Northern Star Broadcasting (formerly known as Calibre Communications) was a
radio
Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
broadcasting company which owned various radio stations in
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
from 1998–2016, with offices in
Cheboygan and
Traverse City
Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although it partly extends into Leelanau County. The city's population was 15,678 at the 2020 census, while the four-county Traverse C ...
. Northern Star was owned by Reynolds Communications, ran by Del & Mary Reynolds.
At one time or another, Northern Star Broadcasting owned eleven stations in
Northern Michigan
Northern Michigan (also known as Northern Lower Michigan and colloquially within Michigan as "Up North") is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan. The region, which is distinct from the more northerly Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsul ...
(nine as of 2016) and previously fourteen additional stations in Michigan's
Upper Peninsula
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan—also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. or Yoop—is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula b ...
, exiting Upper Peninsula markets in 2010 & 2011 after selling all but one repeater station to new owners, largely
Sovereign Communications of
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie ( ') is a city in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Chippewa County, Michigan, Chippewa County and is the only city within the county. With a population of ...
in February 2010. Despite the sales, Northern Star's stations in Cheboygan, Mackinaw City, and Indian River could still be heard in much of the Eastern Upper Peninsula.
In May 2016, and due to Northern Star vice president Mary Reynolds' health concerns, Reynolds Communications announced the sale of all but one of Northern Star's remaining radio stations to Black Diamond Broadcast Holdings (who previously owned
WUPS in Harrison and
WTWS
WTWS, known as 92.1 The Twister, is a 920-watt radio station broadcasting at 92.1 FM in Houghton Lake, Michigan, with a country music format.
Formerly licensed to Harrison, Michigan and operated as a satellite of public radio station WVXU Cin ...
in Houghton Lake) in a transaction worth $1,950,000, with
WCKC in Cadillac instead being sold to Up North Radio (who own
WCDY in McBain) for $180,000. Despite the sales of their remaining radio stations, Reynolds Communications will retain ownership of these stations' tower sites.
Radio Stations
Northern Michigan
All Northern Michigan stations were sold to Black Diamond Broadcasting in 2016 unless otherwise stated
* 93.9 FM
WAVC (Mio; sold to Michigan Broadcasters in 2013)
* 94.5 FM
WLJZ (Mackinaw City; sold to Michigan Broadcasters in 2013)
* 95.5 FM
WQEZ (Glen Arbor)
* 97.7 FM
WCHY (Cheboygan)
* 98.1 FM
WGFN (Glen Arbor)
* 102.9 FM
WMKC (Indian River, previously
St. Ignace)
* 103.7 FM
W279CC (Alpena)
* 105.1 FM
WGFM (Cheboygan)
* 106.3 FM
WOEZ (Onaway)
* 107.1 FM
WCKC (Cadillac; sold to Up North Radio in 2016)
* 1240 AM
WCBY (Cheboygan)
Western Upper Peninsula
All of Northern Star Broadcasting's stations in Michigan's Western Upper Peninsula were sold to
Sovereign Communications in 2010
* 92.3 FM
WJPD
WJPD (92.3 FM) is a radio station licensed to Ishpeming, Michigan broadcasting a country music format. It serves the Marquette area. It can be heard as far east as Newberry, as far north as Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay is a city in and the sea ...
(Ishpeming)
* 93.1 FM
WIMK
WIMK (93.1 FM) is a radio station based in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, licensed to Iron Mountain, Michigan. The station broadcasts an active rock format branded as 93.1 K-Rock.
History
WIMK began life in 1981 as a beautiful music station, ...
(Iron Mountain)
* 94.1 FM
WUPK (Marquette)
* 94.3 FM
WZNL
WZNL (94.3 FM, "The Breeze") is a radio station licensed to Norway, Michigan, United States, and serving the Norway, Iron Mountain, and Kingsford areas of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The station broadcasts a soft adult contemporary
Adu ...
(Norway)
* 99.5 FM
WNGE (Negaunee)
* 1240 AM
WIAN
WIAN (1240 AM) was a radio station licensed to Ishpeming, Michigan. The station began broadcasting November 16, 1947, holding the call sign WJPD and operating with 250 watts full-time. (Ishpeming)
* 1320 AM
WDMJ
WDMJ (1320 AM broadcasting, AM) is an oldies radio station licensed to Marquette, Michigan, with a power output of 5,000 watts during the day and 140 watts at night, covering much of Marquette County, Michigan. The station is owned by Armada Medi ...
