Wednesday, October 11th 2000
Yellowstone Public Radio to leave KNMC, start own broadcast site
By Tim Leeds
Yellowstone Public Radio (YPR) will soon be starting its own transmission in Havre at 91.7 FM, leaving the programming of KNMC up to the university.
Randall Rocks, engineer for Yellowstone Public Radio, said they are waiting for some equipment, but expect to have a new translator up and running by the end of the month.
Rocks said they will lease space from a tower owned by AT&T Broadband, formerly TCI Cablevision of Montana.
Rocks said they knew that sooner or later people from Montana State University-Northern, the owner and licenser of KNMC, would want to start having their own local programming. He said YPR's move to starting their own translator was in anticipation to that. He said they applied to the Federal Communications Commission last winter for permission to set up the translator, and have now received that permission.
Trygve "Spike" Magelssen, student representative for KNMC's advisory board, said they were planning to negotiate with YPR to get some local access at the station, but YPR's decision was something of a surprise.
"We're in a state of flux," Magelssen said.
He said they are now in the process of deciding what new equipment they will need, setting up an oversight structure for advisors to regulate what goes on the air, and researching what is
Wednesday, March 07th 2001
KNMC test run scheduled Thursday
By Tim Leeds
Anyone trying to tune into Yellowstone Public Radio on 90.1 FM Thursday evening might be in for a surprise.
"If they tune into KNMC they won't hear public radio," said Bob Bentz, director of information technology services at Montana State University-Northern and advisor for the university radio station.
Bentz said they will be testing KNMC for four hours that night to see if the equipment will work for local programming.
Local radio stations have been extremely helpful, loaning a mixing board to use and sending a technician to check on and hook up the equipment for the test run, Bentz said. He said university students will be doing some simple broadcasting to test the equipment in a preliminary to see if a more permanent broadcast is possible. He said the station really isn't ready for permanent broadcasting yet.
"Before we could go full-time we have some issues, and we're not really there," Bentz said.
Most of the equipment in the station is from the 1970s and early 80s, and is nowhere near the modern technology needed, Bentz said. He said one of the purposes of the trial run tomorrow is to get an idea of what equipment they need to get to have more modern technology to run the station.
Yellowstone Public Radio installed a new translator in Havre last December, broadcasting at 91.7 FM. The new translator, located at the AT&T Broadband facilities west of town, were installed to provide a larger transmission area.
Bentz said this freeing up of the university transmitter gives them an opportunity to turn the radio station back into a student program. He said the Associated Students of Montana State University-Northern are currently investigating the support and possibility of staffing and funding such a student station.
Thursday, December 7th 2000
Yellowstone Public Radio installs new transmitter
By Tim Leeds
Randall Rocks, broadcast engineer, was in Havre yesterday and today installing a new translator for Yellowstone Public Radio (YPR).
Rocks, who is an independent contractor with YPR, said that, barring unforeseen problems with the installation, the public radio transmission should be broadcasting at 90.7 FM by late this afternoon. He said for the moment they will still be feeding the audio signal to KNMC, heard at 90.1 FM, for at least a while.
YPR Station Manager Marvin Granger said they are trying to reach as many people in the broadcast area as possible. He said because of the location of the KNMC transmitter, which has been broadcasting the YPR signal, the broadcast area is quite limited. People in the area had expressed interest in a farther-reaching signal, Granger said.
"Our concern is getting signal to as many people as possible," he said.
Rocks said the installation was a two-day process. He and his brother, Myron Rocks of Chester, were installing the microwave relay system at the AT&T Broadband center yesterday. That system will relay the signal to a tower in Highland Park, where Rocks was working on installing the new transmitter today.
"It certainly should be on by three or four tomorrow (afternoon)," Rocks said, as long as no problems arose. He said even if there was a problem it should only cause a temporary delay in starting the new signal.
YPR is also heard in the Chester and Sweetgrass Hills area at 100.1 FM.
Bob Bentz, faculty advisor for KNMC, said they are in the process of deciding what would need to be done to start local programming from the university station, if enough student support for the effort can be found.
