The following are updates to previously-reported items and other recent regulatory filings and actions concerning Upper Midwest broadcast stations. This report is created by the author and is not an official report of the FCC.
Iowa
Tegna’s KCWI/23.1 (Ames-Des Moines) reports that it went off the air June 11 due to transmission line problems and has requested special temporary authority to remain silent. The filing explained that the station had experienced intermittent outages since May 13. It says KCWI’s programming is temporarily being carried on a subchannel of sister station WOI-DT/5 (Ames-Des Moines).
K-Love’s K217FT/91.3 (Waterloo), which carries Air1, reports that it has been off the air since May 19 because of a storm-damaged antenna. K265EH/100.9 (Waverly), which apparently receives its feed from K217FT, has been off the air since the same date.
Michigan
Morgan Murphy Media/Queen Bee’s Knees’ WFER/1230 (Iron River) went off the air June 17 “due to the decommissioning of the broadcast tower as a result of safety concerns.” The filing adds, “The licensee is currently weighing options as to the future of the station.” WFER translator W250CQ/97.9 (Iron River) has also gone off the air.
Minnesota
HC2 Station Group’s KJNK-LD/25 (Minneapolis) returned to full power of 15kW on June 12.
Nebraska
The FCC has approved Walnut Radio’s purchase of KXSP/590 (Omaha) from SummitMedia. A request to change KXSP’s callsign back to WOW remains pending.
Theatre Organ Preservation of Nebraska’s KEZL/89.7 (Culbertson) has completed a slight change from 15kW/102m to 14kW/105m.
Wisconsin
AMC Partners Rice Lake’s WAQE-FM/97.7 (Barron-Rice Lake) has completed an upgrade from 15.5kW/88m (class C3) to 47kW/156m (class C2). The new transmitter is located at WAQE-FM’s studio location, which is also the longtime home of WJMC/1240, leaving the longtime WAQE tower site about two miles away. The change improves WAQE-FM’s signal to outlying communities such as Spooner, Amery, and Bloomer, more closely matching the coverage of its two FM sister stations.