WOAS radio, 88.5 FM radio is a station not many in the Upper Peninsula have probably heard. That is because until this summer, it was a Class D, 10-watt, non-commercial radio station operating out of the Ontonagon Area School. It is an educational radio station operated by an all volunteer staff that includes students of the Ontonagon Area Schools and local community members. Its operating budget is derived from the revenue of two school vending machines.

In April of this year, Station Manager Ken Raisanen was notified via email that The Gospel Opportunities Network, (WHWL) was granted permission by the FCC to take over the radio frequency.

In the email, they explained that they had been granted a construction permit from the FCC for a translator station in Rockland, Michigan. The new translator would be taking over our 88.5 frequency.

Raisanen said that as WOAS is a Class D station, a larger station, like WHWL can take over their frequency or overpower it.

According to the WHWL website, it operates under the name The Gospel Opportunities Radio Network, and owns and operates 13 radio facilities across the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Michigan. WHWL, the network’s flagship station, is a 100 kW station in Marquette. The network also includes two Class A (1,000-watt) stations along with 10 lower-power translators.

“WHWL is a Class A, 100,000-watt, non-commercial,” Raisanen said, “and the way the regulations are written, Class A gets priority. If they want a frequency they apply for it.”

WHWL is doing nothing wrong, said Raisanen, it is the way the FCC code is written.

Raisanen said when he first learned of WHWL’s action, the FCC sent him an 11-page list of available frequencies. Raisanen wondered, with so many frequencies available why did WHWL choose the school’s frequency that it has utilized for 45 years? He said he was told their consultant had deemed it the best frequency for them to use.

“They gave me a song and dance about how they propogate their signal, they use (88.5) as a translator. The translator has to pick up their signal from another tower and amplify it.”

Raisanen said that when he pressed the question of why 88.5 again, he got no answers.

Raisanen was then told by the FCC that he needs to apply for a Minor Modification of the school’s FCC license.

“I don’t have to apply for a brand new station,” he said, “I just have to apply to move to a different frequency.”

Raisanen said the next question was what is the best path forward for the school to elevate its license to Class A so that the situation is not repeated in the future.

Raisanen said the answer was a fundraiser to purchase a new transmitter to increase their power from 10 to 100 watts. As soon as the FCC has a window permitting the station to apply to upgrade to a Class A license, the school will do that.

Raisanen said WHWL bought the frequency in November, 2021. He learned of it this spring. In April, the Detroit Free Press sent John Carlisle to the school to write an article on the topic. Carlisle mentioned a fundraiser, but the $3,000 WOAS needed had already been raised in three weeks. Raisanen was told that he could not say anything about the story until it was published. He said the story was released on July 13.

In the next week, Raisanen said, he received emails with offers for donations via other means.

“We essentially doubled our $3,000 in a two-week period,” he said. “Then people started re-posting (the story).”

He received a call from a former Silver City resident who said he has generous friends in the Detroit area.

“We went from having about $6,000 in mid-August,” he said, “and by the beginning of October we had just over $19,000 because of this guy. We were getting checks for $500, $1,000, all from within the state of Michigan.”

Raisanen said the radio station has a better war chest now than it did when it renovated the studio back in 1998-99, which it did for $9,000.