Is there about to be more change to Milwaukee’s FM dial? While “Air1” debuted on WLUM/102.1 just a couple of weeks ago, former “K-Love” station WLVE/105.3 (Mukwonago-Milwaukee) is now running a message indicating that it will soon carry “Air1.” WLVE’s coverage area is entirely within WLUM’s. WLVE had carried “K-Love” since 2008, and the announcement advises listeners to tune to WLDB/93.3 for “K-Love.” The “Air1” website has been updated to list both 102.1 and 105.3 for Milwaukee.
As first reported by RadioInsight, Madison’s Mid-West Family Broadcasting has cut Jim Bartlett, who hosted afternoons on “WMGN “Magic 98” (WMGN), and Pat Gallagher, who co-hosted mornings on WMGN and then covered middays on “106.7 The Resistance” (WRIS-FM Mount Horeb).
Meteorologist Ken Siemek has retired after 44 years with Gray Media CBS affiliates KOLN/10 (Lincoln) and KGIN/11 (Grand Island). Siemek is married to former 10/11 anchor Deb Collins, who was already retired. The station surprised Siemek on his last day by naming their studio in his honor. Following Siemek’s retirement, Brad Anderson has been promoted to chief meteorologist.
Elsewhere, my former colleague John Campbell has retired from Gray ABC affiliate KCRG-TV/9 (Cedar Rapids) — again. The former sports anchor retired from nightly anchor duties in 2012 but had continued to do some sports reporting and the “Big Ol’ Fish” segment, which AJ Rickman is taking over.
A belated note that KMZN/740 (Oskaloosa, Iowa) and its two FM translators have switched to “Jack FM” with a playlist that’s newer than its previous Classic Hits format. It appears the change may have happened over the summer.
Nebraska Public Media News has launched a new daily news podcast called “Nebraska Update.”
iHeartMedia announced plans to launch TikTok Radio, saying it “will be available across broadcast radio stations nationwide and digitally on iHeartRadio.” It’s not immediately known which stations will carry the service.
The Chicago/Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced that its 2026 Wisconsin Silver Circle inductees will be Lance Allan, Mark Baden, Anne Brown, Cary Docter, Bill Jartz, Al Lancaster, Patty Loew, and Jeff Kiernan.
Veteran media broker Roger Rafson has joined Media Services Group as a Managing Director based in Pittsburgh. “Roger’s joining marks a strategic expansion for our firm,” said Bob Heymann, Managing Director, in a news release. “His reputation, integrity, and deep industry knowledge will make him a valuable asset to our clients and our team.”
All-Christmas Update: As of Friday morning, Nov. 14, we’re up to at least 21 All-Christmas stations in the Upper Midwest. One first-time flipper this year is “100.5 The Hawk” (KDHK Decorah, Iowa), which made the switch on Nov. 12 — six weeks to Christmas Eve. Another new entrant is the HD2 channel of KHTZ/106.9 (Minot, N.D.) after the station converted to commercial broadcasting earlier this year. Meanwhile, seven Upper Midwest stations made the seasonal changeover on Friday, Nov. 7, including many (but not all) iHeartMedia stations. See all of the Christmas conversions on the 2025 All-Christmas Stations page.
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