Wednesday, June 6, 2001
KNMC to return to the airwaves
By Tim Leeds
The equipment has been ordered for KNMC and the university radio station plans to have live broadcasts starting with the fall semester.
"We hope to be on the air the first week of school," Trygve "Spike" Magelssen said. "We just wanted to provide a college radio station."
Magelssen, general manager for the student radio station at Montana State University-Northern, said the station has been receiving equipment to bring it up to date, with more still on the way. He said they are also completing some paperwork with the Federal Communications Commission.
The college station had been rebroadcasting the signal from Yellowstone Public Radio out of the Joseph S. Sample studio at Montana State University-Billings for the past several years. YPR installed its own translator in Havre last fall, opening the airwaves for a local signal.
Magelssen said they have quite a few students from the college interested in being disc jockeys for the station, and about six people outside of the university are also interested. He said they want to provide an alternative to top 40 music, with selections such as new world music, alternative music, jazz, harmonica blues, and other music people would be interested in broadcasting.
Magelssen said the schedule for the broadcast hasn't been decided yet. He said they will probably have computer-scheduled broadcasting to use when there is no live signal, as well as live broadcasts he hopes will include live talk shows, interviews on campus and information on events at the university.
Magelssen said he has been working for about three years now to bring local broadcasts back, and after Northern hired Robert Bentz as information technology services director they have been moving forward on the project. Bentz is also the chairman of the radio advisory board at Northern. Bentz said the only role of the advisory board will be to make sure the station isn't breaking any rules.
"What we're trying to do is give a tool or resource for the students to use, something to do as an activity," he said.
Magelssen said the student senate at Northern approved $10,000 for the purchase of new equipment, and they have found $7,000 from other sources.
A proposed $10 student fee for the radio station has been moved to the Board of Regents' July agenda for approval. Magelssen said Northern students voted in favor of the proposed fee in two separate votes, with a 68 percent approval.
He said the station is also looking for other sources of money.
Magelssen said the community has provided a lot of help to get the station going again. He said KXEI radio station in Havre has donated equipment and furniture. Don Herman, the AT&T technical advisor, has been helping them, and Creative Leisure has been giving them merchandise to donate to listeners on the air.
He said they have quite a few students involved in the station right now. Bruce Patera is the program director, James Hayward is the music director and Carissa Tielking is the business manager. He said there are about 17 other students involved in other positions.
Anyone wanting more information about the station, wishing to be involved in it or with information about grants and funding or service providers can call Magelssen at 265-9064 or e-mail knmcradio@msun.edu.
Wednesday, August 15, 2001
WILLIAM LISENBY, Obituary
By HDN Staff
William "Bill" Eugene Lisenby, 78, died Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2001, at his Havre home of natural causes.
A graveside service will be 2 p.m. Friday at Calvary Cemetery in Hill County Cemetery with Fr. Robert D. Grosch officiating. A memorial Mass will be held at 7 p.m. today at St. Jude Catholic Church.
Lisenby was born Sept. 8, 1922 in Woodhull, Ill., to Archie and Ethel (Rowley) Lisenby. He grew up and attended schools in Illinois.
Lisenby enlisted in the U.S. Army Nov. 4, 1942 and served as a staff sergeant during World War II. He was honorably discharged Nov. 18, 1945.
Lisenby received his bachelor and master degrees in education from Western Illinois University, Macomb, Ill. He completed all of his requirements for his Ph.D., except his thesis from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He taught high school in Knoxville, Ill., for two years.
On March 25, 1948, he married Marian P. Etnire at Knoxville, Ill. They moved to Havre and he accepted a position with Northern Montana College in September of 1948 as an educator, teaching speech and English. He attained assistant professorship in 1952 and continuous tenure in 1959. He retired June 30, 1980. Marian died Sept. 17, 1983.
Lisenby was active in the community. He was former president of the Havre Community Concert Association, member of the Retired Teachers, AARP and St. Jude Parish. He played the organ for many services in Havre and volunteered many hours at the Northern Montana Care Center.
