Radio station closes after 60 years | News, Sports, Jobs

Charles Crane/MDN Roy Leavitt sits in the AM broadcast booth at KHRT station in Minot on Friday. The station ceased operations after its last broadcast on July 31.

Minot’s only local Christian radio station, Faith Broadcasting, has decided to cease operations. KHRT and The Heart 106.9 will no longer be broadcasting after they cease broadcasting on Wednesday, July 31.

Station manager Roy Leavitt announced the closure, citing the difficult economic situation. Due to declining support and advertising, Faith Broadcasting is unable to continue operating the stations.

“There are fewer advertisers. Our shareathons are declining. Part of it is because I’m done with it. I’ve been doing this for 43 years. My season is just over.” said Leavitt.

The station first signed on the AM airwaves in 1957 as KQDY and was purchased by the People’s Radio Association, a group of 100 local investors organized by Hal Christensen, in 1964. The station was purchased by Leavitt’s father, Dick Leavitt, in 1982 after Christensen told him during a Sunday school class that the radio station would be sold and would no longer be a Christian station.

“This was my father’s vision and we continued it four years after his death,” Leavitt said.All I know is that it’s not up to me. It’s time to figure out what I’m going to do.”

Leavitt said KHRT employs four full-time and two part-time staff members who provide music year-round and handle Class B high school sports broadcasts.

“We followed the small town schools’ basketball and football seasons. A little baseball and volleyball. KHRT became known for following these small town schools in the regular season and state tournaments,” said Leavitt.

KHRT broadcast over a 100-mile radius on its AM transmitter, which Leavitt said was quite variable in the early years, as it was “Daylight” station that switched to low power in the evenings year-round. The FM station began broadcasting regular programs within a 60-mile radius from a 400-foot tower south of Minot in 1992.

Leavitt said the announcement prompted a flood of responses from the public, filling his inbox and lighting up his phone with sadness over the loss of the stations.

“We’ve had a lot of reactions. They’re varied: ‘This is really sad,’ people text me, email me or call me and say, ‘We just miss it a lot.’ A lot of them are understanding. The economy, everything that’s happening right now, isn’t making it easy for anyone, and we feel that. Companies are struggling and they’re going to cut back on their advertising, and we’ve seen that.” said Leavitt.

Leavitt expressed hope that the many different missions KHRT has undertaken throughout the year would continue in some form, particularly the Horn of Plenty program, which provided food, gifts and toys to hundreds of families in the Minot area during the Christmas season.

“Last year was the 30th year we did this. People submitted names of people who were in need during the holiday season. Last year alone we donated $90,000. This is one of the projects I hope we can continue. I just don’t know how we’re going to do it without media to spread the word.” said Leavitt.

With the station closing, Leavitt said he will seek new employment and devote more time to his duties as pastor of Open Gate Church in Minot. Wherever his next chapter takes him, Leavitt is looking forward to his “next season.”

“I told people, ‘Now I have to get my first job. It’s time to figure out what I’m going to do when I grow up.’ I’ve never known anything other than working for myself and my father.” said Leavitt.