Longtime North Dakota station KHRT(AM) and its sister station KHRT(FM) have gone off the air as of July 31, 2024. Located in Minot, N.D., the two Christian-format stations are locally-owned and operated by Faith Broadcasting. Now, the station owner is looking for a buyer.
Station manager and owner Roy Leavitt made the announcement across social media channels on July 23 that the stations would go silent. In his statement, Leavitt said “support and advertising has fallen to a level where Faith Broadcasting is no long able to continue operating the stations.”
KHRT(AM) signed on in 1964 and was purchased in 1982 by Leavitt’s father, Dick, who added the FM station in 1992.
KHRT(AM), formerly heard on 1320 kHz, is a Class B station broadcasting at 2.5 kW during the day and 310 watts at night. Its counterpart, KHRT(FM), formerly heard on 106.9 MHz, is a Class C2 station broadcasting at 50 kW.
Leavitt told Radio World that Faith Broadcasting is in the process of trying to find a buyer for the stations, saying “we are not letting the licenses go back to the FCC.”
In an email to Radio World, discussing KHRT’s financial hardship, he wrote: “With the current economic conditions I do not believe it’s going to get better any time soon. I made the decision to close the doors to stop the ongoing expenses. It’s just time for someone else to continue these signals in the Minot markets.”
Now, on KHRT’s website, the following statement is posted: “We are looking for a group or individual that would be interested in purchasing the KHRT radio stations (Either the FM station or both stations). If you know somebody that would be interested or if you are interested, please call Roy Leavitt for more details at (701) 818-4454.”
KHRT(AM) concentrated on a Southern gospel format and also aired satellite-fed programming from Salem Radio Network during overnights and weekends. Its FM counterpart was formatted as a Christian hot AC station.
