Magnum to Acquire Sparta-Tomah Radio Outlets

RADIO ONLINE | Wednesday, August 5, 2026 | 3:04pm CT

Magnum Media

Magnum Communications has reached an agreement to acquire four western Wisconsin radio outlets from Sparta-Tomah Broadcasting Co., with an application for the sale to be filed with the FCC.

The transaction includes Country WCOW-FM (97.1), News/Talk WKLJ-AM (1290), translator W271CM (102.1), all licensed to Sparta, and WFBZ-FM (105.5), licensed to Trempealeau. Sparta-Tomah Broadcasting said the stations represent the company's remaining media holdings.

WCOW-FM is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year and has been named Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Small Market Station of the Year seven times. In 2025, the station's Ben & Arnie morning show earned the Country Music Association's Best Small Market Personality of the Year award.

Magnum Communications is part of Wisconsin-based Magnum Media, which operates six full-power AM stations, 14 full-power FM stations and 18 FM translators across Wisconsin, eastern Minnesota and northern Illinois.

Reid Magnum noted the acquisition has personal significance for his family. "In June, when my Dad was inducted into the Wisconsin Broadcasters Hall of Fame, he spoke in the video about WCOW being the very first radio station he was ever in at age 4," Magnum said. "His uncle, Len DeSomer, was an announcer at WCOW in 1967. On top of that, my Mom and Dad sat with Pink Rice at the first Wisconsin Broadcasters Association dinner they attended in 1990."

Kalil & Co., Inc. is serving as the exclusive broker for the transaction.