Community Radio to switch frequencies, rebuild tower

December 12, 2007 10:35 pm

— By Joe Hadsall
jhadsall@joplinglobe.com
Chris Freund, news director for Community Radio Group, said anyone who believes that a frequency switch is a publicity stunt should visit a twisted pile of metal in Columbus, Kan.
A 312-foot radio tower, which broadcast active-rock station KJML on 105.3 FM, collapsed Wednesday. Station officials believe the weight of ice accumulation caused two of the tower’s three legs to break.
“We wish it was just a stunt,” Freund said. “The tower basically broke in half.”
KJML is now broadcast on 107.1 FM and replaces KMOQ, a current-hit/top-40 station. Freund said KJML performed better in the most recent Arbitron ratings period.
KMOQ will be broadcast on 105.3 FM once the tower is replaced.
Several other stations remained off the air Wednesday because of power outages. Freund said KCAR 104.3 FM remained off the air.
Ron Petersen said both of his stations, KMXL-FM and KDMO-AM, have been off the air since 4 p.m. Sunday — the longest outage he has experienced in 44 years, he said.
The tower that sends the signal for KMXL at 95.1 FM is in Carthage and powered by Empire District Electric Co. Petersen said he doesn’t understand why radio stations and other media are not afforded priority regarding restoration of power.
“Obviously, emergency services, hospitals, police, those should be A-priority,” Petersen said. “But media should be in the B’s, in my mind. We are the mouthpiece for those services and can talk to the mass.”
Many disaster-preparedness kits recommend keeping a radio and batteries handy.
Petersen said power for his tower is critical, because KMXL is designated as the local primary-one station for the Emergency Alert System. A primary-one station is responsible for broadcasting alerts to all other stations.
When a flash-flood warning was issued Tuesday for Newton County, his station was unable to inform other stations about the danger. KBTN-FM is the backup station in the event that KMXL cannot broadcast.
Warren McDonald, operations manager for Community Radio Group, said KBTN-FM and the company’s other stations have been on and off sporadically. They have been working to pass along information related to the storm.
“When a disaster happens, our guys get here and stay here,” McDonald said. “We’ve had at least one person in the building continually, gathering information from every source they can find and broadcasting it.”
Towers for the stations are powered by Empire District and New-Mac Electric Cooperative.
Larry Boyd, market manager for Zimmer Radio Group, said the company’s five stations have been on the air throughout the storm, with minimal downtime. The company simulcast KZRG-AM, its news-talk station, on all five frequencies to reach as many people as possible.
Emily Stanley, corporate communications coordinator for Empire District, said the company has a priority list based on restoring the entire network, not just select businesses.
“This is a highly organized effort,” Stanley said. “First, we repair damage to facilities that produce power, then get to hospitals, police and fire stations.”
Mark Rakes, spokesman for New-Mac, said the co-op handles repairs according to a similar method.
“If we don’t fix the infrastructure, we can’t serve the people,” Rakes said. “We repair transmission lines, then go down to substations, three-phase lines, two-phase, single-phase and then residences.”
Many hospitals and emergency-service providers have larger, three-phase delivery systems, Rakes said. A company that needs to ensure power should be on one of those lines or establish a backup system, he said.
Petersen said the tower for KMXL did not have a generator because a practical, cost-efficient one could not be obtained. He said the ice storm has made him rethink backup generation.


Alternative plan

“We are going to explore smaller-wattage towers that can be powered without a diesel-based system,” said Ron Petersen, owner of radio stations KMXL-FM and KDMO-AM. “This is making us look at our emergency preparedness, so we can serve the public better.”

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