A Class A FM radio station serving Storm Lake, Iowa and its surrounding small towns is resolving an Online Public File rule violation by signing a Consent Decree the Media Bureau’s Audio Division has agreed to.
Audio Division Chief Al Shuldiner (pictured, top left) authorized the Consent Decree to resolve the matter involving KWIA-FM 100.9, in Newell, Iowa.
The station’s license renewal application was suspended after it was determined that KWIA owner Panther Communications failed to comply with public file obligations.
A compliance plan is being put into effect, with Panther head Juana Aguilar getting a warning not to forget to place its documents in the “OPIF,” the online public file.
The Consent Decree comes some 14 months after Panther was granted only a short-term license renewal for KWIA due to several periods during its previous license term where the station was dark.
KWIA first went silent in 2017; this was the result of a planned transaction that was not consummated. Then came a reported vandalization and theft of equipment at its transmitter site. After that, KWIA’s authorized site “became unavailable,” and it went dark under an STA from December 5, 2018 to December 2, 2019.
KWIA’s license term had expired on June 8, 2024, and will now be renewed.
