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
Minn-Iowa Christian Broadcasting, owner of “Kinship Radio,” closed on its purchase of KRFH/88.7 (Marshalltown) and KTDV/91.9 (State Center) from Marshalltown Education Plus on May 1. The stations’ callsigns have been changed to KJLM and KJOM, respectively.
The FCC approved Sound in Spirit Broadcasting’s sales of KQLF/88.3 (Ottumwa) to from Sound in Spirit Broadcasting and KMDY/90.9 (Keokuk) to Good News Radio.
The Edge Spectrum’s K31PP-D (Sioux City), which is currently off the air, has been granted a construction permit to move to a different site, remaining 100 Watts.
Michigan
Queen Bee’s Knees/Morgan Murphy Media’s WBUP/10.1 (Ishpeming) resumed full-power operations on April 30.
Minnesota
Civic Media’s WELY/1450 (Ely) officially returned to the air April 25, according to a notification filed with the FCC. It is currently running Oldies with no imaging or announcements other than a legal ID. Meanwhile, Civic is buying K280AT/103.9 (Ely) from Range Paging for $8,000 to relay WELY. K280AT had previously relayed KAXE/91.7 (Grand Rapids). WELY-FM/94.5 (Ely) remains silent.
Northwestern Media’s K205GG/88.9 (Grand Rapids) has applied to co-locate with KDGR/88.1 (Grand Rapids), remaining 250 Watts. Regular readers will recall that K205GG is the former K201IX/88.1, which had transmitted from what is now the KDGR site until KDGR signed on earlier this year.
The FCC approved an upgrade for CSN International’s K213FA/90.5 (Grand Rapids) from 10 to 115 Watts.
CSN International’s K204ES/88.7 (Brainerd) withdrew an application to upgrade to 170 Watts, stating that it realized that the power level at its 57m antenna height is higher than allowed for translators east of the Mississippi River. (It may be a little-known fact that the FCC limits the power for FM translators depending on antenna height; a chart in federal code lists the maximum power for a translator with a 57m antenna height east of the Mississippi River to be 80 Watts, which is K204ES’ current power.)
The FCC has approved Lakeland Media’s purchase of KKLN/94.1 (Atwater-Willmar), KSCR-FM/93.5 (Benson), KBMO/1290 (Benson), and KBMO translator K278CX/103.5 (Benson) from Headwaters Media.
Edge Spectrum’s K31LN-D (Rochester) was granted a construction permit to move to a different site, remaining 100 Watts.
Nebraska
Gray Media’s KCWH-LD/18.1 (Lincoln) reports that it went off the air April 20 due to a transmitter malfunction.
North Dakota
Real Presence Radio’s K217GL/90.7 (Harvey) reports that its main transmitter failed and it’s using a backup that puts out 102 Watts TPO, compared with the usual 688 Watts TPO that results in 250 Watts ERP. The reduced-power operation began April 7.
CSN International’s K201FJ/88.1 (Williston) has applied to increase from 62 to 75 Watts.
Wisconsin
The FCC has granted the Salvation Poem Foundation’s WWJC/101.5 (Augusta) a construction permit to upgrade from 1kW to 4kW, with its antenna remaining at 466m above average terrain from the WEAU-TV tower north of Fairchild. The upgrade will add Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls to WWJC’s main coverage area. Since WWJC’s class will increase from C3 to C2, the FCC approved a change to the reference coordinates for the class C0 allotment of KDWB/101.3 (Richfield-Minneapolis) to specify a site in a residential backyard in the northwestern Minneapolis suburb of Crystal; KDWB’s actual facility will not change.
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.