The Lac du Flambeau Business Development Corporation is starting a new radio station called WLDF The Torch.
“Not too many people launch radio stations in 2024.”
But that’s exactly what’s happening in Lac du Flambeau.
Brian Rickman is the radio station’s Director of Broadcast Media.
“It's really been an exciting thing,” he said.
WLDF The Torch will be an adult alternative Native-owned radio station with music, local news, weather, cultural programming, and sports coverage.
Their signal will cover all of the Lac du Flambeau reservation and some outlying communities.
Rickman says the station will be a multimedia center for the community, providing a workshop for area students and tribal members to try out different cameras and video equipment.
Their main goal is to improve communication in the community.
Parts of the reservation have spotty internet or cell connection, meaning some people may not receive timely information.
Zachary Allen is the Lac du Flambeau Business Development Corporation’s Marketing and Public Relations Director.
“We're in a very secluded rural area, and the resources that we have here in Lac du Flambeau, you know, they are growing, but, are still limited in some of our areas, especially when it comes to elder communication,” he explained.
While Rickman says they won’t start off broadcasting 24/7, he hopes the station can one day build up to that.
“Radio, I think, is in kind of a precarious place right now, as far as the industry is concerned. And you know, what we'd like to do is kind of lead that direction forward,” he explained.
He says they’re actively hiring for an Operations Manager, as well as a Sales Manager.
“When it comes to radio, everybody thinks of being a DJ or a host or something like that. But there are plenty of jobs behind the scenes. So we want to encourage anybody from you know, administrative folks to sales folks to DJs to reach out. ,” said Rickman.
Their tentative launch date for the station is November 21st and you can hear them at 92.9 FM.
The station has been a few years in the making, so organizers are excited to see it finally take form.
