, moving its transmitter to the group’s downtown studio and dropping power from 250 to 100 Watts. K235BP has been off the air since April 19, 2024, due to “issues” with its antenna site lease; it will again relay KBUN/1450 when it returns to the air.
The City of Cottage Grove applied to modify the construction permit for WGRO-LP/104.5 (Cottage Grove) to move its transmitter closer to the city. As covered in previous FCC Monitor reports, a typo on the station’s original application placed the transmitter outside of the city; the FCC would not allow the original application to be modified to move the transmitter to the city itself but did grant a construction permit for a site in Hastings. Now, WGRO-LP has applied to move to a tower on Cottage Grove’s eastern border with 37 Watts.
CSN International’s K213FA/90.5 (Grand Rapids) has applied to increase power from 10 to 115 Watts.
Nebraska
Nebraska Public Media’s KNNE-FM/90.7 (McCook) returned to the air on April 1 following antenna repairs.
North Dakota
The FCC granted In His Presence Ministries’ KTGH/90.1 (Bowdon) a construction permit to upgrade from its present 120 Watts at 45m to 100kW at 141m, with its tower midway between Bowdon and Bismarck.
Wisconsin
Gray Media’s WZAW-LD/33.1 (Wausau) and W31EV-D (Stevens Point) report that they went off the air March 28 due to a transmitter malfunction following an ice storm. WZAW-LD’s primary channel continues on sister station WSAW/7.3.
Wisconsin Public Radio’s WSSU/88.5 (Superior), which transmits from Duluth, reports that it returned to full power of 950 Watts ERP on April 9 after resolving equipment problems.
Facing an April 19 construction deadline, Columbus Community Radio has been granted a modification to the construction permit for WAWA/91.1 (Columbus) to reduce the planned facility from 20kW/24m to 900W/8m.
Bellowing Ox Properties applied to modify the construction permit for new low-power FM station WPBO-LP/104.7 (Platteville) to relocate the transmitter to a site northeast of town, changing from 100 Watts at 30m to 7 Watts at 110m.
Disclosure: Jon Ellis is an employee of Gray Media Group. The statements and views expressed in this posting are his own and do not reflect those of Gray Media Group.