WEEP (defunct)

For the Pittsburgh radio station at 1080 AM formerly known as WEEP, see WWNL.
WEEP
City Virginia, Minnesota
Frequency 1400 kHz
First air date 1936[1]
Format Silent
Power 1,000 watts (unlimited)
Class C
Facility ID 70307
Transmitter coordinates 47°30′33″N 92°32′31″W / 47.50917°N 92.54194°W / 47.50917; -92.54194
Former callsigns WHLB[2]
Owner Full Armor Ministries, Inc.

WEEP (1400 AM) is a radio station formerly licensed to serve Virginia, Minnesota. The FCC license, most recently held by Full Armor Ministries, Inc., expired on August 1, 2005. The station last aired a Religious radio format. The station began broadcasting in 1936, with a power of 250 watts.[1] It was the ninth oldest station in Minnesota.[1]

The station was purchased in 1951 by Frank P. Befera, a pioneer in Minnesota broadcasting.[3][4] The station remained in the Befera family (dba Virginia Broadcasting Company) until it was sold to Full Armor Ministries of Eveleth, Minnesota, for a reported sale price of $52,000.[5] The deal closed on October 1, 2000, gained FCC approval on February 13, 2001, and transfer was consummated on April 1, 2001.[1][6]

The station was assigned the WEEP call letters by the Federal Communications Commission on March 7, 2001.[2] The call letters were deleted from the FCC database on June 27, 2006, although the station is officially listed as "licensed and silent."[7]

The station has been silent since a transmitter failure in December 2002.[8] The tower, lacking basic maintenance, was described as "rusting away" during an August 2005 visit by radio journalist Scott Fybush.[9]

Efforts to sell the station to the city of Virginia were complicated and ultimately thwarted by licensee Full Armor Ministries' failure to file a timely license renewal. In January 2008, the FCC denied a petition for reconsideration from the (now former) licensee and the city.[10][11]

In 2008, the City of Virginia gave permission to a local firm to dismantle the former studio building and radio tower. The building was moved and the tower taken down. Today, only a small grove of trees marks the area where the radio station was located. The city is hoping that the site will eventually be used for future economic endeavors.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Riebe, Angie (2008-04-12). "Voice of Virginia: WHLB, Hushed for years, soon it will be silenced forever". Mesabi Daily News.
  2. 1 2 "Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.
  3. ↑ "Obituary: Frank P. Befera". Frank P. Befera. 2004-11-21. p. Frank P. Befera. As a pioneer in Minnesota Broadcasting, [...] until 1949 when he entered commercial broadcasting as an engineer at WMFG Radio in Hibbing. He bought the radio station two years later along with WHLB in Virginia and built three more FM stations, including KUSZ Radio in Duluth.
  4. ↑ "Frank Befera, 82; was Duluth TV station pioneer". Minneapolis Star Tribune. 2004-11-23. A childhood interest in crystal and ham radios helped lead Befera to first work for, and then purchase, WMFG radio in Hibbing. He also bought WHLB radio in Virginia.
  5. ↑ "Changing Hands: AMs". Broadcasting & Cable. 2001-01-15.
  6. ↑ "Application Search Details #545196". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database. 2008-01-03. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
  7. ↑ "Station Search Details". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
  8. ↑ "The Silent Station List". National Radio Club. 2008-03-02.
  9. ↑ Fybush, Scott (2006-02-24). "Towers from the North Country: The Big Trip, 2005 Part III: Up to International Falls via Eveleth, then down to St. Paul via Hibbing". Fybush.com - Tower Site of the Week.
  10. ↑ "You Must Not WEEP, Virginia". Radio World. 2008-01-04.
  11. ↑ "Application Search Details #1142887". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database. 2008-01-03. Retrieved 2008-05-12.


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