Townsquare Media has returned the license of an AM radio station in Rochester, Minn., one year after taking it off the air.
KOLM/1520 had gone off the air April 1, 2025, and faced a one-year deadline under federal law to resume broadcasting.
A cancellation application was submitted on March 31 and the FCC formally cancelled the station’s license on April 2.
The most recent filing did not state a reason for the decision to return the license, but Townsquare cited economic problems when it notified the FCC that KOLM had gone off the air in 2025.
KOLM had transmitted with 10kW non-directional daytime and 800 Watts directional at night, using a six-tower array. It also had to use a different directional pattern during critical hours (two hours after sunrise and two hours before sunset).
According to FCC records, the construction permit for KOLM was originally issued to WBIZ, Inc., but the permit was transferred to OImstead County Broadcasting ahead of its 1964 sign-on. It was paired with KWWK/96.5 (Rochester) prior to consolitation.
KOLM originally operated with 1kW daytime only, upgraded daytime power to 10kW in 1967, and added the 800-Watt nighttime power in 2001. The station changed its callsign to KKEE in 1977 but reverted to KOLM less than two years later.
RadioTapes.com has an aircheck of KOLM from 1967, when it presented a full-service middle-of-the-road format typical of the era. It was carrying Oldies by the early 1990s and ran syndicated Sports Talk for the past several decades.
It did not have an FM translator.
KOLM’s website and Facebook page remain online with updated content provided by other Townsquare stations and no indication that the station has been off the air for a year.
KOLM is the latest in a series of AM stations to return their license, with others including Townsquare’s KBOB/1170 (Davenport) as well as stations owned by other companies in Des Moines and Lincoln. Three AM stations in the suburban Twin Cities have also gone off the air permanently over the past five years.