Connoisseur Media announced Friday that it has entered into an agreement to sell four of its stations serving southeastern Minnesota to Greg Jensen’s Hometown Broadcasting of Austin and Albert Lea.
The deal is subject to FCC approval and is expected to close early this fall, according to a release.
The four stations are as follows:
- KAUS(AM) 1480, a 1 kW news/talk station licensed to Austin.
- KAUS(FM) 99.9, a 100 kW country station licensed to Austin.
- KCPI(FM) 94.9, a 5 kW adult contemporary station licensed to Albert Lea.
- KATE(AM) 1450, a 1 KW news/talk and oldies station licensed to Albert Lea.
Connoisseur acquired the four stations from Alpha Media in its 2025 deal.
CEO Jeff Warshaw said in the release that the company concluded that the four stations could no longer make a meaningful difference with the specific “focus and approach” Connoisseur brings to radio.
“When we reach that conclusion, we look for strong local operators who can take the stations forward and continue serving the communities,” Warshaw said.
Jensen had been in discussions with Connoisseur and expressed a desire to return to radio, Warshaw said. Hometown Broadcasting is based within the counties served by the four stations, according to the release.
Jensen’s group previously owned 96.1 KQPR(FM) in Albert Lea before it sold the station to D&Z Radio in 2018. He also previously owned 97.5 KNXR(FM) in Rochester.
Kalil & Co. Inc. served as the broker for the transaction, while Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP represented Connoisseur Media as legal counsel.
