On Wednesday (10/24), a midday event at a Class A 50kw iHeartMedia News/Talk AM in the Midwest will be joined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in hosting an unveiling of the station’s modernization project.
This station, which can be heard as far as Florida during the night, is one of 77 that serve as a National Public Warning System (NPWS) Primary Entry Point (PEP) broadcast facility.
Participating with FEMA to provide emergency alert and warning information to the public before, during and after incidents and disasters is WLW-AM 700 in Cincinnati, a booming AM that can be heard well across Ohio, Indiana, southern Michigan and northern Kentucky during daylight hours and in several states across the eastern seaboard after dark.
As directed by Congress in the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) Modernization Act of 2015, FEMA, which manages IPAWS, launched an effort to upgrade PEP stations.
These stations, like WLW, “are designed and hardened to withstand various natural and man-made events to ensure continuity of operations,” FEMA notes.
WLW is the second station in the country to complete the upgrade, which includes increased sheltering capabilities, expanded broadcast capacity, and sustainable power generation for all types of hazardous events.
A Wednesday ribbon cutting and official remarks will open the two-hour event, scheduled for 11am. A live demonstration at the WLW-AM PEP station emergency studio will be offered.
In attendance at WLW’s Mason, Ohio, transmitter site will be iHeartMedia EVP/Engineering & Systems Jeff Littlejohn, among others including WLW host Willie Cunningham.
