The Nov. 9 story by Larry Fruhling (Main news) regarding small town radio at KQAD-AM, Luverne, Minn., and the daily “remote” broadcast by a grocer in nearby Rock Rapids, Iowa, hit the nail right on the head describing local radio.
The comments about “community tolerance” reminded me of when WMCW (AM 1600) in Harvard ran a commercial that mentioned that the main route in our business section was being torn up by the state. The commercial said, “We all know the congestion and detours suck!” This is a common term used today by our young people, but to the station owner it was “not the language we use on our radio station!” The commercial was pulled that very day and redone, using “proper language.”
Occasionally I will tune in a Chicago station. I am amazed at some of the discussion regarding sex, body parts and language that is used. We would lose 80 percent of our listeners if we practiced this type of radio. Larry Goebel of Rock Rapids relied on his mother for good taste. We rely on our listeners and Mianne Nelson, station owner, who started her radio career with her father at a local radio station in Iowa.
Our thanks to the Tribune and Larry Fruhling for a closeup look at small-town radio, the information source of the community in rural America.
