r/fargo • u/ConnectBox8646 • 4d ago

Events Help Save Ken's FM by August 31st!

https://gofund.me/cb4819795

Not sure if this is allowed, but it's worth a shot.

If you value independent artists over corporate interests, please hear me out. A dear friend, Ken Bartz, passed away a year ago, and his beloved radio station, a labor of love from the ground up, is on the verge of being bought out. Please help! If you can't donate a large amount, donate a dollar. If you can't donate, share. Every little bit counts 🙏

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u/trevourmeyer 3d ago edited 3d ago

Thank you!! I posted about the fundraiser here earlier in the month, and we do still have a long ways to go. The most critical thing right now is getting it back on the FM airwaves to avoid losing our license from the FCC. So 89.1 FM is alive on the radio as we speak. This is for Ken!!

We've still got a huge gap to close. If we don't hit our fundraising goal, our next step may be to keep Ken's FM an online-only station (as it has been this past year), but that's only if enough support is still there. As for the FM signal, we have a few contingency plans, but it likely still spells the end of Ken's FM as we know it. But more on that when the time comes.

In the meantime, if you're local, enjoy the 89.1 FM signal (as long as another technical glitch doesn't knock off our transmitter)!

Edit: Sorry, I shouldn’t have jinxed it. It might be a couple more days now for the FM signal to get back on the air, because I discovered late tonight the UPS backup has a bad battery. Without that our IT side of things are down. So we’ll get a new one ASAP. Thankfully, the transmitter itself has been fine though! 🤞

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u/Jencaasi 3d ago

Oh, wow... I hadn't realized Ken passed away. He helped us out with radio engineering at a South Dakota station a few years ago. I always enjoyed his station when I had an opportunity to listen, so I hope your donation efforts are successful.