(Marquette)
* 1450 AM
WMIQ
WMIQ (1450 AM, "Oldies 1450") is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Iron Mountain, Michigan. WMIQ is the Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete ...
(Iron Mountain)
Eastern Upper Peninsula
* 97.9 FM
WIHC
WIHC (97.9 FM) is an American radio station licensed to Newberry, Michigan to serve the city of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The station is owned by West Central Michigan Media Ministries, broadcasting a Christian talk radio format simulcasted f ...
(Newberry; sold to
West Central Michigan Media Ministries in 2011)
* 99.5 FM
WYSS (Sault Ste. Marie; sold to
Sovereign Communications in 2010)
* 100.7 FM
W264CF (St. Ignace; sold to Black Diamond Broadcasting in 2016)
* 105.5 FM
WMKD (Pickford; sold to
Sovereign Communications in 2010)
* 940 AM
WIDG (St. Ignace; sold to
Baraga Broadcasting
WTCK (90.9 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Catholic religious format. Licensed to Charlevoix, Michigan, United States, the station is currently owned by Relevant Radio and currently airs programming from the network. The station's former ...
in 2008)
* 1400 AM
WKNW (Sault Ste. Marie; sold to
Sovereign Communications in 2010)
Station Timeline
DateFormat = yyyy
ImageSize = width:750 height:auto barincrement:25
Period = from:1998 till:2016
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:36 left:0 bottom:50 top:5
Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852)
id:line value:black
id:bg value:white
PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:tan1 from:1998 till:2016 text: 98.1 WGFN (1998-2016)
bar:2 color:tan1 from:1998 till:2016 text: 105.1 WGFM (1998-2016)
bar:3 color:tan1 from:1998 till:2016 text: 95.5 WJZJ/WQEZ (1998-2016)
bar:4 color:tan1 from:1998 till:2016 text: 102.9 WMKC (1998-2016)
bar:5 color:tan1 from:1998 till:2016 text: 107.1 WCKC (1998-2016)
bar:6 color:tan1 from:1998 till:2016 text: 1240 WCBY (1998-2016)
bar:7 color:tan1 from:1998 till:2013 text: 94.5 WLJZ/WOEZ/WJZJ (1998-2013)
bar:8 color:tan1 from:1998 till:2013 text: 93.9 WAVC (1998-2013)
bar:9 color:tan1 from:1998 till:2008 text: 940 WIDG (1998-2008)
bar:10 color:tan1 from:2001 till:2011 text: 97.9 WIHC (2001-2011)
bar:11 color:tan1 from:2001 till:2010 text: 92.3 WJPD (2001-2010)
bar:12 color:tan1 from:2001 till:2010 text: 93.1 WIMK (2001-2010)
bar:13 color:tan1 from:2001 till:2010 text: 94.1 WUPK (2001-2010)
bar:14 color:tan1 from:2001 till:2010 text: 94.3 WZNL (2001-2010)
bar:15 color:tan1 from:2001 till:2010 text: 99.5 WNGE (2001-2010)
bar:16 color:tan1 from:2001 till:2010 text: 1240 WIAN (2001-2010)
bar:17 color:tan1 from:2001 till:2010 text: 1320 WDMJ (2001-2010)
bar:18 color:tan1 from:2001 till:2010 text: 1450 WIMQ (2001-2010)
bar:19 color:tan1 from:2001 till:2010 text: 99.5 WYSS (2001-2010)
bar:20 color:tan1 from:2001 till:2010 text: 1400 WKNW (2001-2010)
bar:21 color:tan1 from:2005 till:2010 text: 105.5 WADW/WMKD (2005-2010)
bar:22 color:tan1 from:2011 till:2016 text: 97.7 WQEZ/WJZJ/WOEZ/WCHY (2011-2016)
bar:23 color:tan1 from:2012 till:2016 text: 100.7 W264CF (2012-2016)
bar:24 color:tan1 from:2013 till:2016 text: 106.3 WJZJ/WOEZ (2013-2016)
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1998
TextData =
fontsize:L
textcolor:black
pos:(175,30) # tabs:(0-center)
text:"Northern Star Broadcasting Timeline"
Former logos
References
{{Reflist
Sources
Michiguide.com - Northern Star Broadcasting
Defunct radio broadcasting companies of the United States
Companies based in Michigan