Over the past few weeks, one construction permit was issued for a new low power FM (LPFM) radio station. Ministerio Cielos de Gloria in Brownsville, Texas was granted its permit after several groups (including REC Networks, Prometheus Radio Project and Common Frequency) withdrew their objections and petitions to deny. Initially, these groups protested the application, arguing that it seemed to violate multiple ownership rules since it was prepared by serial filer Antonio Cesar Guel and he appeared to be a party to the application.
Upon further investigation, the groups found that this was likely a local candidate and withdrew their objections. In her letter withdrawing REC Networks’ informal objection, Michelle Bradley writes,
Based on information provided to REC Networks (‘REC’) by the applicant as well as information obtained through additional investigation by REC related to the above captioned application, we have determined that this organization is valid and that the parties to the application have consented to the filing of the application. REC is satisfied with the information gathered in this process and therefore we no longer have an objection to the grant of this specific application.
Although there were protests and an FCC investigation into many of Guel’s applications, more than a dozen have resulted in construction permits. As REC Networks has pointed out, some of the applications were filed on behalf of legitimate organizations and have been awarded. You can follow the progress of all of the Guel applications on the REC Networks site.
Other LPFM News
Providence, Rhode Island to Get New LPFM
RI Future reports that three non-profits in Providence, Rhode Island are collaborating on a new low power FM station. The station, dubbed APB Radio will include programming from AS220, Brown Student Radio (BSR) and Providence Community Radio (PCR), with a “staggered and complex” schedule, according to RI Future. AS220 plans to utilize 50% of the airtime.
Profiling Soon-to-Be-LPFM Lumpen Radio in Chicago
Chicago Magazine writes of the flurry of LPFM stations in Chicago, profiling the streaming, but soon-to-be terrestrial station, Lumpen Radio. According to the piece, “At any given moment, WLPN’s volunteer DJs are broadcasting German techno, gospel, a talk show about magic, and any number of live events at Marszewskis’s bar or gallery (live-lit event Story Club South Side and comedy showcase The Comedy Butcher among them). Says programming director Logan Bay, ‘Chicago has such a history of musicians, crate-diggers, and nerds that it [needs] a place for them to roost—to call up all the other weirdos and say, “Hey, you already do this. Let’s amplify it.”‘
From Literary Talk to Speed Metal on New LPFM in Sun Prairie
A piece in the Capital Times profiles new LPFM station Sun Prairie Community Radio in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. The station currently has a range of shows including programs focused on “speed metal (‘The Nihilism Hour’) to discussions with Wisconsin authors (‘Writing in Wisconsin’),” according to the article.
Creighton Community Radio Station Airs Rock, Christian Talk, and Features Elementary School Hosts
