KAAY Tower Collapse, No Rebuild

Friend of the blog Doug Virden alerted me about this unfortunate incident...from Richard Moore on the KAAY-AM, The Mighty 1090 Facebook page:

KAAY-1090 earlier this month filed with the FCC an extension of the existing STA and noted in the request, “after considerable discussion, a business decision has been made” to not rebuild the one fallen nighttime tower and instead seek a construction permit to operate ND 24/7 at a power to be determined. So, the legendary nighttime DA is dead for good. Permanent nighttime ND power to be determined.

Some comments of readers, edited for some content and not necessarily in any order:

"Dale Seidenschwarz What happened? This is a terrible end to a wonderful broadcasting property. I'm deeply saddened by the loss of this Arkansas landmark. (And the place I was able to find my calling.)"

"Drew Durigan Dale Seidenschwarz I am also saddened that this big signal is now gone forever. At night in Minnesota, KAAY was one of the strongest signals on the dial. You, my friend, are personally responsible for my falling alseep in school on several occasions because I was up listening to Beaker Street the previous night!"

"Lance Sanders Felix McDonald would be ashamed of what this station has become. He took pride in that huge signal."

"Daniel F. Case When we were considering our options prior to rebuilding the DA, nighttime ND was on the table, but not for long. The 25% power rule that allows KAAY to run 12.5 kW ND at night with an STA only applies because they have that nighttime DA, and they can’t get away with it indefinitely. The FCC let us know that we needed to either fix the array or turn in the nighttime license, and after analyzing what power we could apply for as a licensed night ND, the decision was made to rebuild. I don’t recall the exact power our consultants arrived at, but it was so pitifully low that it wasn’t worth considering. It would have been the functional equivalent of a daytime-only license that would have shredded the stick value of the station. We nicknamed the rebuild of the DA the “Felix McDonald Memorial Array”. After all the work we went through to restore KAAY, reading the latest STA extension application made me feel like throwing up. I wish Cumulus had fired me before that project started instead of near the end. Given the company’s reputation, I should have quit the day Cumulus took over."

"Phillip Rains Very sad. How the mighty 1090 has fallen."

"Bob Steel Makes you want to cry."

"Doug Virden Richard Moore was this decision made by Cumulus or Vertical Bridge?

Richard Moore Doug Virden Vertical Bridge owned the tower so I would think it was them."

"Richard Moore It all boils down to maintenance."

"Drew Durigan Meanwhile, I'm listening to a gorgeous signal from Radio Enciclopedia in Havana. Just over 1,000 miles away, received on a simple portable radio from the 1970s. Communist Cuba maintains their AM stations. We do not. That speaks volumes."

Notwithstanding, we are seeing a mighty Giant fall. I have nothing else to say, except, thank you, Doug Virden, for alerting me to this sad event. Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)