Ely, MN Is Getting Its Station Back: One Observer’s Obsession

“I’m obsessed with Ely!” I recently exclaimed to our CEO, Sage Weil.

“At least you’re self-aware…” He replied, laughing.

And it’s true. Ely, a small community in northern Minnesota, has taken up considerable real estate in my thoughts these past weeks. Civic Media’s recent acquisition of the legendary WELY AM/FM from Zoe Communications feels less like a business transaction and more like the adoption of a cherished local institution. We’ve already managed to light up the AM signal with an eclectic placeholder playlist–a teaser hinting what might come next. The FM launch, explained quite nicely in this article from the Timberjay, should be ready to go on or before Memorial Day weekend.I keep hearing stories from friends – stories of camping, boozing, fishing, canoeing, and loving this special town and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. I’ve scoured many pages of breathtaking photos capturing shimmering lakes and dense forests, and Northern Lights photos which are jaw-dropping awesome. Scrolling through the What’s Up, Ely MN? town Facebook page I’ve discovered posts revealing a community of characters and a genuine sense of humor.

Out with the old: Erick the Engineer says goodbye to outdated equipment for WELY.

I’m Civic Media’s Director of Marketing. I need to know you before we start our conversation. Tell me if I’ve got it right:

• Ely has 3,000+ residents in the winter, and 20,000+ in the summer?
• Ely is populated by Twin Cities ex-pats, hippies, artists, townies, rugged outdoorsy folks, and just folks?
• Ely celebrates summer HARD! I know that’s true.
• The cultural quilt is diverse, by backgrounds and lifestyles?

The thing that is likely fueling my obsession with getting up there to visit with you is this overwhelming feeling that we are doing something good. We are bringing back a beloved local business, and we’re going to try like hell to do this thing right. Of course there will be a lot of opinions on the programs, good, bad, and meh. And we’ll have a lot to learn. Civic Media’s culture teaches us to listen to the home folks, the ones who live there, and take guidance from them, not be those bossy folks from Madison who think they know everything. That is just not how we roll.

I’ve had a long bookend career in the radio business, separated by a couple of other job descriptions along the way. I’m a big fan of the art and science of reinvention. My years of experience includes being employed by huge corporations who think they know everything, ruining lives by clearing out staff during takeovers and acquisitions, reducing the programming down to a cookie-cutter vanilla nothingburger. So many of my colleagues have endured soul-crushing stints working for these ruthless consolidators. When we interview potential hires and tell them that, while never perfect, we’re trying like hell to be different, they sometimes can’t believe it. I don’t blame them. 

Civic Media is taking all of the essential radio services the consolidators are abandoning, and we are never giving them back. Yes, we do have stations in Wisconsin’s big urban areas (Madison, Milwaukee and Green Bay), but the majority of our stations are in small towns like Park Falls and Baldwin and Amery, and you, too, Ely.

When we get things going, we’re inviting the entire town to a picnic. Stay tuned. If you want to keep updated on our progress approaching launch, go here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Thanks for helping fuel my healthy obsession with you. I’m feeling grateful today. We have a unique opportunity to begin a great relationship. We’ll talk more soon.