Kansas Broadcast Company has been forced to take oldies “730 Gold” KLOE Goodland, KS silent after a series of extreme wind events toppled the station tower.

The tower was originally damaged during windstorms on Dec. 17 and 18, when gusts in the area reached 80 miles per hour. The company says those winds caused the porcelain insulators at the base of the tower to fail, “leaving the structure leaning and unstable.” With multiple insulators broken the facility could not safely operate. Plans were being made for a tower crew to stabilize and repair the affected area of the tower, but due to the holiday, crews could not begin work immediately.

A Request for Silent STA was filed with the FCC on Dec. 22, which cited the date of going silent as Dec. 18 due to “catastrophic failure of our antenna system due to wind damage.” The filing said the company anticipated to return to operation by June. 15.

A second wind event occurred last weekend (Dec. 27-28), which caused the tower to shift and ultimately fall into a nearby field. No damage was done to the surrounding property or structures.

“Due to the significant cost of constructing a new AM tower and the realities facing AM broadcasting today, Kansas Broadcast Company has made the difficult decision that KLOE 730 will not be repaired or rebuilt and will go permanently silent,” the company announced. “This was not a decision taken lightly. KLOE represents decades of voices, memories and service to this community. Losing the tower is heartbreaking especially after the work that went into restoring and celebrating the station’s legacy.”

The company owns ten stations in Kansas and will continue airing KLOE’s “The Good Neighbor Hour,” weekday mornings from 5:30-7am on classic rock “RockIt 102.5” KKCI Goodland.

“We are incredibly grateful to the listeners, advertisers and community members who supported KLOE for generations. We honor its past, mourn its loss and remain fully committed to serving Goodland and northwest Kansas for years to come.”