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WNRL - Community Radio Station Hits Airwaves

By: By Bob Buttgen

 LIGONIER - Fred "Fritz" Schultz has lived and breathed radios his entire life, so it was only fitting he looked like a proud father this week when the new community radio station for the West Noble area was turned on.

People tuning their radio dials to 105.9 FM this week, in the morning and early afternoons, may have heard music from the 1940s and '50s and the occasional public service announcement from either Schultz or the Rev. John Lutton, another local radio buff who is handling most of the on-air duties for the station.  

The official launching of the station this week was the culmination of years of work and cooperation between volunteers, government agencies and local businesses.  

The concept of low-power community radio stations such as WNRL (West Noble Radio Ligonier) is the result of grassroots lobbying of Congress and the Federal Communications Commission.  

When Schultz and his daughter, Marcella, heard about the low-power FM stations (it's broadcasting at 65 watts), they went to work, searching for the proper way to apply for a license. The father-daughter team are co-curators of the Indiana Historic Radio Museum in Ligonier.  

The application process for the station's license was long and difficult and there were some serious setbacks. At one point the FCC pulled the plug on the community radio station idea, due in part to protests from commercial broadcasters. But the people let their voices be known the process for granting licenses was reopened.  

The station is noncommercial; there will be no advertising. But that's just about the only limit. The plan is for WNRL to be a community forum for news, information, sports, talk and just about anything.  

We're still in the very early stages," Fritz Schultz said this week as he watched Lutton from the WNRL studios in the city's recreation center at Kenney Park. "We will continue to make changes and improvements. We're feeling our way through this."  

Broadcasting hours are roughly 7 a.m. to mid-afternoon and will be expanded as more people become involved.  

Schultz and Lutton invite the public to become involved with the station. The studio phone number is 894-9777, or Schultz can be reached at his business, Indiana Antenna Supply, at 894-3779, or by e-mail at olradio@ligtel.com  

One of the main components of the station is for it to be used as a learning tool for West Noble students. A studio is also set up at the high school and, while the process is slow, eventually students may be handling much of the operation and programming.  

"We're ready to broadcast West Noble basketball games live," Schultz said. "And for some of the other teams, including the middle school, we'd like to send someone over with a tape recorder to cover it and then play it back over the air."  

Schultz is retired from the Indiana State Police where he handled the radio and communications equipment and duties.  

While music is filling the station's airwaves in the early stages, Schultz and others are hoping that information and talk will replace the music.   

There are dozens of people and businesses who have been involved with the start-up process. Many people have donated time and services and some have even given money. There are no tax dollars involved; any start-up costs came from privation donations, and some equipment and related costs came from the radio museum funds.  

The transmitter is at the high school and the studio is in the recreation center building. The broadcast first goes through telephone lines from the rec center to the transmitter at the school. Eventually, Schultz and others are working on a possible microwave relay of the station, which will increase the quality of the sound.  

The station has a range of anywhere from five to 10 miles, based on weather conditions.
Author Bob Buttgen is the editor of Ligonier's newspaper, the "Advance Leader."

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Date of last update - 04/06/2006

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