Lightning strike temporarily silences KOSU in northeastern Oklahoma

Friday, June 6, 2008

Storm Causes Significant Damage to Public Radio Network

(STILLWATER, Ok., June 6, 2008) – KOSU, which provides public radio to central and northeastern Oklahoma, is working to repair significant lightning damage to its Ketchum, Oklahoma tower site.  As a result, KOSU is currently off the air at 107.5 fm, 107.3 fm and 101.9 fm in northeastern Oklahoma.  In central Oklahoma, 91.7 fm was unaffected by the outage.

The initial engineering diagnosis indicated that the lightning damage was isolated to the transmitter.  Since then, KOSU has discovered additional major damage to the antenna system that continues to keep the station off the air in Tulsa and northeastern Oklahoma.  KOSU is working to return the station to the air as soon as possible.  

“This is among the most significant damage caused by lightning in KOSU’s 53-year history,” said Dan Schroeder, KOSU Chief Engineer.  “We apologize for the inconvenience to our northeastern Oklahoma listeners and hope to return to the air as quickly as possible.”   

Listeners are encouraged to access KOSU’s live audio streams at kosu.org to receive programming and to check our web site for regular updates on the progress of the repair work.