Update: July 12 - Z 93.5 Country & Flatrock 100.7 continue to be "Off The Air" on your radio due to a June Thunderstorm that damaged the radio tower south of Paxton, Nebraska. Crews identified the damaged parts, removed them, and the radio station is waiting for those parts and pieces to be manufactured, and shipped to meet the specific requirements of the radio tower. Eagle Communications management still expects the stations to be back up in July, although a specific date can't be locked in at this time. Listeners to these two radio stations can still listen online at www.z935country.com and www.flatrock1007.com while we are off the radio dial.
(See story below for further details)
(posted in June) Paxton, Ne - May and June thunderstorms were frequent and devestating to many in western Nebraska, Eagle Communications in North Platte and Ogallala weren't immune to storm damage. In the overnight hours of Thursday, June 13 as strong storms moved across the area, the radio tower that is home to Z 93.5 Country (KZTL-FM), Flatrock 100.7 (KRNP-FM) and KOGA-FM 99.7 is believed to have been struck by lightning causing the stations to go off the air. Eagle management was able to turn Flatrock 100.7 back on early Friday morning after that storm passed, but ultimately both KRNP and KZTL were unable to stay "on the air".
A tower crew from South Dakota was able to make it to the tower site, south of Paxton, Nebraska on Sunday, June 23 and began it's inspection of the tower. They would find holes in the hard transmission line about 97 feet up the tower along with burn scars in multiple spots up the tower, eventually finding a large elbow piece of the transmission line cracked with evidence of moisture in the line in addition to the electrical burns on the transmission line.
"Both Z 93.5 Country (KZTL-FM) and Flatrock 100.7 (KRNP-FM) are currently off the air while repairs are being made, we hope to have replacement transmission line, and all the parts and pieces that will be required to get us back on the air in place early in July" according to Eagle Communications' Nebraska Operations Manager Derek Beck.
Beck went on to say "we're still broadcasting, and you're still able to hear the local shows you enjoy on our stations, at www.Z935country.com , Flatrock1007.com or of course on our news and information websites at www.sandhillspost.com & www.NorthPlattePost.com. Everything is business as usual otherwise, we're just only available online while we make repairs for these stations".
Ealge Communications also owns and operates Q Country Classics 107.3, Mix 97.1, FM 98.1/AM 1410, Double Q Country 105.9 & 97.5 , KCOW AM1400/FM92.5 and B 94.7. in Nebraska.
The tower that was damaged by the storms is owned by Vertical Bridge, the largest private owner and operator of communications infrastructure in the U.S., with more than 500,000 sites nationwide. The tower is leased by Eagle Communications.
Eagle reached out to iHeart Media (KOGA-FM) in Ogallala by email for comment about the transmission line outage that also affected 99.7's main feed line but did not receive a reply as of the posting of this story.
Founded in 1948, Eagle Communications is a Kansas based media company. The company operates 32 radio stations in Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri. In addition to radio, the company offers online solutions, web development, video production and creative services- All to support the communities we serve to grow and remain vibrant.