May 2003

MINNESOTA:
KFMC/106.5 (Fairmont) has moved from its longtime Hot Adult Contemporary format to "Real Classic Rock." (5/27/2003)

MINNESOTA:
After a short ownership by Quest Broadcasting, WCMP/1350 (Pine City) is now being sold back to Quarnstrom Media. No actual changes were made at the station, which continues to co-operate with WCMP-FM/100.9. (5/27/2003)

IOWA:
Iowa Public Television is now closer to home in Davenport, with the addition of KQCT/36 (Davenport). The station currently operates at very low power of 6kW but has a construction permit to upgrade to 302kW. Previously, the Quad Cities received IPTV on a weaker signal from KIIN/12 (Iowa City). IPTV purchased KQCT from Black Hawk College, which had been using it to rebroadcast WQPT/24 (Moline). In its purchase of the station, IPTV agreed to abandon its application for a new station on channel 30 in Davenport, which competed with an application filed by Black Hawk College. (5/23/2003)

MINNESOTA:
A formerly unlicensed station in Montevideo will soon have a license. Thunderhawk Broadcasting has received a construction permit for a low-power (100W) station on 96.7. "KRAM" was operating for several years on 1560 and later 98.3, but shut down so as to not jeapordize an LPFM CP. The station plans a mix of Alternative, Dance, and Hot Adult Contemporary. (5/23/2003)

SOUTH DAKOTA:
More booster action: KLMP/97.9 (Spearfish) has applied for a 3.9kW booster in Rapid City. (5/23/2003)

WISCONSIN/MINNESOTA:
Greg Borgen's WDGY/630 (Hudson-St. Paul-Minneapolis) has applied for another facility change. The station currently uses 2.3kW day and 300W night, directional, from a site east of Hudson, and has a construction permit for 5kW directional at night from Rosemount. Now, WDGY has applied for day and night operation from the existing WCTS/1030 towers, using 1kW day and 2.5kW night. The change would result in a much better nighttime signal for the station, which runs a brokered Regional Mexican music format as "Radio Rey." (5/22/2003)

IOWA:
The University of Northern Iowa has received a construction permit for a station on 88.9 in Mitchellville, which would use 160W at 72m. The station would presumably rebroadcast KUNI/90.9 (Cedar Falls). (5/20/2003)

WISCONSIN:
The drawn-out sign-off of the `70s Oldies format on WGLB-FM/100.1 (Port Washington-Milwaukee) finally ended this afternoon, with the station going off the air. Starboard Broadcasting purchased the station and is expected to return it to the air later this year carrying the Catholic "Relevant Radio" network. (5/20/2003)

NORTH DAKOTA/MINNESOTA:
Tom Ingstad's KDJZ/100.7 (Harwood-Fargo) has applied for a booster to improve its signal in Fargo. Boosters are low-powered transmitters on the same frequency as the primary station. KDJZ-1 would use 140 Watts at 29m from a tower on the south side of Fargo. The booster would serve Fargo and Moorhead, with a "wall of interference" in West Fargo, and just east of Moorhead. (5/17/2003)

IOWA:
Citadel is buying Wilks Broadcasting's stations in Des Moines, New Orleans, and Springfield, MO, for $133 million. Wilks' Des Moines cluster includes KBGG/1700, KJJY/92.5, KGGO/94.9, KHKI/97.3, and KRKQ/98.3. Though Citadel is one of the largest broadcasters in the country, this represents its entry into the Upper Midwest. (5/12/2003)

MINNESOTA:
With Starboard Broadcasting's recent launch of its network, KSMM/1530 (Shakopee-Minneapolis) has dropped EWTN's Spanish network and joined other Starboard stations in carrying "Relevant Radio." The network is also carried on WMIN/740 (Hudson-St. Paul). WMIN is strongest in the east metro, while KSMM is strongest in the southwest metro. (5/12/2003)

IOWA:
KWWF/22 (Waterloo) has applied for a facilities change that would give it some coverage of Cedar Rapids. The station currently broadcasts with 500kW at 28m from Waterloo, and would increase to 3000kW at 198 from a site east of Waterloo. (5/10/2003)

WISCONSIN:
Starboard Broadcasting's WYNW/92.9 (Birnamwood) is on the air, carring "Relevant Radio" with a rebroadcast of WDVM-FM/93.9 Nekoosa). (5/9/2003)

WISCONSIN:
WJMC/1240 (Rice Lake) is adding some talk to its afternoon lineup. Bill O'Reilly will air from 1 to 3, and G. Gordon Liddy will air from 3 to 5. The station will continue its format of information, Light Adult Contemporary, and sports broadcasts at other times. (5/8/2003)

WISCONSIN/MINNESOTA:
Midwest Communications has "parked" the WGEE callsign at the former KXTP/970 (Superior-Duluth). WGEE was recently dropped in Green Bay when Midwest's News/Talk 1360 changed to an older heritage call of WTAQ. KXTP continues to use the slogan "Radio X," though the station has made some changes in recent months, dropping Hot Talk programming in the afternoon and evening in favor of conservative talk shows. The KXTP callsign had been in use for a few decades. (5/5/2003)

ILLINOIS/IOWA/MINNESOTA/NEBRASKA/WISCONSIN:
DISH Network has announced 42 new markets to be served by "local-into-local" by the end of the year. Markets to be added in the Upper Midwest are the Quad Cities, Duluth-Superior, Lincoln-Hastings-Kearney, Green Bay, Madison, Milwaukee, and Wausau-Rhinelander. DirecTV is also planning to add a number of markets by the end of the year; check the scorecard to catch up. (5/2/2003)

WISCONSIN:
Tom Clark, a 27-year veteran of Wisconsin Public Radio, is now officially retired. He hosted his last morning show on the Ideas Network Wednesday morning (4/30). Network program director Joy Cardin will serve as morning host for the time being. The search for a new host will not begin until state budget issues are resolved. (5/1/2003)

MINNESOTA/NORTH DAKOTA:
Clear Channel's 96.1 "The Fox" (KQHT Crookston-Grand Forks) has repositioned from "Classic Hits" to "World Class Rock." (5/1/2003)