FCC Monitor: 2 Wis. Stations Face License Renewal Deadline

Posted on by Jon Ellis

The following are updates to stories previously reported here and smaller recent FCC filings and actions that do not merit a full story of their own at this time:

Minnnesota

Edge Spectrum’s K26KF-D (Duluth) and K35JN-D (Duluth) requested special temporary authority to transmit with 100 Watts directional, telling the FCC that the company does not yet have the equipment to build the 5kW nondirectional facilities specified in their construction permits. The stations are not on the air.

Nebraska

Flood Communications’ KWBE-LD/21 (Beatrice) left the air Oct. 26 due to “water and ice taking down the line and antenna.” The station’s filing says it hopes to be back on the air within 30 says.

Gray TV NBC affiliate WOWT/6.1 (Omaha) is transmitting at 660kW, instead of its licensed 1,000kW, due to equipment failure.

My Bridge has closed on its purchase of KMMJ/750 (Grand Island) and K282BR/104.3 (Grand Island) from The Praise Network. The stations were silent at last report but My Bridge has announced plans to launch a Spanish Christian format.

The FCC approved the sale of KZTL/93.5 (Paxton-North Platte) and KRNP/100.7 (Sutherland-North Platte) from Legacy Communications to Eagle Communications. Eagle is already operating the stations under a local marketing agreement, but the deal has not been formally consummated.

Wisconsin

The FCC issued notice that the licenses of Northland College’s WRNC-LP/97.7 (Ashland) and Carroll College’s WCCX/104.5 (Waukesha) will expire Dec. 1 unless they file renewal applications, having missed the deadline. 100-Watt WRNC-LP reportedly went off the air in 2017 but did not return its license. 13-Watt WCCX, which has a grandfathered Class D Educational license, is still offering a web stream with Variety Hits but its online presence has been dormant since Jan. 1.

Fusion Radio’s W277AE/103.3 (Madison) reported that it went silent on Oct. 1 because its transmitter stopped operating and needs repair. Fusion closed on its deal to buy the translator from Faith Center in late April, and its purchase agreement stipulated that W277AE could only continue to relay the seller’s WFEN/88.3 (Rockford, IL) for six months after closing. W277AE has a construction permit to move to a different site and upgrade to 120 Watts, with the University of Northwestern-St. Paul’s WNWC/1190 (Sun Prairie-Madison) specified as the station to be rebroadcast from the new facility (though the primary station could be changed without FCC approval).

VCY America applied to move future translator W260DL/99.9 (Oshkosh) to a tower in the Oshkosh city limits with 155 Watts. The original construction permit called for 250 Watts from the WVCY/690 site just outside of the city.