A Manitoba AM station that could also be heard in parts of North Dakota and Minnesota during the day has shut down permanently.
The CRTC recently approved an application from Pattison Media to delete the license of CKLQ/880 (Brandon), which has been considered a secondary transmitter of CKLQ-FM/91.5 (Brandon) since the FM signal signed on in 2017.
The AM signal’s broadcast certificate expired Aug. 31. The station was reported off the air Sept. 1. It does not appear there was any announcement about the shutdown, with the 880 frequency simply removed from some of the station’s online logos.
In its filing, the station said that as it prepared to renew the broadcast certificate, it found that one of the AM towers needed significant repairs that would cost $200,000 or more. It said at least $125,000 in fencing is also required by revised regulations.
“When combined with regular routine maintenance and annual operating costs, maintaining this secondary rebroadcast transmitter does not make financial sense,” the station’s filing said.
CKLQ used 10kW, with different day and night directional antenna patterns. Its nighttime signal could be heard across much of the region, mixing with other skywave signals.
CKLQ was one of only a dozen full-power AM radio stations remaining on the air in the entire province of Manitoba. Several of the remaining stations are also rebroadcast on FM transmitters.
This article was first posted on Aug. 20 and was updated Sept. 1.