People
Tegna has appointed Doug Weider as president and general manager of NBC affiliate KARE 11 (Minneapolis). Weider began his career in news and has been the general manager of Tegna’s station in Norfolk, Va., since 2019.
Evening co-anchor Tyler Utzka announced plans to depart Allen Media CBS affiliate KIMT/3.1 (Mason City-Rochester) for family reasons.
Morning co-anchor Dann Saxton announced his departure from Hubbard ABC affiliate WDIO/10.1 (Duluth) for health reasons.
Iowa Public Radio announced the hiring of Sioux City-based reporter Sheila Brummer and Cedar Falls-based reporter and host Grant Leo Winterer.
St. Paul-based American Public Media Group, the parent organization of Minnesota Public Radio and other services, announced the hiring of Roycie Eppler as its Chief People and Culture Officer.
Stations and companies
Allen Media NBC affiliate KWWL/7.1 (Waterloo-Cedar Rapids) announced plans to launch a half-hour 4 p.m. newscast on Oct. 16, anchored by Elizabeth Klinge. Listings indicate “Jeopardy!” will move from 4 to 3:30, displacing “America’s Court.” KWWL News at 4 will compete with the first half of an hourlong newscast on Gray ABC affiliate KCRG-TV/9.1 (Cedar Rapids).
Sinclair Broadcast Group announced plans to convert its Stadium network to The Nest on Oct. 30. Stadium’s affiliates include KFXA/28.4 (Cedar Rapids), KMEG/14.4 (Sioux City), KXVO/15.2 (Omaha), and WCWF/14.4 (Suring-Green Bay). The Nest’s website says it will mix “home-improvement, true-crime, factual reality series, and celeb-family shows all in one place.” Sinclair also runs the Comet, Charge!, and TBD networks.
The Minnesota Wild announced that it has extended its radio partnership with iHeartMedia’s “100.3 The Fan” (KFXN-FM Minneapolis) for another five years. “The Fan” is also the radio home of the Vikings and Timberwolves.
RadioInsight reports that Breck Media Group has returned KWBB/104.5 (Upton, WY) to the air with a Variety Hits format as “Bob FM.” The station’s class C signal rimshots the northern Black Hills in South Dakota.
A nerdy Canadian radio tradition has ended: CBC has discontinued the National Research Council Official Time Signal broadcast that had aired every day at Noon Central time, 1 p.m. Eastern (at the same moment in real time across all of Canada’s time zones). Though only 20 seconds long, it had the distinction of being the CBC’s longest-running segment. Here’s what it sounded like on CBQI-FM/90.1 (Atikokan, ON) in 2017:
In case you missed it here:
News tips? Press releases? If you don’t see yours here, I probably didn’t receive it! Please send them to jonellis@northpine.com!
Disclosure: Jon Ellis was an employee of Gray Media Group at the time this item was posted. The statements and views expressed in this posting are his own and do not reflect those of Gray Media Group.