Mt. Rushmore, FCC Settle for How Much?

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FCCdoorMt. Rushmore Broadcasting and the FCC have reached a settlement on several outstanding proposed fines.


Owner Jan Gray has agreed to pay a $25,000 civil penalty to end the case, which began in 2012 — much lower than the original $100,000+ figure.

Mt. Rushmore owns four FMs in Casper, Wyoming and an AM/FM combo in Hot Springs, South Dakota.

Between 2012-2014, the Denver field office of the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau proposed 9 fines against Mt. Rushmore for its failure to: maintain a full-tie staff at two stations, make those stations available to an FCC agent, operate stations and their STL links at the location unauthorized on its license, maintain complete public inspection files at 4 stations and exhibiting red obstruction lighting on a tower and immediately notify the FAA of the lighting outage.

The FCC and Mt. Rushmore negotiated; the licensee said it couldn’t pay the fines and provided several years’ worth of tax returns to back-up Gray’s financial status.

In addition to paying the fine, Mt. Rushmore will designate a corporate compliance officer and a plan to ensure future adherence to FCC rules.

If the broadcaster defaults on the deal by violating one of the conditions and/or is late paying the $25,000, it’s on the hook for another civil penalty of $134,500.