Updating a story we previously reported on, one of two Texas Mennonite churches seeking LPFM stations has convinced the FCC it has reasonable site assurance for its antenna.
In Waco, the Texas Mennonite Conference (TMC) applied for an LPFM station on 91.9 FM during the December 2023 filing window. Its application was dismissed in June by the FCC’s Media Bureau due to a name mismatch on the property TMC listed for its antenna tower location. The bureau dismissed it as a “non-curable” defect.
TMC filed a petition for reconsideration, stating that the listed owner on the application, Joe Izen, and the actual property owner in public records, Karen Cooley, are married and because Texas is a community property state, they each own half. The group said Cooley is Karen’s maiden name.
The commission found this sufficient evidence and granted TMC the 91.9 FM Waco LPFM application last week. TMC plans to use the station to produce locally-originated programming about the Mennonite faith.
The group is still hopeful it can get approval for its member church in East Texas. The Canton 107.9 LPFM application for God’s Property Mennonite Fellowship Church was dismissed over reasonable site assurance issues in a tangled back-and-forth involving the city of Canton.
Barney Joe Donalson, the bishop of TMC, filed a petition for reconsideration in July. Donalson cited hostile treatment by the city of Canton toward the Mennonite denomination in the petition. He also claimed the commission relied on incorrect tax records to conclude that God’s Property Mennonite Fellowship Church did not own the property listed for its antenna.
At a minimum, Donalson believes the church should be given the opportunity to file an amended petition to broadcast from a different location.
The pleading for the Canton LPFM is still pending with the commission.