He also served on the Liturgical Commission of the Diocese of Great Falls/Billings.
He was preceded in death by his parents and wife.
Survivors include his sister, Catherine Tye of Santa Rose, Calif.; two nieces, one nephew, four grandnieces and two grandnephews.
Memorials may be made to the St. Jude Parish Center Fund, P.O. Box 407, Havre, MT 59501.
Services and arrangements are under the direction of the Holland and Bonine Funeral Home.
Friday, November 16th 2001
Radio version of ‘Survivor’ hits local airwaves
By Robert Lucke
Talk radio is alive and well at KNMC, 90.1 on your FM dial. Or sort of. Really, it is a combination of talk, music and a "Survivor" show. It's called Survivor Radio, where people who want to test their deejay skills can do so on live radio.
Its standard introduction tells what it is all about.
"We're back. That's right, ladies and gents! A new and improved version of Survivor Radio. Our job is to provide you with entertaining music and personalities. Your job: listen carefully, and if you don't like it, vote them off."
They call it their jungle. Krista Morley, a student at Montana State University-Northern, is the executive director.
"The survivor series was started the end of September. I had been a contestant and was there talking to them about something else and before I knew it, I was the host of the series," Morley said.
The show starts on Nov. 21 at 11 a.m.
"This is a seven-part series," Morley said. "People apply and we call them back and get their music suggestions. It becomes a good way for them to get on the radio without being afraid.
"People listen to their radio personalities and their music suggestions and each week there will be one winner from all the contestants that appear. That winner will go on to (compete for) the grand prize at the end of the contest and a grand prize winner will be voted on by people listening to the radio."
That is the gist of it but there are lots of curves between appearing and winning the grand prize.
"We have immunity challenges, prize challenges, and lots of fun. The immunity challenges are based on the ones used on TV. The last time we had a jar of spinach-and-potatoes baby food that was used. The prize challenges generally consist of the use of trivia questions and stupid human tricks. We ask the audience to vote off their least-favorite contestant, based on radio personality and choice of music," Morley continued.
Morley stressed that the show is live and that some events become beyond their control. That is what makes each episode unique and different from any other episode.
"The shows start on the 24th of this month. And each one runs for several hours starting at 11a.m.," Morley said. "There are going to be from five to seven contestants for each show and the eighth show will determine the grand prize winner. We will try to keep some time at the end of each show so the person whose music won will have some time to play it for the audience."
And, what do you win if you are the ultimate survivor of Survivor Radio? Well, that is a secret.
"The grand prize is a huge surprise," she said. "You have to apply to find out what you get."
There is more than one prize, Morley confided. And while she wouldn't say just what they are, she did say they are worth the time and effort.
Not only that but folks coming in right off the street with their Eddy Arnold collections or their Bach preludes have a chance of winning it all. All they have to be armed with are their sterling personalities.
Meanwhile, KNMC's radio audience gets to practice its own brand of road rage and vote the louts off the air on a weekly basis.
Applications for Survivor Radio are available at the SUB Information Desk, the Student Support Services Tutoring Lab, the bowling alley or from the Educational Opportunity Center.
Morley and the other members of Survivor Radio have just one more parting challenge.
"Have you always wanted to play on the radio? Are you too chicken? We want you to come check us out and learn the tools of the trade. We'll teach ya."
needed for compliance with Federal Communications Commission regulations. Magelssen said that, hopefully, they will have their equipment picked out by the end of October.
Magelssen said the students have voted to support the radio station with an additional fee.
Tuesday, September 02, 2003
Thriving campus radio station to get an upgrade
By Tim Leeds/Havre Daily News/tleeds@havredailynews.com
The local college radio station is starting its third straight year of local broadcasts on 90.1 FM, with some major changes in location and equipment on the way.
Dave Martens, who took over as manager last winter, said the response to the station has been good on and off campus.
"We've generated a lot of interest," he said.
The broadcast booth this fall will move from the tower on Cowan Hall to the Student Union Building, with state-of-the-art equipment installed in the new booth, Martens said.
