KRKO gets FCC approval for a second station

Published 12:01 am Thursday, March 24, 2011

EVERETT — Snohomish County will get a new radio station this summer at one of the last AM frequencies available in the Puget Sound area — 1520.

“We’ve been waiting quite a while for the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) to act,” said Andy Skotdal, general manager of KRKO (1380 AM) radio in Everett.

The FCC awarded a construction permit last week to Skotdal and his brother Craig, who plan to build new signal towers for the station as soon as weather permits. They expect to put the station on air this summer.

Andy Skotdal said there were 14 applications for stations, which he said were seeking one of only two AM frequencies remaining in the area.

He said he hasn’t decided on programming and is hoping to get a lot of suggestions from the community.

“We’ve received a broad spectrum of suggestions so far,” he said, adding among them were country music or regional Mexican.

Anyone with suggestions should send them to rkonews@krko.com, including ideas for programs that they’d like to produce on the new station. “We’re looking for local people who may want to be on the air,” he said.

The company has a contractor ready to start “as soon as the weather allows,” Andy Skotdal said. The station studios would be based in the KRKO building in Everett, but the Skotdals will need to build new broadcast towers to transmit the signal in an area near Snohomish where their existing towers are located.

Opponents had fought the idea of another station for the better part of a decade in government hearings and in courtrooms to prevent construction of more towers. Efforts to reach someone to comment from the group Citizens to Preserve the Upper Snohomish River Valley were unsuccessful Wednesday.

Opponents raised concerns about possible negative effects of radio waves on the area’s people and wildlife.

In September 2009, someone claiming to be a member of the Earth Liberation Front destroyed two KRKO towers by tearing them down with heavy earth-moving equipment. There were no arrests, and the towers were rebuilt.

The lengthy battle over the new signal may have one benefit, Andy Skotdal said.

“The timing has worked out pretty well,” he said, referring to the economic recovery. “This market is starting to come back. Local advertisers are frustrated with the cost of major metro media and are demanding a product that they can afford. I see opportunity in the market right now.”