The future of an FM radio station being proposed for Sylvan Lake will become clear following a Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) hearing on Nov. 12.
An application submitted by Lethbridge-based Clear Sky Radio Inc. proposes a modern rock FM radio station that would also offer local news and community information.
The station, 88.5 The Lake, would play modern music, which its proposal states is the genre most supported by research carried out in Sylvan Lake last year.
Reports on local news, weather, sports and highway conditions would be offered to fill demand created by the current absence of a local radio station, according to the proposal.
More than 60 news packages totalling more than three hours in length would be aired each week.
Sylvan Lake residents commuting to and from Red Deer make up an important listener base for the proposed station. Clear Sky says a strong in-car signal would allow frequent commuters access to up-to-date road and weather reports on Highway 11, enabling them to make important travel decisions.
If licensed, Clear Sky intends to create “strong relationships” with local community organizations and non-profit groups, which it says it’s already done in Lethbridge and Medicine Hat — homes to its other two stations.
The application states advertising would be solicited locally, and not in Red Deer.
Establishing the station locally would fit with Clear Sky’s goal of growing into a “strong regional broadcasting company.” Since 2005, its FM services have also been looked at for Calgary, Fort McMurray, Kelowna, Red Deer and Cranbrook.
Its Sylvan Lake proposal notes that radio stations have been successful in towns of a similar size to Sylvan Lake, and also in even smaller municipalities such as Olds, Whitecourt and Wainwright.
Comments and support are being solicited by Clear Sky until Oct. 14, prior to the Nov. 12 public hearing in Gatineau, Que.