FCC Monitor: Low-Power TV Station Seeks Full Twin Cities Signal

The following are updates to stories previously reported here and other recent FCC filings and actions:

Minnesota

SagamoreHill of Minneapolis applied to move low-power TV station KMWE-LD/17 (St. Cloud) to the First National Bank building in downtown St. Paul, where it would transmit with 15kW and reach most of the Twin Cities metro. As documented in several previous reports, KMWE-LD first signed on last August from a site near Albany, moved to a tower in Clearwater in September, and in October reported that it was transmitting from a residence in the northwest metro suburb of Corcoran.

Poderosa Broadcasting was granted a new station on 88.1 licensed to New Market Elko. The station will transmit from west of the City of Elko New Market and cover a small area of the far southern Twin Cities metro with 100 Watts at 41m (class A), sandwiched in between WAJC/88.1 (Newport) and KVSC/88.1 (St. Cloud).

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Nebraska

Community Broadcasting/Bott Radio Network’s K257EF/99.3 (York) was granted a construction permit to move its transmitter from a site west of town to a site on the southern edge of town, remaining 250W.

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South Dakota

The FCC dismissed The Praise Network’s application for a new station on 91.9 in Yankton. REC Network’s tracking system says the dismissal was for being short-spaced to another station.

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Just outside the Upper Midwest…

A proposed fine against the owner of a Chicago FM translator serves as a reminder to broadcasters that not being on the air can get you in trouble — if you don’t tell the FCC you’ve gone silent. The FCC has issued a notice of apparent liability for forfeiture of $8,000 from Windy City Broadcasting, the licensee of W280EM/103.9 (Chicago). $5,000 of the proposed fine is because W280EM went silent in August 2020 but did not file a request for special temporary authority to remain silent until December 2020, after an informal objection to its license renewal application alleged the translator was off the air (such filings are required within 30 days). The other $3,000 is for incorrectly stating on the renewal application that W280EM was on the air and for failing to inform the FCC that its primary station had changed. Windy City Broadcasting has 30 days to either pay the fine or seek a reduction or cancellation.