Idaho AM Station Designated for Hearing Over Silences

The FCC Media Bureau designated the renewal application of an Idaho AM station for hearing over the station’s “extended periods of silence,” said an order listed in Tuesday’s Daily Digest. Snake River Radio’s KPCQ Chubbuck was silent for 1,077 days, 80% of its license term, which began in 2018. The station was operating for only two days in 2019, and one day in 2020, the order said. Snake River told the FCC the silences were due to the station having its tower dismantled in 2018, and then multiple construction accidents, the hearing designation order said. The order notes discrepancies in Snake River’s FCC filings and said it's possible the station’s license has already expired due to a failure to operate with its authorized facilities. “It is improbable that SRR was able to resume operation with the station’s licensed facilities after dismantling its tower,” the order said.