ELY- The fate of radio station WELY took another twist this past week as Bois Forte tribal officials set aside an earlier decision to close the station for good on Wednesday, extending its life for another three months.
“We are going to continue as is until Sept. 1, due to numerous interested parties that are inquiring about the purchase of WELY,” said Bois Forte Tribal Chair Cathy Chavers. “This buys us additional time to work out a deal with one of the interested parties.”
The Band announced the impending closure of the AM/FM station at the end of April, citing losses of over $1.7 million since they purchased the station in 2005, a figure which includes the initial purchase price. At the time, tribal officials noted that they had attempted to find a potential buyer, but no viable purchaser could be found.
The extension appears to be in response to community reaction to the impending closure, with city of Ely officials and numerous local citizens looking at options to take over the station that’s been a fixture in the Ely community since 1954.
In a recent Ely City Council meeting, Mayor Roger Skraba noted that the Band had offered the station to the city for free last year, but the offer was turned down at that time.
“I told them that’s not something we want to run,” Skraba said at the May 17 meeting. “There are several people who have been trying to buy it and they all came to the conclusion that the radio station is not profitable, and they don’t want it.”
Skraba indicated a local nonprofit was interested in working with the city to develop a business model to take over the station and keep it on the air. Prior to Bois Forte buying the station, WELY had closed at least twice due to financial shortfalls, and a steep decline in radio advertising over the past 15 years has impacted the potential revenue stream even further.
“We know that the group would have to go out and get fundraising to make up the monthly operating deficit of $8,000 to $12,000,” Skraba said.
The Timberjay contacted Bois Forte representatives to determine if the station would continue to incur those losses over the next three months, and also to clarify Skraba’s claim of obtaining the station for free vs. the Band’s current intent to try to sell it again, but Band officials declined to respond to the inquiry.
The Band’s press release about the extension indicates they will work with a commercial real estate broker to handle the possible sale. It is unclear if the station will remain as is, or if a buyer will downsize operations.
Although closing the station has been forestalled until Sept. 1, Chavers said there’s more work to be done.
“Let’s just hope a buyer steps up to the plate and saves the station,” she said. “Bois Forte has done all it can to keep the station alive, but now it’s time for someone else to keep WELY, The End of the Road Radio, on the airwaves.”