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Kansas KLOE Goodland silent

Mark Roberts

Mark Roberts

KLOE (730) Goodland has filed a silent notification with the FCC. According to the filing, the station was rendered inoperative on December 18. The station’s antenna system was damaged by high winds, according to the filing. High winds swept through eastern Colorado last week, which made their way across the state line.

KLOE covers portions of western Kansas and eastern Colorado. It can be received, weakly, in Denver.
 
What will be interesting is if the station's owner decides to fix the antenna, sell the station, or ultimately seek a license cancellation. While the station was conservative news/talk for a long while, for the past two years or so it was running an oldies format.

My prediction? Unless the cost for fixing the antenna is too expensive, this one is coming back. It serves parts of rural northwestern Kansas and eastern Colorado that are not otherwise served by FM signals.
 
From the station's web site, dated Dec. 18th:

We want to inform our listeners that Goodland's 730 Gold KLOE is currently off the air due to a tower failure caused by today’s severe wind storm. An inspection revealed that the insulators at the base of the tower failed, causing the structure to lean. Until a repair can be executed, the facility cannot operate.
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I looked at the tower on Google Earth, and it is a single-tower self supporter in the Kansas scrubland, a couple miles west of Goodland. So there's no clear alternative to rebuilding it as it was.
This station was a part of the collapse of Rocking M Media in 2022, so hopefully the new licensee is better capitalized or has adequate insurance to make repairs.
 
I’ve been told the tower fell overnight following another strong wind event, and KLOE 730 will be surrendering its license.
 
Not really an "I've been told" situation, the station made an announcement stating that:

www.nwksradio.net

KLOE 730 Tower Falls After Historic Wind Event-- And Goes Silent

Goodland’s 730 Gold KLOE has gone silent after extreme December wind storms caused the station’s historic broadcast tower to fail and ultimately fall. KLOE served northwest Kansas for more than 75 years as a trusted source for local news, weather, and community programming. While the station...
www.nwksradio.net www.nwksradio.net
 
It's sad, but not surprising. I think one can extrapolate from the owner's previous statements that they were willing to repair the tower, but not to replace it. But the abnormally warm weather in Colorado in Denver and points east (until a couple of days ago) was accompanied by those unusually strong winds. There was a fair chance that the tower would topple sooner or later after it was damaged.

KLOE was one of two western Kansas AM stations that I could receive in the daytime. The other is KXXX in Colby (790). KLOE had a slightly stronger signal than KXXX, but, in my urban environment in Denver, neither were what most would have considered listenable.

The owner is using the opportunity to bolster local content on one of their FM stations by moving programming over from KLOE. That's the best outcome possible in this situation.
 
I have one brief aircheck of KLOE, and, ironically, the weather forecast in that tape includes a high wind advisory. KKCI has good range and KNAB covers the Colorado side of the state line.
 
TheRob said:
I have one brief aircheck of KLOE, and, ironically, the weather forecast in that tape includes a high wind advisory. KKCI has good range and KNAB covers the Colorado side of the state line.
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KLOE and KNAB were big rivals in the 70’s and early 80’s. KLOE was also one of the last AT-40 affiliates on AM with the affiliation lasting into the early 90’s. The friend and former co-worker who had previously worked at KLOE was always proud of his association with the station, even if the bulk of his ideas programming the station didn’t survive his tenure there.

The KKCI calls, by the way, date back to Bott ownership of the facility. The licenses for it and 107.7 were awarded at roughly the same time, and Bott unloaded 102.5 once it was clear that station would also be religious.

I haven’t driven through that area in almost 25 years, but I remember seeing what looked like large golf balls with “730/102.5” written on them every few miles on the north side of I-70 in Sherman County. Are those still around?
 
Kent said:
I haven’t driven through that area in almost 25 years, but I remember seeing what looked like large golf balls with “730/102.5” written on them every few miles on the north side of I-70 in Sherman County. Are those still around?
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I doubt it, but I've seen those structures elsewhere in Kansas in the past. I think they were supposed to be reminders to travelers where to tune in to find local weather alerts.
 
Mark Roberts said:
It's sad, but not surprising. I think one can extrapolate from the owner's previous statements that they were willing to repair the tower, but not to replace it. But the abnormally warm weather in Colorado in Denver and points east (until a couple of days ago) was accompanied by those unusually strong winds. There was a fair chance that the tower would topple sooner or later after it was damaged.

KLOE was one of two western Kansas AM stations that I could receive in the daytime. The other is KXXX in Colby (790). KLOE had a slightly stronger signal than KXXX, but, in my urban environment in Denver, neither were what most would have considered listenable.

The owner is using the opportunity to bolster local content on one of their FM stations by moving programming over from KLOE. That's the best outcome possible in this situation.
Click to expand...

When I lived in Laramie, KLOE was much rarer, its only 1kw vs KXXX's 5kw

I was on KXXX but overnights so i never logged myself, but someone in Duluth did
 
Im wondering if its would be cheaper, invest the insurance money once tower is scrapped and add HD to one of the transmitters and feed KLOE out as a fm translator?
 
I was in Colby for an event this spring, and listened to both KLOE and KXXX. KLOE was a Colorado Rockies affiliate, and I was listening to their announcers calling another dismal blowout, comparing it to another game where the Rockies were beaten by 10 or 15 runs. KXXX is a Royals affiliate, and the original Harris Delta-Gain dish is still in the front yard doing its job (it's fun to stuff 5G filters in those dishes). KXXX has one of the cooler studio buildings I've seen.

Screenshot 2025-12-30 202407.png
 
RFLA said:
Im wondering if its would be cheaper, invest the insurance money once tower is scrapped and add HD to one of the transmitters and feed KLOE out as a fm translator?
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How?

KLOE didn't have a translator. The FCC doesn't have a window open for applying for new translators and hasn't had one for a few years now. There are no other existing translators anywhere nearby that could be purchased and moved to Goodland.
 
grich said:
I was in Colby for an event this spring, and listened to both KLOE and KXXX. KLOE was a Colorado Rockies affiliate, and I was listening to their announcers calling another dismal blowout, comparing it to another game where the Rockies were beaten by 10 or 15 runs. KXXX is a Royals affiliate, and the original Harris Delta-Gain dish is still in the front yard doing its job (it's fun to stuff 5G filters in those dishes). KXXX has one of the cooler studio buildings I've seen.
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I've been in there and been inside


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fybush said:
How?

KLOE didn't have a translator. The FCC doesn't have a window open for applying for new translators and hasn't had one for a few years now. There are no other existing translators anywhere nearby that could be purchased and moved to Goodland.
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Moreover, HD is not all that common in rural areas, with the possible exception, sometimes, of public radio.
 
grich said:
KXXX has one of the cooler studio buildings I've seen.
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Yes, indeed. You walk behind the KXXX logo to get into the building. The friend who used to work there said, despite having worked in much bigger markets and more well-known stations, walking into that building everyday was one of the most exhilarating experiences in his life.
 


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