The station got a new boost on life when Yellowstone Public Radio installed new Havre transmitters in December 2000. That freed up the station for local broadcasts. KEMC at Montana State University-Billings had been rebroadcasting its public radio programming through the Northern station,
Trygve "Spike" Magelssen, a student at the time, and Bob Bentz, Northern's director of information technology services, spearheaded the move to start up the college station again. Bentz is also on the station's advisory board.
The station did a test broadcast in March 2001, installed new equipment over that summer and began regular local programming that fall.
Martens said students demonstrated their interest in the station when the student senate discussed cutting some fees to offset tuition increases last winter. In two days, he and the former station manager, Kendall Griggs, collected 300 signatures of students who supported keeping the radio station fees at $10.
"The signature thing was great," he said. "It showed that people were listening, people care."
Also, at least 60 people from on and off campus attended the student senate meetings to support KNMC, Bentz said.
"The students and community en mass wanted to keep it," Bentz said.
The station has a long history. Bill Thackeray, English professor at the university, said professor Bill Lisenby "put it together" about 1960.
Thackeray said he worked worked at the station when he attended Northern as a student.
The station wasn't KNMC at first. It operated under the call letters KNOG because KNMC was already in use. When those call letters became available, the station switched to them.
KEMC began using the station to rebroadcast its signal in the 1990s.
Martens said he had hoped to move the broadcast booth to the Student Union Building by the start of the fall semester, but the move has been delayed. Construction on campus is making it difficult to make the changes needed in the SUB to set up the station, he said.
The broadcast booth will be in an alcove by the stairs, across from the university bookstore. The space serves as a coatroom now. Computerized equipment will be installed when the new broadcast booth is set up, Martens said.
"It's going to be like having a professional station," he said.
An electrician was working on the wiring today. Bentz said he hopes the relocation will be completed in a couple weeks.
Bentz said the new equipment will help for those times when people can't do live broadcasts. A disc jockey could record a show for broadcast at a later date.
The new location will also provide easier access at all times. Now, when Cowan is locked, the students have to find someone to let them in. It also will make the booth handicap accessible, he said.
"And we're putting it down where the students are," he added.
Equipment purchased in the last two years has been paid for with the radio station fee, Martens said.
When the station began rebroadcasting in 2001, it used equipment purchased by the student senate. Most of the station's equipment at that time dated back to the 1970s and '80s.
"The first year, they approved a sum of money that kind of got us started, got us up and running," Bentz said.
The next step will be getting a better transmitter, he said.
"We've got some issues with our transmitter. It's old. It's been in use a long time," he said.
Martens said quite a few people work as announcers at the station, although the supply gets slim during the summer months and during school vacations. Anyone interested in being an announcer should e-mail the station at knmc@msun.edu, he said.
People can play just about anything they want, Martens said, although there are Federal Communications Commission rules that have to be followed, including some governing language. Anyone is welcome to come broadcast, he said.
"It's open to the community," Martens said.
Monday, August 29, 2005
KNMC improves signal, reception
by Larry Kline
Havre Daily News
lkline@havredailynews.com
People will be able to hear KNMC-FM 90.1 - the Montana State University-Northern college radio station that broadcasts a blend of funk, doo-wop, indie, classic rock, jazz, folk, comedy, blues, grunge, hair metal and electronic music with the help of volunteer disc jockies and staff - farther from Havre, thanks to a new antenna mast, station manager Dave Martens said.
"We're broadcasting farther and have a better quality signal," he said. He estimated the signal will cover at least a 15-mile radius. The tower is on Cowan Hall.
The station replaced its old telescoping tower with a new structure that is roughly 6 feet taller and will provide a more secure mooring for its two antennas, said Mike Campbell, MSU-N director of information technology services.
A lightning strike several years ago damaged the station's antennas, which were replaced with larger, heavier equipment. High winds would cause reception and modulation problems because the hold tower wasn't built to do the job, Campbell said.
"We had hoped the current mast would support them, but it didn't," he said. "Now, we have a really good, strong, secure system. If we ever do anything else, this is a tower that will support that. It was a good upgrade."
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