Kicks 96 and Cruisin 98 recently took a major hit from a lightning strike that temporarily knocked both off the air. Boswell Media owns the two stations that flow from the tower.
When Boswell Media owner, Johnny Boswell heard his stations were off air, he knew something was wrong. What he didn’t know, at the time, was that the radio tower had taken-what he calls a catastrophic lightning strike.
“Well we had a line of storms move through here on Saturday the 19th. We were notified the station was off the air by remote control sensors that we have. When we came out, we noticed there was nothing wrong on the ground, so obviously something was wrong up on the tower itself,” says Boswell.
Boswell says he has seen this happen before, but this is the most significant amount of damage from a lightning strike he’s experienced in years of radio work.
“It put us off the air for several days. We were able to have a low power, stand by antenna, which we’re operating on now flown in. We’re back on the air until we get the main antenna repaired or replaced and put back on the tower,” says Boswell.
The station is currently back on air, just with somewhat diminished coverage. Boswell says he is grateful to have patient and loyal listeners.
“We’ve had so many calls. Thanks to our listeners for understanding. We’re sorry that it happened and we appreciate the calls we’ve gotten, like the folks that have even stopped by the station in Philadelphia and want to know why they can’t hear us,” says Boswell.
Boswell says they are currently working with antenna companies, transmission line companies, engineers, and tower crews to fix the damage. Boswell says Kicks 96 and Cruisin 98 will be up and fully running again, soon. This time, better than ever.
Standing 500 feet tall, the Boswell Media tower is the largest tower in a 4 county area.
