Through PEO to MLI

I crossed part of Indiana on the way to Peoria, and stayed over in Morton, IL because I saw a hotel and I was too tired to press on. I was starting to get a little weird in the dark and it was raining hard making it hard to see and hard to steer. There had been a lot of strangeness on the radio I've not fully identified. I took 65 North to 74 West and sorted out what happened from notes and exit markers.

While crossing Indiana I caught a few minutes of 91.3 WNDY Wabash College, our near Crawford. They were arguing if their microphone was working. Then they p0layed an Aerosmith tune and had a second discussion on whether it was a Led Zeppelin cover or not. Honestly it was awful.

In Covington, IN I caught 98.3 and figured out later that it was just W252BY a repeater for WHUM. I know very little of WHUM, just that they were having some kind of bluegrass jamboree when I passed through. Also caught 91.5 WFWR near Attica and the one and only 91.5 Flash FM WRFT.
Across the border into Illinois I caught WEFT in Champaign which was just running news, but also WHOW 1520 one of the last remaining Farm stations. Then out near Edinburg, IL I caught WESN who was playing pretty bad ass garage rock at that moment, I never caught the ID though.

I stopped over in Morton, IL where WWCT 99.9 is a nice AAA stand by, but I restocked the stereo with an old White Stripes CD and that Entrance album that came out on Fat Possum, "Wandering Stranger." It's easy to believe it when Jack White sings"The truth doesn't make a sound." But that Entrance album was more appropriate for the prairie somehow.

I stopped in Galesburg when the rain got too hard to see past the next set of tail lights and I found an antique shop with the best selection of 78s I have ever seen bar none. It was called Ziggys, but there was no sign. There is a second shop, more famous down the road, three stories tall but I didn't bother, not after finding a thick stack of Edison Jazz 78s.

I made Moline within the hour and bedded down expecting another long wet day.

Cult attacks High School!

I recently got a hostile comment from a religious fanatic that did not approve of my take on the RB Schools manuvers in the midwest. To recap: A large satcasting religious group attempted to seize airtime from underfunded highschool stations illegally and fails. the fanatic actually informed me that RB Schools is owned by EMF, which I did not know, and makes the manuvers even more heinous.

I've hit this topic before, but it was reassuring to see logic and fairness rule at the FCC. My take, before we get to an update on their movments... I thinkthat jesus can be on the radio, it's ok. But My preference is that it be in the hands of a local religous group, with locally originating programming and not be satellite fed religious programing. The NCE stations are traditionally for local groups. taking airtime from them and giving unto an undeserving group from another community is wrong. Thankfully I, the law and the FCC agree.

I have Quote here verbatim from Radio Journal, so no one can claim that "I" inturpret the events innaccurately. I think we can all agree it's a reputable tip sheet, well worth the weekly read: http://ftp.media.radcity.net/ZMST/Journal2/Journal.pdf

The next chapter in the never-ending Indiana share-time saga. We’ve reported on Marty Hensley’s attempts to force many of Indiana’s school-owned noncom FMs into involuntary share-time arrangements. The FCC’s routinely shot those applications down — noting that the stations in question are now operating 24 hours a day, immunizing them from share-time challenges. But Hensley’s not giving up. He filed for “recon” — petitions to reconsider the FCC’s licenserenewal grants for high-school stations WEEM, Pendleton, IN (91.7), WBDG, Indianapolis (90.9), WRFT, Franklin Township, IN (91.5) and WHJE, Carmel, IN (91.3). The FCC rejected all those petitions, noting that it had already rejected Hensley’s claims. Those included claims that the school stations violated the RICO statues when they coordinated their efforts to fight Hensley, and a claim that the schools violated Indiana law by having the wrong officials sign their applications. So the school stations keep their licenses — but at how much taxpayer cost for legal fees?

Another share-time applicant loses, this time in Illinois. “RB Schools” has been the other major player, besides Hensley, in the Midwest share-time battles. It just lost its attempt to force a share-time against Millikin University’s WJMU, Decatur, IL (89.5) — but at a price for WJMU. The FCC found that RB hadn’t properly attempted to negotiate a voluntary share-time with
WJMU, as it was required to do. It dismisses the RB application. But it also admonishes Millikin for improper “ex parte” contacts with the Commission, including asking two area Congressmen to intervene on the school’s behalf.