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w'•TV TEAM: Les White, DirkMary Highland and Dean KOIA-TV are ready forEngstrom,ofEngstrom Ottumwa'stelevision station to start a full day of broadcasting today.newBy JUDY KRIEGER Courier staff writerOttumwa’s new television station. KOIA-TV, is due to go “on-air” today with a full schedule of programming.The broadcast day initially will run be 11:30 a.m. to around around 11 p.m. — seven days a week. Every week the start-up time will be earlier “as soon as we get the program cycle in-house,” station president Les White said Friday.The full slate of morning programs will start at 7 a.m. in about 30 to 45 days.The station — UFH Channel 15 — has been on the air a few hours in the last two weeks “for equipment test purposes,” White said.St. Louis Cardinals baseball games were among some shows televised over the weekend. The station — which has a staff of about 25 — plans a full schedule of Cards and Chicago Cubs ballgames this season.One special program this week will be a “person to person” discussion by Max Miller and Mayor Jerry Parker on the pros and cons of a city manager. The one-hour show will be seen at 7 p.m. Thursday.Other special programs will be added to the daily roster which includes children’s programs, movies, sports, music shows and special events.One of the local programs will be Mary Highland’s “Mid-Day Magazine.” The 30-minute interview and feature show will be seen at noon Monday through Friday.Highland, a former broadcaster atKBIZ radio, will act as producer andhostess of her own show.“News Plus” will be seen Monday through Friday at 6:30 p.m. The 30-minute show will include live and taped segments of “hard” news and news features events in the Ottumwaarea.The full-power, independent station, covers a radius of about 50 miles, and sometimes exceeding that, White said.“We’ve had calls from viewers in Pella, Burlington, Mount Pleasant, Centerville, Sigourney and Lancaster and near Kirksville, Mo. So I know we’re at least getting 50 miles.”And most of the calls have said “the reception is terrific,” he added.The owners expected that, he said, from all the new equipment the station purchased.“We’ve re-engineered from top to bottom,” he said, “moving the station to state-of-the-art equipment.White, Dean Engstrom and his son, Dirk Engstrom, own the Public Interest Broadcast group which purchased KOIA-TV in April and moved the facilities to 820 W. Second.Dean Engstrom said, “We view the station as belonging to the people of southeast Iowa. And it’s up to us to facilitate their needs and desires over the air.”The station wants to form a Citizen Advisory Group for input from a variety of people and occupations.angstrom is chairman of the board, and his son, Dirk, is vice president of the company.The building — which formerly housed various restaurants — hasbeen remodeled into offices, reception area, control room and studio. Behind the building are three large satellite dishes “for live feeds” and a fourth is planned.Each satellite dish can track two programs, White said, so the station at present can handle six programs simultaneously. Most of the programs will come via satellite from signals 23,000 miles in space.The building’s tower will send and receive signals from the 500-foot Ottumwa Area Translator tower four miles south of Ottumwa.It’s been a lot of hard work for the group. White estimates he’s beenworking 17-hour days the last 67 days helping design all equipment from the tower outside to the control room inside.It’s also been “a labor of love,” White said, with everything geared “to getting on the air.”And, it’s paying off, he said.“I’m pleased to say we’ve gotten very good support from the business community.”And he said it’s only the beginning. “The fall schedule will be dynamite ... rivaling any independent station in the United States.”The station will be part of the Hawkeye Sports Network broadcasting University of Iowa basketball games, football replays and coaches’ shows.“Hee-Haw” premieres Sept 19, and other fall additions include the Richard Simmons Show, “Friday the13 thseries, “Bewitched,” “IDream of Jeannie,” “The Match maker,” to name a few.“There’ll also be a few more surprises,” White adds.
Newspaper Details
Ottumwa Courier
Ottumwa, Iowa, US
Mon, Jun 29, 1987
Page 7
Full Page
Clipped by
Sammi B.
NA 17 Jun 2023
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