Toledo group granted permit for Spanish FM radio station

1/21/2015

Parra

The Federal Communications Commission has issued a permit to a Toledo group granting it permission to proceed with the development of a low-watt Spanish language FM radio station.

Linda Parra, president and founder of Nuestra Gente Community Projects Inc., said the organization received notice from the FCC on Dec. 31 that it could construct an antenna and transmitter and broadcast on 96.5 mhz.

“It was a happy new year,” Ms. Parra said. “It’s going to be a 24-hour radio station and it will be the first Spanish FM radio station in Toledo,” she added. Nuestra Gente, which in Spanish means “Our People,” filed its initial permit request with the FCC in April.

The group, intends to operate a Catholic-oriented station that will provide music, local and state news, talk shows, and other programming.

“About 80 percent of Latinos in Toledo are Catholic. They need a community voice,” Ms. Parra said. “The news will be Catholic, but the station will also be cultural. It will be a community station,” she said. “So from that standpoint it will also focus on many issues, like politics, the economy, and immigration.”

The station plans to call itself “Our Lady of Guadalupe Radio” and its coverage area will include portions of Toledo, Oregon, and Rossford, Ms. Parra said.

While it has a permit, Nuestra Gente does not yet have the financial ability to get started.

Ms. Parra said the FM station will need to raise $30,000 to purchase broadcast equipment and to lease space from which to broadcast.

The organization plans to hold a fund-raiser on March 7 and it also will be seeking sponsors.