Thu, Nov 26 2009
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Community Radio to switch frequencies, rebuild tower “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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